Belt grinder

C

Colby Tucker

Joined
May 22, 2021
Messages
6
I’m getting into bladesmithing and after borrowing a friend’s, I am finding that a belt grinder is incredibly useful and saves a lot of time. I looked at what I researched to be good grinders, and I am too cheap to buy one. I think I can engineer one myself and save some money, and in trying to save money my absolute cheapest way to build it would be to use a gasoline engine I have (18 hp V2 if that helps). Those electric motors are just so expensive, but I know they are the best for the job. Should I suck it up and just buy a grinder that I would not have to diy or do yall think I can make it work with this engine?
 
Well, you wouldn't be grinding in a shop with the gasoline engine. With the cost of gasoline rising and the risk of fire, in addition to the fabrication you would have to do, you would quickly surpass 400 dollars for a 1hp motor with a VFD.

DIY with an electric motor is still a good idea, and it's the way I went, but I wouldn't borrow trouble by using a gasoline engine.
 
If you enjoy building tools, a DIY grinder is a great project. Go with an electric motor and a VFD. I like the plans by B bjansen .

Free 2 x 72 belt grinder plans - 2020 version

Hello, I have been designing and building my own version of a 2x72" belt grinder for a number of years and I made some modifications over the years to where they are now. Recently, a talented CAD user (who was building a grinder off my plans) was courteous enough to model the grinder and each...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
I can't stress enough just how helpful having a VFD is, is it required? No, but once you have one you will wonder how you ever got along without it. Spend the money, I don't think anyone looks back and says "I spent too much on a grinder"...
 
Allow me to agree a VFD might not be required for general grinding (especially profiling), but it's almost is required for serious blade work. I used a 3 pulley setup for 2 or 3 yrs thinking it was all that's needed. Then I built a direct drive VFD grinder and the difference was "daylight 'n dark" difference. Spend the $200 for a 2 hp 3 ph motor and another $100 for a Chinese VFD and wiring. While the Chinese VFD is NEMA1, put a filter over the air inlet to keep the dust out and it will last 4 to 6 yrs just fine. They're really easy to setup with good english written manuals. I've got 4 of these running on different machines: https://www.ebay.com/itm/263200037164
 
Build your own.....its not super hard.

I built this one by Dan Comeau. http://dcknives.blogspot.com/p/2-x-72-belt-grinder.html I got a neighbour to do the bit of welding that was needed. It took a bit to get everything shimmed and lined up but it works great and cost me around $500 total. I bought a vfd off ebay for about $100 and paid less than that for a 2 hp 3 ph motor off craigs.

The next grinder I plan to make is this one. https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/free-2-x-72-belt-grinder-plans-2020-version.1705344/
 
I made the above as well, works fine and used Ameribrade wheels and platen since they are nearby. If nearby you can have my old frame because went full Ameribrade recently.
 
Nah...... Cutting the grass, and making plunge lines sounds like a Blast!!!
 
I'm a beginner with a grinder. Get a vdf with your motor. Absolutely necessary!!!

(I say this as some one with a 3000 rpm motor without VDF, and is kicking my self for not just paying the bit extra for one).

Heat issues are no Bueno when trying to finish a knife after heat treat. You can smoke an edge instantly, and especially smoke a tip while finishing....it is a PIA, even when dipping every pass to cool the blade....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top