New Guy with ?'s

J

jimmyswan

Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
20
First post but long time reader. This site has made me want to try my hand at knifemaking, so I ordered the plans for the NWG from Tracy and would like to see what I can do. I already have a motor already so this should not hurt the wallet too bad. One of the things I noticed was the cost of contact wheels and was browsing through the Grainger catalog today and found this http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/3G269?Pid=search. Would this work for a contact wheel? Sorry if this is a stupid question but it never hurts to ask. (And I'm sure I'll have plenty more)Also if anyone is somewhere close in Fl and would'nt mind showing a new guy some tricks of the trade it would be greatly appreciated.
 
There are folks who have used not-too-expensive stuff for contact wheels that are in that price range, but more appropriate than that Chinese caster. Hopefully someone will chime in with that information.

Hey - welcome to the nut house. :thumbup:
 
I don't know if that caster will work or not but what a lot of the guys building them are doing is getting a grizzly 10" wheel and taaking it to a machime shop and have bering pockets turned into it,Cost about 150 bucks total for a good 10" contact wheel.
Stan
 
I'd read that about the Grizzly wheel, what exactly makes one wheel better over another? I understand about the coatings etc, but thats about it.
 
jimmyswan said:
, what exactly makes one wheel better over another?
.
Click to expand...

A good contact wheel will almost look like it is standing still while it is turning. No bounce, no wobble. A caster is simply not going to be made to a similar concentricity standard as a precision contact wheel.

If your contact wheel is bouncing around under your blade as you're grinding it, it won't matter how much skill you have - it isn't going to turn out as well as it could have. A smooth running wheel will make your job much easier and less frustrating.

I'm not suggesting you need to spend $300 on your wheel. But you certainly want to make sure the wheel you choose is as round and concentric as you can reasonably get.
 
contact wheels have a slightly yielding surface and are rated for spinning at high RPM without exploding from centrifugal force, casters are designed to run at walking speed (hey I made a funny)
that in addition to what Nathan said

-Page

welcome to the nut-house
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top