questions about belt grindersq

J

james_n

Joined
Jun 17, 2013
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I hope this is the right place for this.....

Anyways im planning on building a belt grinder. Ive saw a lot for sale and the price is just too high everywhere i looked. ( bur king, kmg, grizzly, grinder in a box , kalamazoo) . Im not gonna pay 500+ for a belt grinder.So im making my own .What i need to know about are idler wheels, contact wheels and tracking wheels. What can i use that will work and wont get me killed? For the steel to build the frame, and the motor and other parts i have that already covered.

Thanks in advance
James
 
james, do you have access to a lathe and a mill? i make all of my own equipment and i made a belt sander that is simple and it works. i made it in a few hours and i only used 4 pieces of 3/4" x 2 1/2" x 4 1/4" for the uprights and 2 pieces of 1/4" x 4" square plate for the base.

for the base, i actually used a piece of 2" x 8" and you can make the sander a 2x72 or a 2x42 depending on what you want.

send me an email with your phone number and i'll send you some picturse and i'll give you a call explaining how to make it in more detail.
to see what kind of knives i have made with this sander, check out my website. also there is a thread here in mt&e on the first page of a knife i made for a member that goes by unit.
 
Thank for the reply. Yeah, a 2x72 is what i have in mind. I have a huge pile of scrap that im using to build a frame. Mostly tubing but ill manage. Im basing the design on the kmg. For the motor im going with a baldor 3/4 hp 1725 rpm and some step pulleys. It probly dont sound like much power to some ppl but i have yet to bog this motor down leaning all my body weight into it.I dont happen to have access to a lathe (nice idea though ) so its looking im gonna have to buy my idlers and contacts wheels. For me ,safety is a huge concern when it comes to that. Im on the hunt for more inexpensive wheels than the ones that the pros are selling.
 
i made my own wheels from some casters a friend here on the forum gave me. he also sent me some 2" wide rubber rings that fit perfectly over them after i trued them up in the lathe. my sander is not really made for hollow grinding but i have been making neck knives with a half hollow grind. check it out. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1079207-Knife-by-Richard-handle-by-unit

if you want to see what i made, send me an email and i'll send you some pictures. my buddy and i are actually thinking of making some kits.
 
Very cool knives man. That is some sweet handle material! I sell knives and i always get sick whenever i let my prettier stuff leave the table. Especially if i let them beat me up on the price haha. Its all good though.
So casters you say? I just happen to know where i can get like a ton of those in all different sizes. It will be a week or 2 till i get started back on this build though. I got too many things going on atm but ill stay glued to this thread in the meantime.

James
 
send me an email with your number. it will save us both some typing and i can send you some shots of my sander.
 
Hey thanks for the offer. But im not a full fledged member of the forum yet so i am limited to not being able to send private messages atm. But maybe you could send me a pm with your email and i could get in touch with you that way.
So anyways ive been searching for idlers and contact wheels for a while. Recently someone told me about sunray. I checked with them on a few things i need and the prices are way below what other sellers are asking. Im wondering if anyone has bought from them before. Is the quality good? My instincts tell me to just try making my own wheels and putting bearings in myself to save a few dollars. The other part of me says to just pay a little extra for something thats already been through the machine shop and is ready to go out of the box. Right now i guess if i had to i could pop for about a $300 purchase. But im still on the hunt. If theres someone here on the forum that can machine any wheel i need i would also be interested
 
go to my website and send me an email through there or hold your mouse pointer over my name and a window will open up with the option to send an email.

i had 2 members come by today and showed them how well my sander works for convexing a edge. it was too hot out to grind any blanks so that will have to wait till another day. i have my sander set up in the basement for sharpening only.
 
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