Idlers - would these work?

T

ThirdEdge97

Joined
Feb 8, 2013
Messages
105
I'm building a belt grinder and trying to be on the cheap, not sacrificing quality though...
I've built the whole thing with scrap metal around the shop, got 75% done but basically being held up by not having the idlers

I don't want to shell out $30 or $60 for one wheel that I could spend under $60 for 3

Here's what I found:
wheel-ca.jpg


3-1/4" Wheel x 2" Wide x 1/2" Bore Size BB (Ball bearing)

http://thecasterguy.com/wheels-steel-c-2_243/3-1-4-wheel-x-2-wide-x-1-2-bore-size-bb-p-2604

I got a shipping estimate and its a little over $24, I don't want to spend that much for shipping and find out they won't work because, obviously they can't refund shipping if I sent them back
Then it would cost me probably another $24 to send em back

I respect your guys opinions, so this is why I'm asking: do these look like they would work?
If the bearings are crap i'll replace them.

Thinking of crowning them with electrical tape, I'm doubting they are crowned

At $10 a piece they look quality to me
 
Last edited:
They look like they could work. It is not essential that idlers be crowned. People have used casters, even plastic ones or skateboard wheels in the past.
 
Ernestrome, I've heard of people using skateboard wheels before
I actually thought about it, but figured the longevity of them would be lesser than metal casters

In the first post I meant to ask about the diameter, is 3" 1/4 to much?

I know I can get them to work with my platen and idler, is bigger better?


I'll try to post pictures of the build once I get back to my shop.
 
Last edited:
ThirdEdge97 said:
Ernestrome, I've heard of people using skateboard wheels before
I actually thought about it, but figured the longevity of them would be lesser than metal casters

In the first post I meant to ask about the diameter, is 3" 1/4 to much?

I know I can get them to work with my platen and idler, is bigger better?


I'll try to post pictures of the build once I get back to my shop.
Click to expand...

I think it is fine. All the wheels on my craftsman grinder are 3 3/8".
 
I( think they look good. I have 3 1/2 - 4' ideler on my 2 X 72. Use masking tape to crown. It will last for years. Frank
 
Those castors are rough cast and the bearings are really cheap rollers.

They are fine for running at the 10 or 20 rpm when they are castors


On a grinder, they will be running 6,000 to 7,000 rpm

On that sort of thing, good bearings and balancing are very important.


If you are doing a build and gotten most of your raw material at no cost, I'd count that as good

and don't fret on the price to use good wheels.


If you buy those and find they were no good, you will at least lose shipping both ways if you can return them.


You can order them from Sunray or KnifemakerUSA
 
Last edited:
I'm with The Count.

Those are low speed casters. Great for rolling a cart across the floor.....terrible for running on a grinder. I doubt they would last as long as one belt does.

There are some things that are worth spending the money for...proper wheels on a grinder are one of them.
 
Exactly this. I have built mean grinders an I can tell you at the very least you will have to up grade the bearing but mor then like you would have to balance them as well. I would look at Chris Williams PVC wheels if I was on a budget. I think you could have your 3 wheels for around $110.

Brett

12345678910 said:
Those castors are rough cast and the bearings are really cheap rollers.

They are fine for running at the 10 or 20 rpm when they are castors


On a grinder, they will be running 6,000 to 7,000 rpm

On that sort of thing, good bearings and balancing are very important.


If you are doing a build and gotten most of your raw material at no cost, I'd count that as a blessing

and don't fret on the price to use good wheels.


If you buy those and find they were no good, you will at least lose shipping both ways if you can return them.


You can order them from Sunray or KnifemakerUSA
Click to expand...
 
I don't see why longboard wheels wouldn't work. Im a longboarder and the Duro on most of my wheels is 80-86A which is actually harder than the rubberized contact wheels Beaumont sells. Also they can handle the speeds of a grinder and last for months and months while rolling over asphalt. You could try to buy a set (4 pack) Of cheap hi duro center set wheels and give it a try.
 
ThirdEdge97 said:
I've heard of people using skateboard wheels before
I actually thought about it, but figured the longevity of them would be lesser than metal casters

In the first post I meant to ask about the diameter, is 3" 1/4 to much?

I know I can get them to work with my platen and idler, is bigger better?
Click to expand...



I missed this in my answer above

Yes bigger is better.

The speed of the wheels is a ratio of the drive wheel to that idler.

A 2" idler in relation to a 6" drive wheel means the idler is running 3 X the motor speed

The aluminum core of the Beaumont and Sunray wheels means there is more mass to pull heat away from the bearings.

I've never tried skateboard wheels, just not famalier with them.
Maybe they would work, but the smaller size and plastic core means I prefer the al core wheels.
 
Hi ThirdEgde, I am just about finished with my NWG belt grinder and I did a lot of searching for cheap idlers for a loong time until I came across a thread on british blades that was called "Bashups Grinder Build" (if you google bashups grinder you'll find links to it). Although the thread no longer has any of the pictures anymore I still read through it and found that he had used "Abec 11 Grippins" long board wheels for his grinder.

So not too long ago I decided to email him and ask him hw they worked since the thread was posted years ago, and he replied saying that they works great! I told him I just wanted to get my grinder up and running then sometime in the future I'd upgrade to normal idlers, and he told me that there's no reason to upgrade because they work so well and also make very good contact wheels.

So anyway I ordered a set of 4 off of ebay for like $40 and they also came with bearings and have just now attatched them to my NWG. I don't have the motor wired yet but I have been spinning the belt by hand and they are tracking great and look and feel like they belong there :cool:

Also, longboard wheels are made from polyurathane which is what they make "normal idlers from as well that tons of people use, and they had different durometers from you to choose from, mine are 78a and are 70mm in diameter and pretty much exactly 2" wide. Another good thing is that these wheels and bearings are meant to go fast and work under rough and heavy loads, so they are ground nice and precisely and spin very smoothly. That's my 2 cents ;)

Here are some pictures I just took on the wheels and my grinder that might help ya out.

DSCF9303_zpsaf3147e3.jpg


DSCF9320_zps332f2707.jpg


DSCF9322_zpsd627b950.jpg


DSCF9331_zps596aeb40.jpg


DSCF9306_zps7b3e1ee7.jpg


Hope this helps :) -Paul



my channel www.youtube.com/Lsubslimed
 
Last edited:
coldsteelburns said:
"Abec 11 Grippins" long board wheels for his grinder.

So anyway I ordered a set of 4 off of ebay for like $40 and they also came with bearings and have just now attached them to my NWG.
Click to expand...


Can you read the part number on the bearing ?

I'm curious what the bearing dimensions are, inch or metric
 
I had roller blade wheels on my first Pheer grinder. The wheel were out of balance, the bearings wore out after grinding about 8 knives, and the belt would not track. Jose finally replaced them with aluminum wheels made for a grinder, at cost. He, now, only supplies aluminum wheels made for grinders. Good luck if you decide to use the longboard wheels.
Tim
 
I do know about skateboards and longboard wheels, duro meter and such

I also have a longboard I don't use and I mite use the wheels from it
 
12345678910 said:
Can you read the part number on the bearing ?

I'm curious what the bearing dimensions are, inch or metric
Click to expand...


Hey, I dont think the bearings have the dimensions on them, I do know that they are the same as all standard skateboard and longboard wheels (which use the same size bearings) and also that the inside diameter is 5/16" (which are the size bolts that I used and that are on skateboard trucks (axles). They do have bearings that are better than others such as, abec 7's abec 9's etc, the higher the number, the better the quality. Don't get the word "abec" confused with the name of the longboard wheels I used (Abec 11 grippins) cause that just happens to be a certain brand name of a wheel manufacturer. They sell some other wheels like Abec 11 Gumballs for example etc etc. But abec is a rating system for skateboard & longboard wheels. Hope that this helps and isn't too confusing :) -Paul
 
Last edited:
tim37a said:
I had roller blade wheels on my first Pheer grinder. The wheel were out of balance, the bearings wore out after grinding about 8 knives, and the belt would not track. Jose finally replaced them with aluminum wheels made for a grinder, at cost. He, now, only supplies aluminum wheels made for grinders. Good luck if you decide to use the longboard wheels.
Tim
Click to expand...

Hi Tim :) I don't know of any roller blade wheels that are wide enough to use for a belt grinder. However, before I bought my Abec 11 Grippins longboard wheels I bought another brand of longboard wheels called "Tierney Rides" wheels. I bought those because I saw that they were used on alot of the pheer grinders (which was the only grinder I could find after scouring the net that used longboard wheels for idlers).. When I got them they were horribly off balance and wobbled like crazy, I actually contacted (I forget his name) the guy from pheer grinders via youtube and told him that I bought the same wheels he had been using and asked if he somehow balanced them with a lathe etc. He told me that If i used a belt sander and put the wheel on the belt at a 45 degree angle while on an axle etc. that they would be ground flat. I tried that and a bunch of other ways to try to flatten them but never succeeded. So after a lot more research for cheaper idlers I ended up finding "Bashups" thread on british blades and emailed him about his experience with them which was great and settled for the Abec 11 Grippins he had used which are very, very smooth rolling and flat.

Here is a link showing the Q's I asked pheer on youtube and the answer he gave. btw, in that specific video, the wheels on his grinder are the Tierner Rides ones that I tried, so you can see if they are the same ones that you had a bad experience with on your grinder :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRc90OhyEKc my username is Lsubslimed and his reply to my questions is the comment at the very top. Thanks -Paul

my channel www.youtube.com/Lsubslimed
 
Hi Paul,
Actually, I have no idea what kind of wheels Jose used. It was one of his very early grinders and he was still modifying things as he went along. I finally took the grinder back to him and he installed the aluminum wheels which are made for grinders. Good luck with the Abec 11 Grippins.
Tim
 
I see nothing wrong with quality longboard wheels, either. They are designed for serious abuse.

Yes, those wheels will likely need to be balanced. Some casters are better than others, even from the same batch, but most will bump when you run them. The boss where the grease zerk fits often ruins the balance, those ones look big and would probably need to be removed as much as possible. I've used a mill to get in there where the lathe couldn't.
I really doubt they will work well enough without modification, and if you are having to use machine tools to true them, why not build your own idlers. Having these balanced would negate any original price incentive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top