Behold! Kmg arrival, setup, pics!

David Schott

David Schott

Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Messages
3,041
It arrived!

After a few hours of fiddling, screwing, bolting, and adjusting, its all set up!

Its running on one beast of a motor....2hp and almost 40 pounds.

I got really lucky and it doesnt trip my 15 amp breaker even under decent load, so I am lookin' good!

The only problem I am having is what appears to be a slight hop on the back idler. It causes the belt to move side to side maybe 1/16" or less....I am going to play around with it, try to find the dip and see if its the idler itself, in which case Ill just need to even it out. I am thinking its just me mounting it a bit crooked, causing a high spot.

This thing is built like a tank....I couldnt believe how much the crate weighed...it has to be over 125lbs! The 8" contact wheel and spare tooling arm alone must be 20 pounds....It also is amazingly servicable. Looks like I could break it down to its individual components and put it back together within 15 minutes.

I grabbed a piece of scrap and quickly ground on it....holy crap what a difference! I was coming from a 2X42" craftsman that I only now realize ran WAYYY too fast. This thing is like stepping into a rolls royce after driving a crapbox for a few years. I can't wait to try profiling with the contact wheel.

Without further ado.....
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BTW this is an older model. Notice the old style platen. I can see why it was improved! I will be getting the new one for xmas, heh.
 
What a beautiful machine! I sure wish I could justify buying another grinder right now, I'd be all over a new KMG. Congratulations, you're going to find out how much a joy grinding knives can be... :cool: :thumbup:
 
nice!!! I guess you won't be using that desk for your computer anymore eh? ;)

Have you tried the machine with different belts? The "hop" may be coming from the ao you got on it.
 
I tried a few belts, but they were all AO. I have more coming. After spending some time looking at it, I have a bad feeling the drive shaft may have been a fraction bent during shipping. I am going to experiment to try to confirm this, but the drive idler appears to be round and true, but when attached to the drive shaft, I can visibly percieve a dip and high point in its revolution, which to me points to a bent drive shaft. The tracking problem is less than 1/16", and happens about 5x per revolution of the belt, which makes sense. I am going to try to alleviate the problem by either:
1. Crowning the drive idler with tape
2. Raising the low spot with a single patch of tape.

My other option is to take the drive shaft out and confirm for sure it is bend by rolling it on a glass table. Itll only cost me a few bucks to order a new one.

Last night I did some grinding on it, and even with that minor tracking problem, it is leaps and bounds above what I was working with previously. My craftsman tracked worse than this the first day I bought it! I will get more time today.

I can't wait to get home and play!
 
Lets get to grinding. Looks like you are just about ready to go. Put another belt on there before you start messing with the idler pully. That may cure the
problem. Fred
 
Good for you bro!! Just give me a call if you having problems setting it up. And get your Ass down here and I'll give you grinding lessons. :D
I take beer for payment for lessons. HEHEHEHE!!! ;) ;)
 
Better yet, I'll bring a mini keg of becks down, and we can drink it, then make a forge out of it!

Today ill be working on my tracking problem. I am being anal about it. Someone suggested taking a file and crowning the drive idler a tiny bit while it was running. Seems like that would work even with the tiny bend in the sfat since it would act like a lathe. Before I remove any material, I am going to play with electrical tape....
 
David,

It kinda sounds like a traditional case of wobbly belts. Some wobble and some don't...good ones and cheaper imports. A quick check for a wobbly belt is to note if the same spot on the belt moves that same amount for every belt revolution around the machine....or for a wobbly drive wheel ...you'll notice that the belt moves 6X for every rev around the machine since it turns 6x more revs than the belt.

The drive shaft very well could be bent...this was a problem that showed up imediately with this vintage machine (4-5 years ago...?) Only a handful were made before switching from a 5/8 shaft to a 3/4 shaft. The larger shaft uses a larger bearing with a different bolt pattern. So, to change the shaft, you will need to change the bearings, drive wheel, and bearing side plates. Relax.....I wouldn't go through that much work if I were you. If needed...just replace the 5/8 shaft with a new one....I don't have them...or the material.... but a 12" piece of drill rod or TGP shaft from a local industrial supplier will be more than adequate without buying 12 feet. You certainly have some simple options. (this was the one of the basic premises of the KMG design). My shop grinder...the original KMG is nearly identical to yours...and has 20 billion hours on it and I think it runs as smooth today as the first day it was assembled. It has flat faced wheels all around...no crowns and no tape on the wheels. Don't obsess(sp?) too much about a bent shaft...even if severely bent, I doubt that you'll see it at the platen....I'm 99% sure that you are just seeing a classic cased of wobbly belts.

Take you belts off of the machine when your done for the day. The KMG will certainly distort them over night if left under tension. You'll think, WTF...? this thing ran great last night...now it's looks like a snake swimming....


Keep me posted...I'l be glad to help if I can.
 
I just saw IG's post....hmmmm, his machine might be like yours. He bought his a long, long time ago. I can't remember for sure. :confused: I was at his shop about 3 years ago and recall that he did some cool stuff with it.... the memories are kinda fuzzy as there were plenty of cold pops being served at that hammer-in. :)
 
I don't think it is the belts. When i take the belts off and hand move the pulley, I can actually see the rear drive wheel dip a tiny bit, and the belt tracks back and forth 6X per revolution, like you said. I am going to isolate this problem by taking out the drive shaft and checking it.

I also am getting new belts. Maybe you are right and I just happen to have 3-4 belts that wobble.

I think I have lots of options....to be honest im not even sure this tiny wobble would affect my grinding at all. Im sure I will come up with a solution!

I must say, though....I am really impressed with this machine! Amazing little thing. Somewhat scary grinding on a rig that weighs more than you and is much more powerful than you.
 
I'd definitely check the belts. I got some off brand (Awuko or something like that) from Pops and nearly every one of them wiggles like a stripper. If I put on a nice Klingspor or 3m belt, everything is stable as a rock.

Now paint that thing!

Congrats on a great addition to your shop.
 
TikTock said:
I don't think it is the belts. When i take the belts off and hand move the pulley, I can actually see the rear drive wheel dip a tiny bit, and the belt tracks back and forth 6X per revolution, like you said. I am going to isolate this problem by taking out the drive shaft and checking it.

I also am getting new belts. Maybe you are right and I just happen to have 3-4 belts that wobble.

I think I have lots of options....to be honest im not even sure this tiny wobble would affect my grinding at all. Im sure I will come up with a solution!

I must say, though....I am really impressed with this machine! Amazing little thing. Somewhat scary grinding on a rig that weighs more than you and is much more powerful than you.
Click to expand...
Bro!!! Rob's machine has one of the best tracking systems. My KMG is the same. Some of my problem's was just the learning curve. :D
 
You know that stuff that comes off the grinding wheels and belts , a mixture of abrasive grit and metal dust ? Well it has a proper name which I can't remember ever seeing before - SWARF ! Add it to your vocabulary.
 
Were is the handle to press the tracking wheel arm down???? you may not have the belt tight enough??just a thought
 
No handle. Either was removed by first owner or older models didnt have one. I just lean my weight on it and put the belt on. It has plenty of tension. I had to fine turn the belt tension.
 
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