Help wanted on building belt grinder

B

Brian G

Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
12
I'm new here and to knifemaking in general. I forged most of my very few knives and I am needing a belt grinder (getting pretty tired of filing). I am planning on building a 1x42 grinder on one end of my bench grinder which has a 1/2 hp 3250 rpm motor using a used cart wheels for drive and contact wheels. Any help is greatly appreciated
 
Welcome to the forums!

Look at the top of your screen. You will see "Makers" there. Click on that and it will take you to the knifemaker's forums. Ask there and you will find your answer grasshopper. :D
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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There are several members here that have made their own and I'm sure one of them will reply, but you may also want to check on ebay. There is a guy there (type in "knife grinder") who is selling plans for 30$. Looks like a pretty nice setup. If you are going to go through the trouble of building a grinder make it a 2x72. You will be much happier with its performance.
Good luck,
Matt Doyle
 
Thanks everybody for all the help. One more question why is 2x72 so much better than a 1x42 or why is it more popular
 
I see now the longer the belt the longer it will last. OK then how about a 1x72? The 1" wide cart wheels much easier to find than the 2" wide variety.
 
thanks eeryone for your help. I' ve sent for a surplus center catalog, and hopefully be on my way to building a 2 hp 2x72 2 wheel grinder:)
 
Choose your wheels carefully! They will be spinning fast and if not properly made and balanced could come apart with disastrous results.I would counsel against cart wheels unless they are sealed bearing units with poly tires . Also, you will find a 1/2HP grinder won't do the job (or even come close) to handling a 2X72 belt.(There are several other technical reasons not to convert a grinder,all have engineering words like side load,torque, and other technosphere words) Most people consider 1HP a bare minimum, 1.5-2HP is a better choice.Consider making a variable speed unit. The best way to go is with a DC unit of a VFD. Second best (and a LOT cheaper) is a three or four step pulley system (like a drill press head has).
 
For drive/idler wheels, seriously consider getting wheel from Rob Frink at Beaumont Metal Works. It's a FEW more bucks, but they are top-notch wheels guaranteed to upt up woith the rigors of being in a grinder. Also, the crown on them will guarantee good belt tracking, which cart wheels may fall short on.

For some other ideas check out my grinder build thread at Don Fogg's forum. Lots of god input from lots of people there.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

-d
 
im working right now on a new belt grinder,its got a 3 inch wide 8 inch dia. contact wheel,3 hp motor the belt it takes are 132 inches long so they should last a lil while,ill post pics when i get it done
 
Many thanks to everyone for all their help. But how would you use one of those 5x2 surplus center wheels for a drive wheel:confused:
 
I'm a techinical bearing rep. and if you let a cart wheel turn at the speeds that a good grinder runs at, you're going to burn the bearings up. This is not a pretty sight, and you will most likely be injured when the rollers lock up at those speeds. The rollers will actually weld to the races, releasing an incredible amount of energy. The bearings in cart wheels are designed to spin at about 5 RPM.

I would suggest that you not cut corners, when building power equipment. It's ok to want to "do it yourself" to save $$$, but risking life and limb isn't worth a few dollars.
 
scottickes said:
I would suggest that you not cut corners, when building power equipment. It's ok to want to "do it yourself" to save $$$, but risking life and limb isn't worth a few dollars.
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Brian,

As Scottickes say's these type of machines are very dangerous, and must command your respect and complete attention when using.

I made my own grinder several years back, a copy of KMG, when it came to drive components (other than the motor) I bit the bullet and gave Rob Frink a call. I explained that I had built a machine similar to his and needed to purchase the wheels and platen assemble. Being the nice guy that he is, Rob understands that a lot of us can't afford to buy his entire machine, and has no problems selling components for it.

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Larry T
 
Thanks everyone,

I planned on using one of those wheels for a drive wheel and one for a tracking wheel by first knocking out the factory roller bearing and replacing it with a water pump bearing or the like and using 2" nylon rollers also with water pump bearings
 
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