A Griz 0704 on its way to be delivered Thursday and am thinking about mods. I hate gear drive noise (as in the mini-mill I had!) and when I read the cost of replacement gears I realized that I really need a belt drive. It amazes me that it wasn't built with a belt drive given all the conversions I read about for the mini-mills but maybe they don't use belts in China
I'm not a machine builder, rather a machine user (retired machinist) for my model train hobby so I don't want to spend many building a belt drive If I can buy one reasonably . Can anyone point me toward a US made belt drive kit or some drawings for a simple drive with purchased pulleys or cog wheels/cog belt? I am aware of Hoss CD.
In the sales page for the G 0704 I noticed an expensive spindle brake. I would appreciate any opinions on it. I might be able to build it if I have a better picture since it appears to be fairly simple and straight forward to make.
The goal is to get this machine up and running reliably and maybe eventually convert to CNC if desired.
J