# mill gear shattered



## itowbig (Jul 28, 2009)

ok so i posted in the break room about my broken mill gear the one that is supposed to shatter did not.
so i started making a belt drive for this mill a while back but never finished it. so now i had to finish it hear is my progress.
the pics are not that good so dont hammer me to bad ok i used the bad camera (it wont happen again i promise ;D)
the broken gear-----





the inside




more of the inside




all torn apart




the inside all cleaned out




my belt drive




this part made of steal




cork to plug the hole left from removing the shaft and bearings




need to flip this around did not fit hummmmm




had to drill and tap the small pully




and haer we are all done




IT WORKS yyeeeeeee i was suprized it worked good. but it does take some power ive noticed away from the mill.
im thinking a chain drive next. but it is quiet. i had one little problem with the belt riding to one side of the big pully kinda twisted a bit not much but enough to bug me i think i need to recut that one a bit in order to get the belt to sit down in there better. well what do ya think . i think not bad from a nuckle head that is totally new to this hobby. i love it ok im done for now Thm: woohoo1


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## rake60 (Jul 28, 2009)

Well done Sid!

Rick


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## ksouers (Jul 28, 2009)

Nice job, Sid. Now you get to learn how to use it all over again ;D


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## Philjoe5 (Jul 28, 2009)

Nice work Sid. Other folks have also mentioned the pulley conversion ends up costing some power. Now that you've done it, is the loss in power enough to make you want to go back to gears?

Cheers,
Phil


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## Foozer (Jul 28, 2009)

Quieter? Smoother? You say a loss in power is noticed, Did the speed ratio change any. Granted that belts consume some energy I wonder what the machine draws now in watts compared to one that is gear driven, both under similar running conditions. One of those Kill-a-Watt meters are great for real time usage.

Zee has commented that he's stalled his mill a few times. I've let the smoke out of a few electric motors working em harder than they were rated for 

Whats next on your "To Do Mod" list?

Robert


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## Kermit (Jul 28, 2009)

itowbig  said:
			
		

> ... my broken mill gear the one that is supposed to shatter did not.



I'm sorry. I seriously thought I was only one that happened to.  

I like posts with shots of a machines guts(mechaporn), but you weren't kiddin' about the bad camera were ya?  :-[


Happiest when we are bitchin about sumthin,
Kermit


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## Maryak (Jul 29, 2009)

Good refit Sid. :bow:

Best Regards
Bob


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## CrewCab (Jul 29, 2009)

Diymania  said:
			
		

> It would be a good thing if they could use metal gears rather than plastic.



But then again it would most likely just transfer any overload to the next weakest link .......... and break that ........ ???

I've not noticed any appreciable loss of power since I added the belt conversion to my X2 ......... additionally, I tend to run the belt a little on the slack side so if I'm asking a bit much of the lil' feller .......... the belt just slips ........... I then have the option of backing off the feed/speed and/or depth of cut ......... or ......... tightening the belt up a bit, you just need to get used to the different noises and vibrations as they each tell their own story ........... anyway, it's worked for me so far 


<and edited to say>

Nice Job Sid ;D 

CC


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## itowbig (Jul 30, 2009)

kermit no the camera is bad i can get some new shots with the good one.

foozer  i dont know about the speed but it cuts good but the power loss is very noticable. i only cut one pully groove so dont have any speed changes. it is much quieter than with the gears (i do like this ) i have not run it long yet so dont know how hot it will run but i did take a pretty healthy cut (i was making a nut for my rotary table that im still working on. as to whats next on the mod dunno yet.
i already got the longer gear for the up & down on the column.

phil i dont think ill go back to gears but if i do it will be seel ones. but i like the silence and so does my neighbors.

thank guys for the comments. its not pretty but it works. im pretty proud that i was able to make this. im still very new to this. i think im going to get a fan for the motor just in case.  

oh one thing i did notice was when it grabs it will stall and the small pulley will just spin with the belt slipping. kinda nice.


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## tel (Jul 30, 2009)

Nice job - different to the one I made tho'.

That belt looks considerably bigger that the ones I used (5mm x 3mm) and driving it around those pulleys would account for the power loss.


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## Rickus (Aug 16, 2009)

Is that a Harbor Freight Vertical mill SKU 4491? If so I have the same one and this one fix is I will remember just in case. Heck I might even get started on a 'repair kit' and put it away for the day! What caused the gear to shatter?


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 16, 2009)

I just saw this thread.

LittleMachineShop has a conversion kit for the X2 (Harbor Freight 44991 et.al.).
It runs $130. (I have one on the way...but I don't expect to do anything with it for a while.)

Their version provides two speed ranges. Lever locks make it 'easy' to move the belt.

In reply #4 Robert says I reported stalling the mill. I don't remember doing that...but I have stalled my mini-lathe several times. Just don't want anyone to get confused or think the mill is easy to stall. (Maybe it is...I just haven't done it.)


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## tmuir (Aug 17, 2009)

zeeprogrammer  said:
			
		

> I just saw this thread.
> 
> LittleMachineShop has a conversion kit for the X2 (Harbor Freight 44991 et.al.).
> It runs $130. (I have one on the way...but I don't expect to do anything with it for a while.)



I've already fitted that one to my mill and love it, it was pretty easy to do too.
There is a thread here somewhere showing me fitting it.
Makes the mill so much quieter.
I now no longer worry about the neighbours complaining about the noise when I use it.


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## zeeprogrammer (Aug 17, 2009)

tmuir...yeah I remember that...it helped stick in my mind to do.


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## CrewCab (Aug 17, 2009)

My X2 has the LMS belt drive conversion too .......... well worth doing imho :bow:

CC


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## itowbig (Aug 17, 2009)

Rickus  said:
			
		

> Is that a Harbor Freight Vertical mill SKU 4491? If so I have the same one and this one fix is I will remember just in case. Heck I might even get started on a 'repair kit' and put it away for the day! What caused the gear to shatter?



sorry been busy.... ya thats the one . the table moved and the cutter grabed the part jamed it. it came to a stop and the gear shattered. ive put the plans in the download area if u want to have a go at making the belt thingy. i have been working on mine ever sence i got the mill. just did not have the need to finish it till now .

and for an update it works rather good. i still need to recut the large pully as the belt ride's kinda twisted to one side. im not sure why. but im sure its the pully not cut right. it sure does run quiet.


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