Starting a new belt grinder, just a few questions

Mike Davis

Mike Davis

Joined
Feb 7, 2006
Messages
1,327
I have a Dayton, 1 1/2 horse, 1725 rpm motor and am going to use this for my contact wheel
Picture403.jpg

As you can see, it has an 11" diameter and is 2" wide with an 11/16th keyway hole. My concern is that it's solid steel. Is there anywhere i can get a rubber coating put on it? I would like it to be a little forgiving( first real grinder) also i think if i had an 75-90 durometer coating on it, i would be able to get better results with finer belts. I'm not sure this is correct, if not please feel free to tell me :p I enjoy being told if i am wrong lol.

Thanks
Mike
 
it's very routine for a wheel hub to be recovered. google contact rubber corp in wisconsin. I'm not sure how much it will cost but they claim it's cheaper than buying new.
 
Richard J
Why don't you post your reply here for all to see? I for one have an interest in how to cover a wheel with "rubber". I've not seen any tutorials on the subject.

Thanks

Alden
 
here it is, sorry its long. email or pm me with any questions.
i found some conveyor belt that was flexible yet durable. the kind i use came from a fertilizer plant and it had a raised diamond pattern to help carry small pelletized fertilizer. (the thickness was about 1/4" or 5/16", i cant remember) with a cloth backing. after making some measurements i laid out my cuts i had to make leaving an extra 1/16" just in case. i made a diagonal cut on one end before i laid out my second cut, just like a belt. you can use a belt to mark the angles. a stiff belt works best for this for getting the bevel correct and the width which should be a hair over 2" to allow for sanding the edges square. once you have the ends cut tack one end with some superglue holding it in place all the way around but not allowing the ends to touch just in case there is some excess glue. once the glue sets check for fit and make sure the ends mate up evenly. if they do you apply more glue to the exposed end so its glued in place taking care not to make any raised glue bumps. then go all the way around the wheel saturating the back of the cloth extremely well. you will need to work fast on this step also. once you get the cloth saturated lay it down on the wheel and wrap something around it to lock it down tight. once the glue sets you now need to attach the wheel in a way to allow it to be turning. using a 60 or 30 grit piece of sandpaper or sanding disc backed up with a piece of a board, sand the face down taking your time making it even, do the same on each side until its 2" wide. slightly taper the ends to keep from having lines made from the edges. test the wheel on some scrap steel before using it. if you get lines in your steel the ends need more taper. you wont need to take any more than maybe 1/32" or 3/64" on each end. once you have it smooth and even you are now ready to use it. (any gaps can be filled in with liquid rubber or something similar. i'm not sure about silicone). for a softer contact wheel you can add some softer rubber a lot easier to the rubber already down compared to bare metal. i have some soft pad that i'm going to try. if it works i'll let you know what it is and where to get it if my dad can remember were it came from. its similar to a foam kitchen table pad. i can take a pick of my wheel before i put the pad on.
 
Another option i was thinking is Cushion Step vinyl floor sheeting from Armstrong. Its 120 mils thick, and it is urethane. It has a high density urethane core averaging a 1/4 thick and it's pretty tough. I like the conveyor belt idea much better but if i didn't get and responses i was gonna try that. Now to start the search for the conveyor belt.
 
Measuring, i would need a 37" x 2" piece to do my wheel. If you have an extra piece, i would be happy to buy it from you. Let me know :D
 
i'll see if the piece i have is that long. you can splice it though. its cloth backed and pretty durable. if 2 pieces will work fine all i ask is that you pay shipping. it didnt cost me anything. i'll cut it a little wide so you have some play. it might be helpful to attach it to a shaft that is somewhat restricted in spinning easily or get some help. i done it myself and had some trouble with getting my fingers stuck in the glue.
 
I would happily pay for the shipping. I'll send you a pm with my address, and i can either cod or send you a money order. Thanks alot, this will hopefully solve the issue i have been having :D
 
i made my own belt sander many years ago and used the contact wheel i made until i wore the bearings and shafts out. i left the raised diamond pattern on the conveyor belt which made for a softer contact. it worked ok for years until it started to show some wear in the middle which showed up sometimes. i tried sanding it down even but it didnt work. when i redone it this time i sanded them off to start with. i wish i had some soft leather with one side smooth. i would try attaching some of that to the rubber for padding. remember to taper the edges slightly to keep from getting lines from the belt edges. it doesnt take much so go slow and try and test it often until its good to go.
 
I use this precise flat belt pulley as one of my contact wheels.
I have tried attaching some rubber (McMaster sell 2"-wide strips
in different length and duro), but it is nearly impossible to make sure
the rubber stays attached under the heat and pressure of extended
grinding abuse. I tried cement, epoxy, cyanoacrilates - they all held
for limited time only.

Of course if the rubber/poly is _bonded_ to the metal, it will last forever.

In my case, I recalled that 3/4 of known Universe is held together with
duct tape. So I applied (wound up) may be 12 layers of it to the wheel and used it like
that ever since. The tape cushions just right, can be easily replaced
( I never had to replace mine), costs nothing and the wheel stays pretty
true.

The pulley is pretty nice, runs true and is well balanced. I bore out mine
for 1/2" ID BB on a mill.

They sell "liquid rubber" - something you can use to create rubber grip on say
end cutters, etc, by just dipping the part into the solution. Not sure how strong
the resulting bond is, but it might be a good way to provide the initial, strongly
bonded layer, to which then you can cement 1/4 or whatever rubber/poly strip.
 
mine stayed on for around 16 years with superglue until i took it off and it wasnt easy. as long as you degrease everything which i forgot to mention, it will stay stuck.
 
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