belt grinders

[allan lanigan]

what are the pros and cons of a direct drive
contact wheel verses a rear drive wheel

------------------
allan lanigan

 

[rfrink]

I have a few thoughts about this.

One of the biggest considerations is safety. If you break a belt while grinding:.... on the driven contact wheel, you have the risk of jamming the workpiece into the soft tire underpower, or the belt wrapping up in the wheel and your hands under power. On the rear drive with a coasting contact wheel, you just have the inertia of the contact wheel as the only source of energy which can harm you.

You may have more options for wheel size on the rear drive. For example, if the driven contact wheel has a 3" drive pulley, then you may be limited to the practical size contact wheel before the drive pulley gets in the way....say 3''.

That's about all I can think of.... basically all of the pros and cons can be debated with very good points.

The fact is that there are several great grinders on the market that come in both designs. The HardCore, coote, grizzly, and burr kings are some that are driven. The Baders, Wilton's square wheel and my KMG-1s are some that are rear drive with a coasting contact wheel.

I hope the info helps.

Sincerely,
Rob

 

[C L Wilkins]

After living with a two wheel design grinder, this is a brief summary.

Pro's:
1. Extremely smooth, no vibration whatsoever. Smoothest grinder on the market, bar none.

2. Inherently superb tracking but..............

Con's:

1. Setup time when changing from flat grinding to hollow grinding or vise versa is a nuisance. Takes WAAAAAAAAY too long.

a. If the flat platen assy is installed and you want to change over to a 10 inch contact wheel, the idler wheel must be changed out as well. If going to an 8 inch wheel then this is not an issue.


2. When the flat platen assy is installed, so is a 4 inch drive wheel. Belt speed is drastically reduced, taking longer to grind. This is not an issue on a "three wheel" design grinder, the belt speed remains constant (very important).

I am still very satisfied with the machine I have but my next machine will more than likely be of the three wheel design or a home built of a similar design.