no weld grinder opinions..........

ryan9977

ryan9977

Joined
Feb 16, 2006
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hey everyone-i'm getting ready to get my wheels fo rmy grinder.....i am gonna buy the beaumont wheels from tracy......i wanna have a flat platen and a slack belt attachment......my question is.....

stacy said u can use two small contact wheels for the slack belt....opposed to tthe two small aluminum wheels......any advantages or disadvantages to either setup?......i am real new and this will be my first grinder so i want it to be as versitale as possible i guess with little money......i have a question out to stacy to see what he thinks but wanted opinions of anyone who built one or uses asimilar set-up......thanks for any opinions......ryan
 
The "knifemaker's attachment" on my Burr King uses 2 contact contact wheels with the flat platen, I slack belt by removing the platen. The contact wheels are smooth 2" and a 5", Probably be a lot cheaper just to buy 2 contact wheels for an attachment like this rather than make a dedicated slack belt AND a flat platen attachment. Basically replace the 2 aluminum idler wheels on the platen with the contact wheels and make the platen removeable and there you have it.
 
The 2 contact wheels would be better as you could grind against them better than hard aluminum wheels. I know it is some bucks but even better is a 2" and an 8" contact wheel and make it all rotate. Then you can have a flat platen, a 2" wheel, a 8" wheel or a slack belt by just rotating the assembly. I made a rotating platen and love it. But, I made an 2" wheel and am going to replace it with a 2" contact wheel. Jim
 
jim....that sounds great......i don't know if i'd be able to do it like that.....i have the plans from tracy and am not good at changing plans.....i can follow directions but i feel like that would require me changing stuff up a little.......do u have a pic of your setup.....ryan


will-thanks for the advice.....ryan
 
Definately replace at least one wheel with a 2" contact. I put a 2" contact wheel on my KMG platen and use it constantly. I need to change one out on my slack belt attachment also.
 
I built one and used 2" contact wheels (beaumont) for the flat platen. On my slack belt attachment, I used one 3" contact wheel (beaumont), and one of Tracy's soft poly contact wheels (the red one) in 4". I have been more than happy with my setup.

-Mike
 
thanks for all the responses guys.....i think i'm gonna do one aluminum and one contact for the flat platen attachment.....and then two contact wheels fo rthe slack belt attachment......is there a big difference between the size of the contact wheels.....would it be stupid to get two wheels the same size for the slack belt atatchment?.....i am just unsure of why you would need so many different size wheels?....ryan
 
+1 for Jim's recommendation. I've seen pics of a set up like that with an 8" wheel but can't remember where. Was it your set up Jim?

Another great idea in that same train of thought is what Ed Caffrey came up with. It's similar to a Wilton square wheel set-up. Look up Ed's plans. I should order them myself... it's a really great idea.

I definitely recommend you having contact wheels for your idlers up front where you'll be working rather than just aluminum idler wheels. I grind on my rubber covered contact wheels ALL the time. Grinding against an aluminum idler wheel sucks.

The big benefit of different wheels is getting into different work areas Ryan. I have the same set-up Will mentioned on the Burr King which gives me a 2" and 5" wheel. I often use the 2" for handle sculpting, and the 5" for hollow grinding the middle of a full tang and for some dagger bevels.

I have a 3" and 4" for my KMG that I use for handle sculpting.

I use an 8" on the Burr King for hollow grinding daggers. A 10" serrated on the KMG for FAST stock removal of anything, but especially knocking forge scale off, profile grinding, etc.
 
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Sure you can handle the rotary attachment. No problem. You don't have to modify the grinder at all. You just wouldn't have to build any of the other attachments is all. One fella (Jarod of JTKnives) posted plans for his too. They're on Tracy's web site, http://www.mickleyknives.com/html/grinder_builds.html. Just scroll down a bit to see them. Here's a pic of it.
 

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thanks fo rthe pic and link phil.....ryan

jarod-can u use the platen totally straight up and down...in the pic it looks angled?....or is that just from the drawing....that seems like it might be a good idea.....ryan
 
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