Home made grinder platen question

P

PaMtnBkr

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Dec 31, 2009
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I made my own 2x72 grinder from cut-off scraps here at work and it is under powered at only 3/4 HP 1750 RPM BUT since I am running a really small drive wheel (2" Dia) , it has decent torque and I make mistakes slower this way! I made my platen holder out of 2x2x.25 Angle and mounted a .25 thick SS face to it as the actual contact surface for the belt. Well it's worn a groove into the SS after a year of use so I am thinking of making a face out of .125 thick x2" 1095 that will be heat treated but NOT tempered or tempered at a lower temp to preserve some hardness. Maybe 300 degrees for an hour? I don't make a lot of knives but I am hoping making my own hardened platen surface will last a bit longer than my SS ones? Any reason not to do this? I know I can get pyroceram glass instead but I like making stuff. Thanks for any feedback? don
 
I don't see anything wrong with that. All platens will wear eventually. I would add that I think an angle iron platen can put you at a disadvantage. I made my platen so that I can access the back of it from both sides. I often put my thumb on the blade and wrap my fingers around to the back of the platen to maximize control while grinding.

Bob
 
Chances are there would be some truing up and cleaning up needed after heat treating eighth inch 1095. May not be the easiest thing to do, where the high heat glass might get you up and running quicker. There can be advantages to platens that are thicker and made from air hardening steel.
 
Id go with the pyrcoceram glass personally. It outlasts even hardened a2 quite well. Also, really use your contact wheels to rough profile, then clean up on platen. I have found that works 10x better, and your platen lasts quite a bit longer.
 
Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback! I have the ability to shoot studs on my wear plates so my angle is only to secure the wear plate to it. Ceramic glass in the future will be on it but for now I'll use some heat treated 1095 and clean after HT. It'll also give me a chance to work on my HT skills as well! BTW-Ranger Bob, great idea to help control the blade during grinding!
 
If you make your Platen fairly easy to remove you can true it up on a 6 x 48" or any other flat sander. Thats what I do with the platen from my hardcore 2 x 72 when I get divits in the center. There are ceramic belts available for 6 x 48 machines and a few others.
 
Also check if your using angle iron as a support for the platen most angle iron is not square. I have found some old stock to be square others I square up on my surface grinder .

Jim
 
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