Contact wheel problem

mknife

mknife

Joined
Jul 3, 2006
Messages
585
I bought a contact wheel, I started using it but during the grinding I felt that the blade on one side of the belt was jumping. I thought there was some problem in the belt or the bearings, but then looking carefully at the outer surface of the rubber I realized that where it comes into contact with the belt on one side there is a small depression in the rubber. In the shop I have a small lathe, the contact wheel is only 6" so I would like to turn the rubber and eliminate the depression (about 0.04" deep). Any of you have any ideas about it? have you ever turned a contact wheel and if so what method did you use?
If I do it with the lathe which tool should I use?
Thanks for your tips.
 
Who makes the contact wheel? Is it poly or vulcanized rubber?

you can turn rubber, I’ve heard from George at Northridge that trying to turn poly can wreck your lathe.

we have turned some rubbers at my day job(cnc machine shop) used an abrasive wheel on an angle grinder while the wheel is turning. Also used a razor blade. I wouldn’t recommend either of those methods tho. A good sharp file and run the belt off the wheel about half way then so the other side. Could make a dovetail type jig for your work rest and using a sharp insert could do similar to the file one side then the other
 
I saw where a chap put a 8" wheel and the 10" wheel he wanted to sand together on a longer shaft bolt. He ran the belt on the smaller wheel and sanded the now spinning 10" wheel with a wooden block wrapped in sandpaper resting on the work rest.
 
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I do that on lathe several time on wheels i found in scrap yards for my grinders.Just freeze it well before you put it in lathe .I have no idea what shore hardness mine are .
 
The contact wheel is made of vulcanized rubber with a hardness of 70 shore, the point is to make the wheel turn and have the entire external surface free. In this way it is possible to use sandpaper glued to a flat and rigid surface in order to eliminate the rubber evenly on both sides and in the center.
The solution proposed by Stacy could be the one to follow ... even if the one on the lathe seems to me the most accurate.

Thanks for your suggestions!
 
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