Shop addition: New Grinder

[David Sharp]

Are they 1.5" x 1.5"?

Yes they are 1.5".

 

[tryppyr]

Thanks. I've placed my order.

 

[DannyDiablo]

I'm Thinking of the gib as well so im real curious to see how it turns out. Like you tryppyr I have my ways of shaping and grinding with hand tools but I think I could 5 knives to every one with a grinder.....Keep us up to date..Dan

 

[deester]

hey tryppyr go to the grizzly.com and order the 10 in contact its like 70.00 and have the bearing pockets milled in,the bearings will cost 5.00 each at grainger and the mill work should not cost much (I bought a pizza) for the guys. just a thought good luck

 

[tryppyr]

Spent some time today countersinking, tapping and installing the motor mounts. Also verified that the drive wheel actually does fit (snugly) over the drive shaft. All is well so far.

I've given some thought to the tooling arm adjustment system, but haven't come up with my solution yet.

Regarding the spring, I'm becoming convinced that the 69# spring is too strong for this application. If I use it, I might as well use a solid steel bar because there won't be any difference in the amount of motion it allows. Gotta think about this one some more.

 

[tryppyr]

It being Christmas, I thought I would take the day off... if you call that thinking. Apparently, it was not very clear thinking.

I just spent a few hours out there tapping out the holes for the bolts that hold the tooling arm and tool rest arm in place, then sanding off the rats teeth marks off the visible parts of the tool arm channels. I'm not sure I really intend to paint this once I'm done building it, but I want to be able to paint it even if I choose not to... which I know makes no sense.

 

[tedinatl]

That's starting to come together very nicely, Greg. My decision to paint was partly based on the fact that the grinder is entirely made of mild steel, and therefore it will also rust pretty quickly. Paint helps with that a little bit.

 

[tryppyr]

I just put together the handle for the idler arm of my grinder. It's an old catalin umbrella handle with a 3/8 inch screw mounted inside. The epoxy is setting up now.

 

[Brian Ayres]

That's bada$$. Hmmmmm. I should maybe make one from my Thuya Burl block.... Or Wenge?
Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[RyanW]

Looking great Greg. I really need to improve my Idler handle!

 

[tryppyr]

Yesterday I ordered a variety of belts... 26 in all... with a variety of grits and composition, just so I can figure out which will be useful and under what circumstances they are useful. I was surprised how inexpensive they were from Supergrit.

Today I received confirmation that the tooling arm is shipping from Beaumont.

So I'm getting close to the time I can complete. The only thing that I'm aware of still needing to order or make are the wheels for the standard platen, the platen itself, and the work rest (and its tooling arm).

Also, I'm still not clear on final assembly of the platens. Since I already have a contact wheel, I'll start with assembly of the multi-platen.

 

[Brian Ayres]

Tracking wheel for the idler arm?
I like my poly wheels for my flat platen. Sometimes there's a curve that need smoothed and having poly wheels allows the use of the wheels whereas aluminum wheels can't be ground on. If I had it to do again I'd get one 2" and one 3" then adjust the platen to get it square since the 3" would stick out slightly more.
The small wheel attachment from USAKnifemaker with the 3 wheels will be on your list eventually especially with your unique knife designs.

 

[tryppyr]

Yeah, I looked at the small wheel attachment on the Beaumont site, and thought I'd eventually end up there... but first things first. Want to get this one working before I try to get too fancy with it.

 

[Patrice Lemée]

I am all for a nice looking tools but I can see using that as part of a knife design much more than a grinder handle.

What do you consider "inexpensive" as far as belts go?

 

[tryppyr]

I just finish installing the spring for the idler arm. The 69 pound tension seems like it will work out well. As you can see, I drilled and tapped four holes for the spring mount so I can switch the spring later without disassembling the whole thing again.

 

[tryppyr]

I am all for a nice looking tools but I can see using that as part of a knife design much more than a grinder handle.

What do you consider "inexpensive" as far as belts go?

I don't think the plastic handle would have worked well on a knife.

As for the belts, the only reference point I have is the amount I've spent on HF belts, so $3 - $4 a belt seemed cheap to me. My order of 26 belts (which included a 10 pack of 120 grit AO for $13) came to $75 including shipping, so averaged to about $3 each.

 

[AVigil]

Glad to see you have that spring on there. It will help eliminate tracking problems. Funny thing, reading all over the internet you will see people recommending "screen Door Springs" for grinder builds. The funny part is many people know they are not best suited for tension but hardly anyone says not to use them.

If your drive wheel is square to the upright and the wheels lined up and good tension your belts will track very well. I found even the best wheels still might not be perfect. So if you still have a slight wobble in the belt and everything is lined up, take a 50 grit belt and run it inside out for a few seconds. It will knock off any gremlin off the wheels and your belts will run straight as an arrow.

 

[tryppyr]

The idler wheel came in today and is now installed. Thanks Paul.

 

[tedinatl]

That's looking good, Greg! You might want to screw in your handle on the other side, though - it'll get in the way of the belts otherwise.

 

[tryppyr]

Thanks for pointing that out, Ted. Here's the latest view, and as far as I will be able to go until the tooling arm arrives next week. By the way, I still don't know what remaining wheels I need to order or where to order them. Any advice would be appreciated.

- Greg