Drive Wheels on a Wilton Belt Grinder???

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
I have decided that all you stinkin know it alls are right, variable speed is better. Unfortunately, theres not a chance in he-double candlesticks of me being able to buy a dc motor and control outfit to convert to variable speed. So, I am thinking of making myself some different size drive wheels for my Wilton. Has anyone tried this?? What sizes would be best to achieve the speeds I would need? Will changing the wheels out alot cause undue wear and tear on the motor? Should I even consider this?? Thanks in advance for any input!! Take care! Michael

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"Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!"
 
i'm doing that very same thing to my bandsaw, it's a wood working one, i'll fix that. i put a 1:20 speed rducer on the motor with two knew pulleys. next i'm gonna make it so i can sitch from wood to metal by putting two motors on it. the one stays, and i'm gonna put another on the bottom shelf of it, with a set of pulleys, just when i want to work wood, put the belt for wood on, when working metal put the metal belt on, just make sure i'm gonna switch the correct power switch.
 
have a square wheel....thats what you mean by wilton right? you will have big problems with trying to get the belt tight if you use a smaller or larger drive wheel....have a hard time imagining what you want to do..one thing you could do is buy a slower motor with a 1/2 speed switch on it..they are pretty common...although the half speed is half power too.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Tom, thanks for the input, but I had a brainstorm today!! I'll let everyone know if this works out. If it does, we're gonna take alot of business away from commercial grinder makers!!!!! WooooooooHoooooooo!!!!!!

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"Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!"
 
L-6,
Easy fix, if not a cheap one. Before Koval started selling the slow down drive wheels for the Wilton I went to the scrap yard, found a 2" thick chunk of aluminum, and had a local machine shop turn out a 7 1/4" wheel. It cut the SFPM nearly by half. The cost was $95. It will also save you a ton in belt costs, as the slower SFPM increases their life. The only modification I made was to move the attachment holder assembly forward, by drilling and tapping another hole in the frame. (this gave the same range of belt tension as with the origonal drive wheel. The slower speed makes for better grinds on your blades too! When I first started using mine with the factory drive wheel I was nearly cutting blades in half when I made a bobble during grinding. I've been at this for 15 years and have threatened to buy a varible many times, maybe someday I'll get brave enough to beg the Mrs. for one! Take Care!!
http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey

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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"


 
well after i got my new computer i decided it was the season to spend some money and ordered a hard core..sold by tru grit..they have a website at "hardcore-products.com" make sure you put the hyphen in there or you might get something that isnt g rated. not cheap...but a super machince..saw one at the vegas classic two years ago...designed by my good friend randy phillips....

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
wow, sounds good to me, i think you should buy it. i heard it's amazingly quiet too. it was on sale a while back, just couldn't get the funds :-(
 
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