Well I just finished chain drive conversion similar to Jerry Brown’s. I also just purchased a Gatton CNC kit, so I am thinking of selling my X-Carve - decisions decisions…
The “test” carve was running at 100 ipm… after it finished I noticed a small skip on the bottom of the S (you can see it in the video). The second “FOR SALE” was running at a much slower 30 ipm (no skips)… I am going to do a few more test today (a few actual projects) and see where the sweet spot is, at least for the wood I mainly use (pine / poplar)… Ill have to check the depth per pass, I think I just used the defaults…
I find it odd that the tensioning of chains is much more forgiving then belts. I only hand tightened these and they seem to work fine, so far at least… I know with belts they can stretch over time and I could never get them perfect… they would be good for a few weeks then seem loose, I would tighten them and then a few projects later they would break… now these wont break… Also I was able to tighten the chains to tight with just finger tightening, One side of the Y axis was binding at first, but just loosening it up made it happy…\
EDIT: The depth per pass was only .028 and plunged rate was 9in
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This is with the g-shield. I haven’t done anything with the pots yet… I literally did this then took the video…
Also I’ll attach the files that were used to build the sprockets…
This upgrade was designed by Richard Moller of shadetreecnc and I had my buddy Juan Lopez, from gcodeonedesign, help cut out the blocks using aluminum…
There is a few things I had to do different here, as the sprocket holder for the xrail was to thick at .500 I had to trim it down to .400. I also used simple eye bolts to attach the chain to the end caps… I did have to drill new holes, but not a big deal…
Yeah I could never get the tension right on the belts… I had a 500mm xcarve to start off with, and it worked fine no belt issues… I went to the 1000mm and have had at least 5 belts break… I know it is my own fault but I could never get it to work right 
This is very nice, there is no doubt from the looks of it that you can go much faster with some tweaks.
I would be totally looking at chains if not my recent luck scoring some CNCrouter parts pinion rack parts.
My Gatton CNC with be lead screws, I just need to decide on the size I want to make it… Go big or go home?
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When I get home, Ill post the parts I ordered from McMaster and Amazon, so anyone else who wants to try this can go down this route…
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Screws are great but sadly limit the size of machine you can build.
Please and thank you! 
I used to think the exact same way, but lately i’ve been changing my mind.
I have my machine for about 2 years, but I still make mistakes from time to time that make my machine do unwanted things.
I then always consider myself lucky I still have the belt, which is the first point of failure, and keeps my machine from harming itself. If I were to use leadscrews of rack/pinion, I wonder how damaged my machine would be when things go wrong, because something’s gotta give.
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I did the first “real” project last night and i am getting some major inconsistent pocket depths… time to troubleshoot…
I think when I put everything back together I didn’t get the carriage completely square… Ill check it out tonight and see if I can fix it… I am pretty sure I have this machine already sold, so I’m not terribly worried about it…
Well after a little trial and error I think I got it… I adjusted the carriage to make sure it was square and slowed the feed rate down… I also switched from a 4 flute spiral to a straight 2 flute… everything seems to be working better… I think I should be able to go faster than 40im though… And this test was in plywood, not the normal maple… so maybe I can still get 40im in harder woods
Did you get a chance to post McMaster and Amazon parts list?
Sorry I haven’t! I will try to get that asap… I think the drawings also have the parts lists…
I think I’m getting the settings dialed back in… first two projects done, well aside from finishing…
Uploading…
Thank you sir. I want to get all the stuff ordered so ill have it ready when my Xmas vacation rolls in…
Ok so i didnt use the Delrin as i had my buddy cut mine from aluminun and I used eye bolts from the HD to secure the chain to the holders… and new holes needed to be drilled… Ill attach photos in a few… I had to grind the eye bolts down just a hair to fit in between the chains…
If the links don’t work, search McMaster Carr for the numbers at the beginning of the text
2737T1 9 Tooth 1/4" Bore For #25 Roller Chain
94803A029 Push Nuts 25 Pack
60425K130-10 10 Tooth 1/4" Bore For #25 Roller Chain Nylon Gear
95648A680 Captive Dowel Pins
8662k41 Material for Idler Blocks .5" x 1" Black Delrin (to make your own sprocket mounts)
Amazon Chain #25 x 10’
Amazon Roller Chain Connector Links
Amazon Chain Breaker
Just make sure when you attach the chain to the ends that everything is in alignment… you dont want the chain bent…