HF 44991 belt drive conversion kit ????

[mopar92]

Ok , I got the hf 44991 , Is the belt drive worth the money , Im new at this, my thought is that it might keep me from breaking a gear, ( hope it would get rid of that gear noise)? Also, the mill comes with a drill chuck should I be getting a end mill holder or is it ok to mount the end mill in the chuck?? the manual dosent say much. any input , dose anyone have this belt kit is it worth the money.

[ghynes]

Well I put a belt conversion on mine and I am very happy with the noise reduction.Still not silent as motor itself makes a noise but is much quieter. The belt slip is also good so you don't break things. The belt will slip before you break a part or tool. Of course is handy to have a spare belt or two on hand should it break. I bought mine online (ebay) from a canadian chap. Is a great set-up and fits good. As a bonus it has a integrated spindle lock (spring loaded) for tools changes which is more convenient then the supplied lock pin.I beleive there is also a US company that does a more expensive version. Both suppliers appear in this forum so a search should get some hits.

The only down side is the added cost, every thing you add drives the price higher and maybe we should have just got a better mill to start........


You should never mount an endmill in a drill chuck. Get yourself a set of collets. R8 collets are cheap as a set and even cheaper if you just buy a coupla sizes to start to fit the end mills you have.
good luck

Gerald