contact wheels

W

walter will

Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
21
I am wanting to build a belt sander.I seen somewere on a website where someone used a garden cart wheel for a contact wheel,but i cant find it again.Has anyone else seen this or could you give me some ideas.Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,Walter
 
I'll post my thoughts on this subject.

Do you want something 16 inches from your face, spinning at 5000 SFM that was made to slowly roll along a dirt path? These wheels are cheap because they don't need to be precision made. I would never use a grinder that had one on it. I know a bunch of folks have done it......but a lot of folks will drive home drunk this Christmas. Just because many will arrive safe, doesn't mean that some wont get killed.

My thought is that there are places where you don't economize. High power tools is one of them.
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
I'll post my thoughts on this subject.

Do you want something 16 inches from your face, spinning at 5000 SFM that was made to slowly roll along a dirt path? These wheels are cheap because they don't need to be precision made. I would never use a grinder that had one on it. I know a bunch of folks have done it......but a lot of folks will drive home drunk this Christmas. Just because many will arrive safe, doesn't mean that some wont get killed.

My thought is that there are places where you don't economize. High power tools is one of them.
Stacy
Click to expand...

Yep I agree
Dont waste your time with low grade wheels. Keep looking, you will find the real thing or at least some that will take the load and speeds required.
 
Hey Stacy thanks for your thoughts,Bruce thanks for the advice,hey Stacy i dont drink,but i did have a very close first cousin that was killed on christmas eve 1990 by a drunk driver. I do hope all arrives safe this christmas as well as every day.Thanks for the advice,have a marry christmas.
 
walter, i made my own contact wheel by using an old electric motor armature. i had to machine new shafts to fit the bearings but it works. you just need to find the right size motor and i'm sure somewere there is a place that has old motors or repairs them.
 
use some old innertube to cover the drive wheel. it wont hurt if its slightly narrower than 2" which will help with belt tracking. i can send you picks of my belt sander if you wish to see how i made mine. you will need a mill and a lathe to make the bases.
 
Walter, you can order a 10" wheel from Grizzly for $70. It doesn't have a bearing and it's not the cheapest solution out there, but it is the cheapest professionally made contact wheel I know of. It's worth looking into, the motor and wheel are probably the most expensive investments in a grinder.
 
I got a 10" grizzly wheel from one of the members here and chucked it up in my lathe and turned the center hole to accept a couple R8-2s bearings and mounted it on an arm. Works good, except I am mostly a flat grinder so it mostly hangs there on the wall, waiting for me to learn hollow grinds.
 
i got my contact wheels from tmickley. my 8" wheel was like 230.00 kinda pricy but the best. you can build the grinder but dont risk your life with homemade wheels. use quality wheels
 
Richard,i appreciate the help,i would like to know how you made yours.If you need my email address it is walterwill3@yahoo.com thanks for any help.

Hey JT and AcridSaint thanks for the advice i want to be safe but money is short with kids and christmas.
 
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