Building contact wheels

T

T. Hendrickson

Joined
Sep 18, 2003
Messages
138
Yes, I'm sure it can be very dangerous.

Has anyone done? Is it worth it?

The'yre just so expensive. I would like a 12" wheel but don't want to fork over 300 bones.

It would be great to hear of anyones experiences, successes or failures with it.

Thank you
 
I made my idler wheels and my tracking wheel out of laminated wood. have been running them for nearly a year with out a problem. I have seen an other thread where nearly the complete grinder was made of wood. To include a plywood contact wheel. I intend to make a 14" contact wheel of laminated plywood.
 
My very first grinder was one that I created myself, with lawn mower wheels for contact wheels, later I tried wood contact wheels, and even old caster wheels that a scrounged up in a junkyard. Nothing ever improved my grinding and my knives more than a REAL rubber contact wheel.

Contact wheels are just like the top end grinders.....your paying for the precision, and that precision translates into better and easier grinding, which makes for a better end product (in this case a knife). You can get by with just about anything, but your finished knives will show the difference.
 
Here is a thought. In one of Wayne Goddard's books he shows where he makes fixtures that clamp to the flat platen that are radiuses made from plywood and covered I think in graphite tape or neoprene, I can't remember which. You could make several different sizes for hardly any cost.
 
i would think a wooden contact wheel would tend to warp with a change in the weather. you can make one with two aluminum plates and a ring cut from a piece of aluminum pipe the diameter you want the wheel to be. you can then cover it with a couple pieces of inner tube. this would work better and not change. plus fitting bearings inside would be easy.
 
richard j said:
i would think a wooden contact wheel would tend to warp with a change in the weather. you can make one with two aluminum plates and a ring cut from a piece of aluminum pipe the diameter you want the wheel to be. you can then cover it with a couple pieces of inner tube. this would work better and not change. plus fitting bearings inside would be easy.
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or if you could find some 2" rubber and use the two plates to keep it straight with a tube holding them apart. Just an idea.
 
with 2" rubber you could get by with 1/8" plate glued to the sides for stability. you would need to have the plates an inch smaller so there would be some give in the wheel.
 
Here's my rig... Built everything myself. Bought the motors at yard sales, steel at the steel yard, wood at Lowes, made the pillow blocks from aluminum out of the scrap bin at work, bearings from Ebay, on the back is a vaccuum blower from a home furnace also from a yard sale, A/C ducting from Lowes...
I have less than $250 in everything you see as best as I can remember, I didn't keep reciepts.
 

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I built my 14" wheel out of MDF, it's stable doesn't warp. I glued up the stock with gorrilla glue.
I bored the center hole with a forsnter bit, and mounted the wheel on the shaft and turned it true

I attached the 90 duro neoprene with Barge cement from tandy leather, and glued with the seam with loctite super glue, ( they use super glue to make up custom o-rings.
Its worked a treat for about 6 years now..
If care is taken at each step , you will have a quality wheel.
The "old timey" makers favored walnut for polishing wheels.
I figured they could I could too
 
I am not so sure that I'd want to actually build a wheel, as these are not tested and could explode at full grinder speeds. These pose the same safety concerns as any homemade device used with power tools.

However, the hard rubber tires used on machines such as lawnmores, small trailers, and such, could make a pretty good contact wheel. If they are made to roll on the ground these should roll just as well as a contact wheel.
 
Sweet rig, Michael! I love that thing. Any input on how you built them there contact wheels? looks like you didn't even put any rubber on them, or is it just the photo.

Sweany, this is very similar to what I had in mind. a couple questions: when you trued up the wheel, did you just put it in the grinder, and use a file on the back side, or what? and one more thing, where did you get the neoprene to wrap it with?

Thanks!
 
I sharpened a file to turn the wheel, use it like a wood lathe tool, some kinda steady rest is needed. and yes from the back side of the wheel.

I like this wheel better lawnmower wheels, much smoother. Most lawn mower and castor wheels leave a lot to be desired, as far as round goes

you can get the neoprene from most gasket companies, there are a plethora of them here in Tulsa.

If you go to the trouble of building one out pipe and aluminum sheet, you'd be money ahead to by one. IMO

anyhow works for me
 
T. Hendrickson said:
Sweet rig, Michael! I love that thing. Any input on how you built them there contact wheels? looks like you didn't even put any rubber on them, or is it just the photo.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

3 pieces of 3/4" plywood and one piece of 1/4" ply all glued together... nuttin fancy, bare wood. I put 'em in a lathe and turned 'em quite true...
 
mykulmorris said:
Here's my rig... Built everything myself. Bought the motors at yard sales, steel at the steel yard, wood at Lowes, made the pillow blocks from aluminum out of the scrap bin at work, bearings from Ebay, on the back is a vaccuum blower from a home furnace also from a yard sale, A/C ducting from Lowes...
I have less than $250 in everything you see as best as I can remember, I didn't keep reciepts.
Click to expand...

Now that is what I call ingenuity. I believe I will borrow some of those ideas.

Nice work.
 
mykulmorris said:
Here's my rig... Built everything myself. Bought the motors at yard sales, steel at the steel yard, wood at Lowes, made the pillow blocks from aluminum out of the scrap bin at work, bearings from Ebay, on the back is a vaccuum blower from a home furnace also from a yard sale, A/C ducting from Lowes...
I have less than $250 in everything you see as best as I can remember, I didn't keep reciepts.
Click to expand...


And you do some fine grinds I might add,so a high dollar grinder can't replace talent:thumbup:Regards Butch
 
Ron, I do have a 8" wheel from sunray. its a nice wheel, and inexpensive. However, if you want one any bigger than 8", the price triples! This is because you ahve to have it custom made. So thats why I thought id try making one.
 
mykulmorris said:
Here's my rig... Built everything myself. Bought the motors at yard sales, steel at the steel yard, wood at Lowes, made the pillow blocks from aluminum out of the scrap bin at work, bearings from Ebay, on the back is a vaccuum blower from a home furnace also from a yard sale, A/C ducting from Lowes...
I have less than $250 in everything you see as best as I can remember, I didn't keep reciepts.
Click to expand...

Michael can you give us some more information on your home built grinders.

Motor speeds, wheel sizes. etc.

Thanks
 
melsdad said:
Michael can you give us some more information on your home built grinders.

Motor speeds, wheel sizes. etc.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I second that motion. They look really sweet. I would like to see more photos, especially close up shots of things like the tension adjustment, tracking adjustment, etc.

- Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
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