In my Genmitsu 4040-pro CNC review I mentioned how my Makita router didn’t seem like a perfect fit.
Well, in addition to that, I need a router table, and my birthday is coming up, so the obvious thing (to me at least) was to go ahead and buy a new spindle!
(I also bought another dust shoe to replace the one that catastrophically disassembled).
What’s In the Box
The Genmitsu 710W router uses ER11 collets. It actually comes with a 1/8” collet rather than the 1/4″ on the trim router, which is nice.
The power cable is actually in two parts, adding up to almost 12 feet in length, with a universal small cable attached to the router, and your local standard cable plugs into that. This mean the actual ength is up to you, I think that is neat.
You also get a couple of wrenches for tightening and loosening the collet, four replacement brushes, and an instruction booklet.
Comparing Official Genmitsu Router Options
SainSmart have a couple of trim router options on the website, with the one I got which is the 710W 65mm Spindle Router, and another which looks very close to the Makita I already had.
Price-wise the classic trim router is the better deal, and had I not already had a problem with the Makita I would likely have leaned toward that option.
Visually, you can immediately see this 710w option is higher quality, plus the power cable points upwards rather than out at 90 degrees. A small thing but it can make a difference on a CNC. It is a long cable (3.5m) which definitely helps with reaching the power outlet.
The other difference that is interesting for use with a CNC is it uses a ER11 collet and nut, which is the standard for CNC bits, and is a convenience upgrade over the Makita it replaces.
Build quality feels great, and there is a dust cover over the power switch, but curiously not over the speed control.
Compared to Makita
I would suggest this as the better upgrade from the stock 300w spindle rather than the Makita for anyone looking for a replacement.
For a start, this Genmitsu spindle is around half the price of the Makita currently, depending where you look. You can see for yourself at Amazon, for one example.
With the ER11 collet and the speed starting at 6500 RPM rather than 10000 RPM as on the Makita, I feel like this Genmitsu is better suited to CNC work.
Genmitsu 710W Router in Action
For the price, the Genmitsu 710W router is a beast.
In my initial testing I set it at around speed 4, which is approximately 18000 RPM, and it performed just as well as the spindle on my much more expensive Nomad3, and is actually capable of a higher top speed.
It’s still noisy, hard to get away from that unless you are willing to more than double your budget, but it plows through material I would say better than the Makita.
Genmitsu 710W Router Conclusion
I am happy with this purchase. It’s possible I would have been just as happy with the cheaper alternative, but I feel like this option is the higher quality and longer lasting of the two.
Definitely check both out and see which you are drawn to, but I expect this router will do the job for many projects to come.
