i'm hellbent on building my own...need to clear some things up though...

S

SkaerE

Joined
Sep 9, 2001
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anyhow, since cash flow for knife making is minimal now, ive decided to construct my own 2x72'' grinder. hopefully the picture i sketched out will be attached.

i would like to know if this seems like an acceptable design. any major problems w/it?

also, what size pulleys to use for the drive, idlers, and main grinding wheel.

thanks
 
grinder3.jpg


maybe this will work?
the kinda hatched/dashed part is suppose to be the belt.

couple questions:
1.)can the tension idler also be the tracking one?
2.)the tracking steers the wheel in and out (left and right), not tilting it to the ground correct (up and down)?

sorry, sketches from books that are digitally photoed dont work so well. :)

keep in mind, this is a rough sketch for concept, not exact sizing and definitly not to scale...
 
I spoke to soon . It looks very familiar in design to one that was made by one of the forumites a year or so ago. do some searches in the shop talk archives.Some times the pictures load sometimes not. It looks like it would work to me.I have a suggestion though.Get rid of the tracking adjustment pulley on the bottom and mount youre motor onto a plate that is hinged on one side.Make a bar that holds up the other side of the motor mount plate that will pivot back and forth to raise and lower the one side.I have a grinder with this set-up. I will take some photos later.This is a very simple grinder that uses water pump bearings. I recently grabbed a discarded treadmill that has the incline adjustment on the front of the unit. This works by use of a screw-jack configuration.i hope to use the 1.5 hp variable motor in place of the 2hp fixed speed and the screw -jack to adjust tracking. i think I can use the controll panel from the unit also , should look pretty neat.

Mark
 
It looks like your motor pulley is in line with your contact wheel. You will need to move it to the left(as you face the grinder).
I think that maybe, you should look at some real plans to get a better idea. Rob Frink sells some, I believe.
http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/
 
I found the thread I was thinking about.
Here
It is one made by Cory McAlpine(sp)
Do asearch in shop talk under "homemade" Maxtheknife has picture of his grinder he made for $10.
Mark
 
i guess im a little confused.

why on earth would you NOT want the motor drive wheel to be inline with the main grinding wheel? wouldnt the belt not stay on then?

also, for those who have used a treadmill motor, how do you get the pully that is currently on there off? is it a spline? reverse threaded or what?

thanks again
 
1- I don`t like the way you have platen
2- Do is Mike said an take a look at
Beaumont Metal Works.
3- What Gouge said about the tracking
Just my $.02

Hey Gouge you`ll like the treadmill
motor. They are not the best but
works pretty good
 
If your motor pulley is in line with your contact wheel, how are you going to use a grinding belt? How will you mount the drive belt?
The motor sits a little to the side so that your drive belt can match up to the drive pulley. In this case, it would be beside the contact wheel, at least from my point of view, of that drawing.
Look at a few grinders and you will get a better idea of how they operate. Here is the URL for another place that sells plans. The grinder in the photo may give you some ideas. Good luck.
http://www.unigrinder.com/
 
hmmm. the platen idea was a first, i dont much care for it either. about the motor being set off to the side, seems that most of the drive motors on homemade grinders that i have seen are directly driving the belt (ie, there is a wheel attached to the shaft of the motor that drives the belt) is there something horribly wrong with that? its a variable speed motor so i shouldnt have to change out pulleys or wheels at all.
 
No, nothing wrong with that. I said "from my point of view".
After you latest description, it makes more sense. In the drawing, the motor looks like it has a pulley on it, so there lies the confusion.
 
couple last questions.

1.) tracking: does the roller turn left/right or tilt down/up to move the belt. seems that a hinged motor would make it tilt while some tracking devices i have seen seem to turn a roller left/right to move the belt.

2.)i am assuming the belt should run downward. just making sure though.

3.) should the front of the belt/platen area be straight down generally? not at much of an angle?

thanks once again, you guys are very helpful
 
another view of the tracking shows tracking wheel with curved surface to stop belt drift. Bearing s on the shaft to allow it to spin. The shaft is pivoted at the left with a bolt through the square bar onto the tracking lever. The belt tension allows the tracking in both directions no need for added return springs.

The mount adjustment allows the plattern to be moved to the vertical for flat grinding. The same tracking can be used on a 2 wheel grinder as wel as 3.

The motor used here is a flange mount but I'm sure you could work out something if your motor is a side mount.

This image is of a 48 inch the 72 inch is the same but slightly different geometry , longer from front to back.
Jim Steel the designer has also made up a number of attachements. Im not sure what he sell these days he is moving back more into knives. (more fun)
I have just tried to insert 2 images which would be helpfull re tracking but I am as thick as 2 short planks I can't work it out. I will try to send you an email. If I can't work that out send me one and I will reply. ( I can lift heavey thing but i'm not real smart)

send me a email if you want more detail.
 
Skaer,
The tilt of the tracking wheel will appear up/down or left/right dependent upon where it is located in the system.

Most grinders run downward so as to throw the sparks and flying metal away from the operator (for the most part).

Following that logic, you would think the same for platens. However, some people prefer to flat grind on a horizontal or tilted plane. Whatever works best for you, just stay out of the path of flying metal the best you can.

Your design should work. I don’t think you tracking wheel will be effective where it is at and just adds to the system. IMO it would be better to combine the tracking mechanism with you idler wheel. I will forward you some examples of this by email.

By the way, as mentioned in another thread,
Grizzly Industrial , is a good place to get some of the parts you need cheaply. Search: G1015 (that's their knifemaker's grinder) and follow the the links for more info until you find the parts manual.
MSC Industrial is another good place for parts.

Good Luck,
Greg
 
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