# X2 Belt Drive Conversion Question



## Pinresto (Jul 22, 2015)

Hi, 
 Im getting ready to order the mini mill belt drive conversion kit hoping it quiets down my mini mill. Im in the process of setting up my new shop and its right next to the living room. Before I pull the trigger I'd like to hear some opinions on the LMS vs Benchtopprecision belt drive kits. They both look very similar and BTP has a better price. I hear LMS sells a nice kit. Does anyone have any experience with the BTP kit? Does anyone else sell one I should consider? 
 I'd also like to know if anyone has adapted a treadmill motor to the belt drive kit. I have one and it's only slightly bigger than the stock motor. 
Thanks in advance


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## ch2co (Jul 22, 2015)

Tony
What minimill do you have, brand and model? I glanced briefly at the BTP site and their conversion kit costs around $350, whereas 
the LMS unit is around $150 but I don't know if I'm comparing apples to persimmons or not. I do know of several
people that have converted using the LMS kit, and love it. I've had decent luck with my minimill without the 
conversion, but I deal exclusively with aluminum and brass, and have a complete set of the plastic gears should
I ever suffer a breakage. Next to my radial arm saw, drill press, and lathe, I would consider my minimill quiet.

Chuck the grumpy old guy


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## Pinresto (Jul 22, 2015)

ch2co said:


> Tony
> What minimill do you have, brand and model? I glanced briefly at the BTP site and their conversion kit costs around $350, whereas
> the LMS unit is around $150 but I don't know if I'm comparing apples to persimmons or not. I do know of several
> people that have converted using the LMS kit, and love it. I've had decent luck with my minimill without the
> ...


I have the X2D from LMS. The kit I was looking at was $139 from BTP. The kit for $350 is for a different mill. It's a difference of $139(BTP) or $159(lms) and they look about the same.


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## lpeedin (Jul 22, 2015)

After I got the head stock separated from the mill I could definitely feel bad spots when turning the spindle. The bearings Chris sent me were from Japan - they were not difficult at all to change with a press. 



Pinresto said:


> I've wondered if I should track down a higher quality set of bearings for my mill. I'm sure China used the cheapest they could find. I read they were a pain to replace though. I have the same X2D mill as you. I agree that LMS has great customer service. I've bought a few things from them, including my mill, and have had good luck.





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## turnitupper (Jul 22, 2015)

I ordered a belt conversion for my Mini Mill some time back. When it arrived I put it away to install in the future. The VERY next day as I was drilling out a mt4 to mt2 adaptor with a 14mm masonry drill the gears decided to go their seperate ways. Put the belt conversion on (about an hour) and finished the job. Got to have some luck in 60 odd years. The conversion also quietened the mill noise by about half.
John.


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## pebbleworm (Jul 23, 2015)

The benchtoprecision kit uses a set screw to tie the pulley into the spindle- the more expensive littlemachineshop kit uses a key.   Probably not a problem for the work an X-2 will do.  I have the chaeaper kit and it works just fine, and it is more reassuring to hear a belt slip than a gear loosing some teeth.  The belt drive does quiet the machine down a lot.


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## Pinresto (Jul 25, 2015)

pebbleworm said:


> The benchtoprecision kit uses a set screw to tie the pulley into the spindle- the more expensive littlemachineshop kit uses a key.   Probably not a problem for the work an X-2 will do.  I have the chaeaper kit and it works just fine, and it is more reassuring to hear a belt slip than a gear loosing some teeth.  The belt drive does quiet the machine down a lot.



This ^
I did not catch.  It's a good point. I agree it will still work just fine for what I'm doing now.  I went with the LMS kit because in the future I plan on a cnc conversion and it may make a difference then. Thanks for the tip.


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## Zoltan (Jul 28, 2015)

I have the BTP kit, and wish I would have spent the extra money and bought the LMS kit. Aside from key vs. set screw as already mentioned, the BTP kits does not allow you to use the set screw on the threaded collar on top of the spindle. For retention you're supposed to just use Loctite. I ended up modifying it to give me back use of the set screw.


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## Crevice Dog (Jul 30, 2015)

Zoltan said:


> I have the BTP kit, and wish I would have spent the extra money and bought the LMS kit. Aside from key vs. set screw as already mentioned, the BTP kits does not allow you to use the set screw on the threaded collar on top of the spindle. For retention you're supposed to just use Loctite. I ended up modifying it to give me back use of the set screw.



Well, I guess that answers that question of which kit is better. I myself went with the LMS kit. People that have the LMS Spindle Lock Kit installed prior to using LMS belt drive, found out that they can't mount the Spindly Lock Kit back on. In corresponding with Chris Wood of LMS, he told me there is a way to make it work, so if you have one, give him a holler, and he may be able to pass on the info to you. BTW-Chris is a great resource. 

I myself made my own spindle lock kit. It basically is a spring loaded bar that once you take your hand away or relieve any pressure on the spindle, the lock pops out. This in itself is a great reason to get the belt drive kit. After I had installed my belt kit, I left the supplied spindle lock pin in and started it up the mill. OOPS! But nothing was damaged! I think this is the no. 1 reason people shear their plastic gears. It was then I thought I might as well make my lock kit to work with the belt drive.


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## turnitupper (Jul 30, 2015)

Crevice Dog said:


> Well, I guess that answers that question of which kit is better. I myself went with the LMS kit. People that have the LMS Spindle Lock Kit installed prior to using LMS belt drive, found out that they can't mount the Spindly Lock Kit back on. In corresponding with Chris Wood of LMS, he told me there is a way to make it work, so if you have one, give him a holler, and he may be able to pass on the info to you. BTW-Chris is a great resource.
> 
> I myself made my own spindle lock kit. It basically is a spring loaded bar that once you take your hand away or relieve any pressure on the spindle, the lock pops out. This in itself is a great reason to get the belt drive kit. After I had installed my belt kit, I left the supplied spindle lock pin in and started it up the mill. OOPS! But nothing was damaged! I think this is the no. 1 reason people shear their plastic gears. It was then I thought I might as well make my lock kit to work with the belt drive.


The number one reason why people shear their plastic gears in my opinion is that the plastic gears are under engineered for the mills capability, not from leaving the lock pin in. I know,  I have left the lock pin in and started the mill but it just stalled the mill and never broke the gears probably due to low starting torque. 
John.


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## Zoltan (Jul 30, 2015)

Go with a ER25 or ER32 system and forget about the spindle lock.


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