Home built belt grinder

Z

zooker89

Joined
Sep 15, 2014
Messages
76
I rarely like to just buy something to try something out and as you all know a 2 x 72 belt grinder is not inexpensive. I watched a million videos and came across a guy from Canada that developed some plans for a grinder built from wood. If you search 2 x 72 belt grinder on youtube you will find him. I purchased his plans and directed them to modify to my own taste. His plans utilized MDF for all the wheels and I wanted a little more precision from mine so I purchased a drive wheel and tension wheel from Beaumont Metal Works. My wheels for the flat platen are longboard skateboard wheels. Since I had to buy four I made a second attachment for a slack belt. I got a decent 1 HP motor from a friend running three step pulleys and added a switch and a rolling cart under it. The photos here are of it raw wood. once it gets above 15 degrees in my shop I will paint it with a decent paint to prevent movement and hopefully "fire" proof it. Having used it for a little bit, I will say it is smooth as silk and sturdy, but having said that if the bug really bites me I will be getting a KMG. I only have about $350 into this one including an assortment of belts, so it doesn't owe me much. I would be happy to share any information and get detailed photos for anyone who is interested.
 
Outstanding ;0)

You better hose that lower box down with a squirt bottle before you turn out the lights for the night, or you might wake up to a pile of ashes
 
John Katt said:
Outstanding ;0)

You better hose that lower box down with a squirt bottle before you turn out the lights for the night, or you might wake up to a pile of ashes
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Ha! That was the first thing I thought when I saw it. I am actually making "mudflaps" out of layers os spaced sheet metal to deflect the sparks to a water bucket.
 
It does look well built, and may be suitable for the lightest of grinding.

I agree that the potential for combustion is high though, particularly when hogging materials.

I'd be very cautious when shutting down the shop and leaving the grinding area.

The work rest and backstop would be burning during a lot of operations that I perform.

Mike L.
 
logem said:
It does look well built, and may be suitable for the lightest of grinding.

I agree that the potential for combustion is high though, particularly when hogging materials.

I'd be very cautious when shutting down the shop and leaving the grinding area.

The work rest and backstop would be burning during a lot of operations that I perform.

Mike L.
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As I said, if I get seriously into this I will get a purpose built machine. In the mean time I am certain I will take the precautions not to burn my shop down. Thanks for the concern though.
 
I was wondering if this would pop up here. I have been looking at it for awhile. I have been thinking about making one so I could just leave it set up for slack belt sanding handles with a 120 J flex. I think once sealed with a good paint it would be pretty safe. Have you done any hard grinding with it yet? Of the $360 how much of that was the wheels? Thanks.
 
trentu said:
I was wondering if this would pop up here. I have been looking at it for awhile. I have been thinking about making one so I could just leave it set up for slack belt sanding handles with a 120 J flex. I think once sealed with a good paint it would be pretty safe. Have you done any hard grinding with it yet? Of the $360 how much of that was the wheels? Thanks.
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Good morning, While I haven't made anything with it yet I took an old annealed file and ran it pretty hard grinding off about 3/4" without stopping and it seemed to take it well. Without heat in my shop and below zero temps expected for the next week or so, it will be a while before I get back to it. The cost for the wheels was right around $150 for all of them. I paid $40 for the motor and the rest of the cost was bearings, shaft material and misc. hardware needed to complete. I bought all my bearings from McMaster Carr, but if I took my time I probably could have picked them up locally for less. Most of the plywood I had lying around from cabinet projects. If you choose to build one, the quality of the plywood will be very important for the strength of your machine. I used cabinet grade maple and birch for mine.

The plans are well put together and easy to follow. One of my modifications was adding a pillow block for the drive wheel shaft (you can get decent ones from Beaumont).
 
Consider aluminum for the body of the grinder. Aluminum is easy to work with, takes almost no sawing, with only only metal work being drilling 'n tapping holes. Total cost of aluminum with 80% of it cut to size is less than $150 shipped. Add a few bucks for making your own drive wheel if you have access to a lathe.

Ken H>
 
I had wondered if this would work. Looks like it does. I bet the MDF wheels work fine too and that would bring the cost down.

To fireproof it I would get some roofing flashing from Home Depot and armor the belt-facing surfaces.
 
Ken H> said:
Consider aluminum for the body of the grinder. Aluminum is easy to work with, takes almost no sawing, with only only metal work being drilling 'n tapping holes. Total cost of aluminum with 80% of it cut to size is less than $150 shipped. Add a few bucks for making your own drive wheel if you have access to a lathe.

Ken H>
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After I play with this for a while I will probably move to aluminum for a permanent tool. I have all the plywood I need to work out the kinks and tweak the design. Since I already have the shafts, bearings and wheels, I think I will have a solid machine for just about 500 bucks, well probably more when I make the large contact wheel.
 
Justin King said:
Nice, I really like the idea with the long board wheels: Did you use skate bearings too?
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I've been using long board wheels for a yr or so now - they seem to work just fine for hobby use. Yes, I used the skateboard bearings.

Ken H>
 
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