kmg with 132" belts?

Keith_H

Keith_H

Joined
Jul 20, 2007
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When I finish my kmg clone, can I run 132" belts on it? Is there any modifications to the plans that I can do to make it run with them? Thanks!

I cant work on it now because the lathes and milling machine are at school and I am off for the summer.

I was also thinking of running a vertical disk sander on the same motor, can I do itby reversing the drive belt to the other side of the motor? If I did I would have to figure out how to be able to tension both.

Thanks again!
 
To make it capable of using both, do this.
Make the idler arm two piece. Have the frame extension part of the arm about 30" long.The other half (with the idler) should be about 30" long. Make the part with the idler wheel bolt on with the pivot bolt exactly 15" from the outside of the idler wheel. Drill two more bolt holes 12" on each side of the pivot hole.All three of these holes are tapped for 1/2" bolts. This way the arm will pivot on the center bolt and can be (by moving the second bolt) swiveled to extend or reduce the length by 30". Determine where the two bolt holes, 12" apart, are to be drilled on the frame extension and drill them there.

I made a quick sketch to show what I mean.(Not a great sketch, and a little light, but you should get the idea)

This way all tool arms will still work, as the idler arm is what changes the belt length.
Stacy
 

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  • grinder arm 001.jpg
    grinder arm 001.jpg
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Stacy's idea is a good one for stability, if you're running the tool arm out that far, you might find that it's not nearly as sturdy and needs some additional support like a leg.

I've got a 132" grinder and in my experience, 132" belts are kind of a pain to find at a good price with the right grit/type. Several folks have said how much nicer 132" belts are and they last longer per square inch, but 72" belts exist cheaper in specialty runs and are available from supply houses that cater to our smaller orders and thus we are able to more readily take advantage of the economy of scale.

Just thought you should have that point of view before you go out of your way to use/accommodate them.
 
There's a few guys that have used 132" belts on the KMG.

I made a custom tool arm for this. It was 50" long. When using a 14" wheel, the face of the wheel was 40" from the from edge of the grinder baseplate. I thought it was extremely awkward to use...you nearly had a 4 foot reach to the tracking knob.....and about 3' to the motor controller.

I don't remember getting any feedback from the customer...and for the life of me, I can't remember who it was. I just remember that I vowed never to make another one.

Rob
 
Thank you for your replies, I just had the idea and thought it would make it more versatile. I may not even be able to find 132" belts but I think it would be worth it if I can find them in the future.

I like your idea of the idler extension, Stacy, but I would have to commit to making the idler arm a couple inches to left to accommodate it.

Is the 12" receiver long enough or should I make it longer?

Rob, did you find the tension wheel too low with the 50" arm? Oh and while you are here, what is the process for machining the idler wheel on a lathe? Cutting the bearing slots on both sides is where I am troubled.
 
Hope you don't expect Rob to give away all his secrets, especially when he charges such a fair price for idler and drive wheels :)
 
The arm is about 30" long. The bolt holes are 12" apart.

If you weld/bolt the extended frame arm to the left side of the stub of the existing idler arm ( cut it off about three inches), it will offset the extension and keep the alignment right.
Stacy
 
Ah, ok. I have not bought the metal for the arm yet, as I only have small plate big enough for the chassis pieces.

off topic, did you make the bowie in your avatar?
 
Yes, it was featured in a Blade magazine article about 8 years ago. The blade is 1095/15N20. Handle is a mammoth tip. D-guard and all fittings are sterling silver, with 18 karat gold overlay.Front of the guard is sculpted.The handle is held in place with two lock pins (one at the front of the D, and one at the pommel/tang extension). The lock pins are miniature damascus bladed bowie knives. The handle disassembles into nine pieces,for sharpening and maintenance ,by removing the minis. I had an offer to buy it from an agent for Joe Perry (Aerosmith), but the deal fell through when a hurricane canceled the local concert ( where the transaction was to take place).Then a new concert date was canceled.I think in all the plan changes, the communications fell through the cracks.
It is still available.
Stacy
 
I like the the MAP arm that Michael Kanter makes, but I wanted something simpler and easier to make. Here is my version that I did on sketchup. It does not move to as many positions as the map arm, but I think it would get the job done. If I get a contact wheel I plan on having a wider rest with the curve in it that pops into holes in this one via bolts. Now I just have to fuigure out how to make my version of a rotary platen!

grinderhorizontal.jpg

Tilted to 105 degrees, I am sure that this will be able to do smaller. Maybe even 15 degrees for a scandi grind.
grindertilt.jpg

Adjusted for edge grinding.
grinder-verticalarm3.jpg
 
I have also become quite addicted to SketchUp for drawing up knives, maybe I will make another thread about it.

Stacy, That sounds intricate, Is that curly maple? I remember seeing Perry on Darren Ralph's site, he must be quite the collector.
 
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I will probably need some sort of dust collector, any suggestions? Will a bucket of water with some dish detergent be good enough or do I have to make something substantial?
 
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