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Mini-mill crash and burn

Brian H

Brian H

Super User
So.....
Last weekend I got a bit aggressive (read-lazy) and skipped a couple sizes while trying to drill a 27/64" hole in some 1/4" steel and busted one of the drive gears (lovely chinesium plastic) inside my mill.
After seeing a few less than favorable you tube reviews on the fit/finish of the pieces, I hummed and hawed for about and hour on purchasing the belt drive conversion and then bit the bullet and ordered it.
Surprisingly, it showed up in 6 days (instead of the 2-3 week shipping time they tell you) and I just got it installed. I have noting but great things to say about what a difference it made, and the quality is very good. I cannot get over how quiet and smoothly it runs.
The big question is what project shall I do first....
 
My dad has a mini-mill and he wound up putting the belt conversion into his as well after tearing up the gears. He says it was a serious upgrade to his too.
 
Everett said:
My dad has a mini-mill and he wound up putting the belt conversion into his as well after tearing up the gears. He says it was a serious upgrade to his too.
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Serious as in "difficult to do" or serious as in a "significant improvement"?
 
He said it was easy enough to install, but that it was a definite improvement over the gears that came in it originally. He bought all his stuff when he was working in the US a few years before he retired, but not sure if it was LMS or elsewhere.
 
Mine bit the dust today.

GEAR.JPG


Attempting to drill a 1/2" hole to 11/16".

Kind of puts my current project on hold :-(

Will have to give the belt upgrade serious consideration now.

Hmmm. The mill was purchased 8/9/2018. Still under warrantee. I wonder if this is covered????
 
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If you can find the stl file I’ll print you a new one out of ABS. Be interesting to see if it lasts or not. I think there is a program out there that will generate the model ....
 
That looks like the one at the top of the mill. I have my old one if you want it. (Send me the number of teeth etc and Ill check that its the same). The ones that busted on mine were the internal ones. From what I've read the top one is supposed to break before the internal ones do since its the easiest to change.
 
Brian H said:
That looks like the one at the top of the mill. I have my old one if you want it. (Send me the number of teeth etc and Ill check that its the same). The ones that busted on mine were the internal ones. From what I've read the top one is supposed to break before the internal ones do since its the easiest to change.
Click to expand...

PM sent.
 
I feel you would need to upgrade all 3 gears if you went in that direction. There's no point in relocating the "weak link"
 
Brian H said:
I feel you would need to upgrade all 3 gears if you went in that direction. There's no point in relocating the "weak link"
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well. Might as well just remove the plastic gears from the equation all together. Sounds like the belt drive runs smoother to.
 
Yes, I like when he splits his piece of oak in two. I guess they have different oak than we do. I'd have to smack the stuff I have pretty good to split it. Interesting video tho
 
Once you upgrade to metal gears you will find the true weak link is in fact the motor as it stalls even trying to drill your half-inch holes a belt drive will still stall the system but is supposed to run quieter though I never bought the metal gears to try I went straight to belt drive currently the 2 hp motor Will slip on the belt drive if I try to take too big of a cut and I may go to metal gears myself one day
 
Oh cool guys. I don’t have any nylon. I can print it though. Anybody got nylon and can help out yychobbymachinist? @Jwest7788 @Johnwa ?

YYC if you want to buy some I’ll print your part. There’s a store in the SE near princess that sells it. Spool3d it’s called. 1.75mm diameter.
 
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