Need Sherline Belt & qestion on X2 Belt Drive?

[Oldboy]

I was wondering if anyone knows of a online store for a new belt to a Sherline 5400 mill? Other than SHERLINE web site.
I keep busting belts. Im Fly cutting Cast-iron. And yes im taking .005-.010 cuts with a very slow feed rate-manual feed. Carbide cutter.
High rpm and the motor is not stalled when belts break. Not over loading the motor. The belts just don't last long. Purchase two from Sherline and one of the NEW belts lasted one hour. Im now on my last belt.

Next qestion is about the X2 MILL Belt drive mod?
If your Fly cutting cast-iron. Whats the max Dia Fly cutter and max depth of cut? Befor you bust the belt?
Im not sure if the X2 Belt can handle milling Cast-iron & Steel.
May be I should get metal gears for the X2 im building?
Im so sick of this Sherline. Need more POWER. Well better belts on the dam thing. Would be nice?

[maxboostbusa]

If you can measure the belt you can see if mcmaster or SPI have them. I have flycut 304 stainless at a 20 thou with my belt drive and it didnt slip or anything. Breaking belts and not slipping them sounds like the belt is to tight or the pulleys aren't aligned properly. If you flex the belt backwards are there any cracks that show? If so the belts are old and starting to degrade. If they are breaking where they are seamed together ( sometimes you can tell where this is) then again it would be a faulty belt or an old belt. Hope this helps.

[Oldboy]

maxbostbusa
You using a Sherline? or X2?
I did not tighten the belt too tight. And the belt was new from Sherline.
Fly cutting for an hour and in the middle of a cut pass the belt just broke.
Pist me off since I paid 9 bucks plus shipping. Lucky I purchase two.
Other wise im dead in the water. Can't wait to get my X2 up and running.
Im hopping it will cut faster and deeper cuts per a pass.
Than this Slow Sherline. I have had this Sherline 5400 for 8 yr's.
Original belt lasted most of the 8 yr's. But then I never cut Cast iron or steel with it. Untill now.

[cncuser1]

one hour of use is not normal.
Is fly cutting that much harder on a belt than other types of millng?
On the other hand, are you the only one with this problem?

[Oldboy]

cncuser1
Good Qestion?
Normaly Fly cutting is not as hard on a mill. Since its cutting with only the small point of a lathe cutter bit. Like on a lathe.
This is why im a little pist-off. And I would rather not pay Sherline anymore of my money. Over the years I have spent alot of money to Sherline.
Im ready to move on to a larger Mill.
And im so tired turning the wheels on X&Y. Thats why im going to CNC the Mod-X2 im building. Just have not decided on Belt or Metal gears for the X2?

[cjdavis618]

I can't help with the sherline, but I can tell you that the X2 can cut steel equally as well as what you are attempting with the sherline.

I have cut as much as .025 with a 9/16" 4 flute full width. It was noisy and slow, but the finish was ok and the belt had no trouble at all. I know of no one that has had any trouble with the belt mod. I have used mine hard for over a year and no wear on the belt yet.

Now this is just my opinion, but the sherline belt looks like a rubber band to me anyway. It may work great on delrin, and such but the mill itself just doesn't look sturdy enough for steel or cast work on a repeated basis.

The X2 seems to be able to handle it ok, but still I wouldn't want to buy it for machining steel on a regular basis. I see no problem with using a 1.5" flycutter at .005 or maybe a smaller one at .010 though. Also, if you have a good flycutter, make sure your insert(s) are sharp and usable for cast. That makes a big difference in my cuts on the lathe with cast.

[Oldboy]

cjdavis618
Yep I have to agree the Sherline belt looks like a rubber band. It only has two suporting strings embeded inside to hold it together.
Where you using any flood or mist cooling system when you cut the steel?
Im hoping the X2 will cut Cast iron & Steel alot better than a Sherline.
So ANYONE that uses the X2. Hows it cut Cast iron & Steel for you?
Belt or gear drive?

[cjdavis618]

No coolant at all. Maybe a little sweat though. It was the middle of summer.

I have my system set up in mill mode right now. I'll get out there tomorrow and do some testing on steel with the fly cutter. I do not have any cast to try though.

I know the metal gears will not be prone to failure, but I believe the added speed and decreased noise level are the major selling point for the belt. Plus, with Hoss's new pulley design, the mill can reach 6k rpm. I still think that is the way to go.

[Oldboy]

cjdavis618
That would be very nice. I will look forward to your information.
Let me know what type of Steel? If you can?
Thank YOU!

[maxboostbusa]

my flycutting steel was with an x2 Hoss belt drive conversion. No coolant at all. I have flycut my vise top with it since it sucked and have flycut 1018 and 316 SS. On steel I just use a fairly high RPM ( not so much as to introduce vibrations ) slow feeds and about 15 thou DOC. First attempt with a stock mill yielded 5 pass's on alum. and boom intermediate gear exploded. Ordered a steel intermediate gear so I could finish the job and start on the belt drive. While milling the last part of the conversion which in my case was the mount plate, on the final finish pass a good size piece that came out from cutting the through pocket ( should have cleaned the chips out ) the cutter wedged itself between the stock and the piece completely exploding every gear except the steel intermediate and the metal motor gear. The stock gears are a problem area.

Even though the belts were new from sherline they could have ordered 10,000 at a time and they have been in a warehouse for 5 years, or just a bad batch. I would measure the length and figure out which profile it is and check with McMaster they have alot of oddball stuff.

[Oldboy]

Yes I have read alot about the plastic gears in the X2 are crap.
Most people do seem to go with a belt Mod. Not many try the Metal gears?
I know people Mod there HF lathes with the Metal gears. Why not the Mill?
And 6000 RPM sounds nice. But your HP go's down.
I gess I will have to wait to see how it all works out for HOSS.

[cjdavis618]

Exactly, but in reality if you are using 6k rpm, the material that is being cut is most likely going to be weak and no trouble for the mill.

There is no rule that says the pulley has to be 2 speed. So you could get even more low end torque with a different pulley arrangement, but the current retail design is a very good balance. You have the 1750 and below rpm for slow powerful cuts and then the high speed side for fast light cuts. It is balanced really well. Just as the original gearbox was designed.