Trials & tribulations- grinders, motors, blah blah

Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
5,786
What a mess! My grinder is on the way, and that left me with trying to figure out motors. If you're like me and you buy tools that plug into the wall and you generally have never needed to do any wiring or electrical work, buying a grinder without a motor is a bit of a shocker (no pun intended). I have a patient who hooked me up with a 2HP motor for cheap and I thought "Great!" Until I found out that everything over 1.5HP requires a 220V outlet and circuit (like your dryer probably). Then I found out I have no extra spaces in my panel for a 220V circuit, but to have an electrician fiddle around with options and install an outlet would be at least $150, probably more like $200, and that's only IF he doesn't have to install a subpanel, etc. Sheesh!

So, I downgraded my motor at the same shop to a 1HP :( but then found out it has a 7/8" arbor, so the pulleys I ordered won't work and I needed to order a special one from Rob Frink. Now I have to figure out how to attach the wires on the motor to a power cord and make it run CCW. The guy at the shop said "it's color coded. If you can put a puzzle together you can do this" but somehow I don't believe him. :rolleyes: So, anyway, grinder is on the way, belts are on the way, pulley is on the way, motor needs to be picked up and screwed with by me... Better all be worth it!

FYI, if you find yourself in my position and considering electrical stuff, don't even bother looking into it. Call an electrician and save yourself the hassle. It's probably a good idea to have 220 coming into your shop at some point, anyway, because mills, lathes and most of your decent size motors will all require it, but unless you're an electrician I wouldn't screw with it. I took one look at the tangle of wires in my packed panel in the basement and ran out there screaming like a little girl! :D
 
I got my motor wired up and working but don't have a grinder. Sounds like with all the troubles you should just send that Coote and belts my way and you won't have to worry about it. :)

-Andrew
 
I ordered pretty cheap belts, so you don't want those, but I'm *this close* to taking you up on the grinder! Is wiring a motor as easy as following the colors or is there more to it? BTW, I went to school in Cedar Falls!
 
Chiro75 said:
I ordered pretty cheap belts, so you don't want those, but I'm *this close* to taking you up on the grinder!
Click to expand...

:) excellent!

Chiro75 said:
Is wiring a motor as easy as following the colors or is there more to it? BTW, I went to school in Cedar Falls!
Click to expand...

Well, I lucked out since mine was wired into another circuit before and I did the legwork to ensure it was wired properly before. So it was just a matter of wiring it to a switch and existing outlet in my basement/shop.
 
I just ran into the same problem. Was going to run 220 in my shop, then checked my panel to find that I only had 125 amp and no space left. :grumpy:
 
What I don't understand is how the heck they can ask and get $1000 or more for something that has no motor! Also, looking at it, it sure looks like a guy could put one of these together himself. Or am I crazy on all counts?

Dave
 
Michael, for future reference I found out that you can use "slimline" or "piggyback" breakers. Basically they take up half the space, so if you're maxed out on space, you could have an electrician pop 4 of your breakers out, use two slimline breakers for those 4 circuits, and have 2 spaces in the panel left over for a 220 breaker. Probably a better option for someone like you, who is pretty serious about all this and will undoubtedly be needing lathes and mills for folders sometime soon, would be to either upgrade your whole panel to something better with a lot of upgrade space, or have an electrician install a subpanel for more circuits. I may even do that in the future depending on whether I can sell some knives, but it was a lot of $$$ to put down right off the bat, so I chose to downgrade my motor instead.


30-30, mine is a Coote, which is $410 without a motor. Probably the best-liked grinder around these parts is the KMG, which you can get into for $650 without a motor. The reason they're selling them without motors is that it lends a lot of choices to the buyer. You may have a motor already, you may want to do a variable speed setup, etc. Plus, motors weigh a lot and you have to ship the suckers for a good amount of $$$.

As far as making one as good on your own? Assuming you have great skills, access to the right machinery and parts, probably, but I'd be willing to bet that these guys who are making these machines aren't making a huge profit on them. They're certainly not going to break down on you!
 
I've been looking at KMG. You are right in the $650 figure, then it goes all the way up to $1145. The reason I mentioned making it is looking at one of these, it just doesn't seem that complex. But then, nothing is easy as it looks.

Hang in there, I bet you will be delighted when its operational.

Dave
 
Dave, stuff like this seems to usually be a pretty cool idea, then when you see the end price you go "hmmm... for the time I should've just bought one..." Kinda like making a knife instead of just buying one! :D Or like building your own workbench. I can't tell you how many people I know who make their own bench and it costs twice what just buying one would've. But, putting it all together could be fun, too!
 
Oh, and Ripper, thanks for the links. I'm dumb enough with this stuff that I actually need a picture that says "Now, take THIS wire and put it HERE and THAT wire and put it THERE..." I had to learn rudimentary electrical stuff in physics in college but you can see where that got me. I imagine this stuff makes a lot of sense with some experience, but I've never done anything to any motor ever in my life, or seen anything done to any motor ever in my life, so it's really bad. Someone emailed me and offered to walk me through it if I email them a couple pics, so maybe that will be my saving grace! The shop who was going to do it all for me for $20 or $25 changed their mind. When I talked to the dude who isn't my patient, $20-$25 became "Well, he's crazy. The switch will be $25, labor is $35 just to look at her, and then you need a cord..." so I told them I'd do it myself. I don't even want a switch. I just want a powercord because I have an outlet with a switch on it already.
 
While you're at it, just put as many space-saving breakers as possible, into your breaker box. You'll be needing more 220's later for other things.
Hell, I'm looking into phase converters now...

No offense to your Coote, but I'd send it back and get the KMG for a little more if possible. Much nicer IMO. If finances won't allow, then YES, you will be fine with the Coote.
 
Razor, I spent a lot of time researching it. For what I need right now, the Coote makes the most sense. In a year, maybe I'll sell it and get a KMG. But, for right around $600 I got the Coote with platen, 10" wheel and small wheel attachment. That will allow me to do everything I want to do at this time. It's kind of like how you don't buy a kid a Ferrari when all he needs is a beater to get around in (not that the Coote is a beater). It's a huge upgrade from the way I've been doing things and one I won't regret. Maybe I can pass it along to another maker in a year or two when I feel like I've outgrown it. For me to get the same versatility out of the KMG, initially, I was going to have to throw about $400 more at it to get it here, so it was apples and oranges at the time. I have 3-phase for my x-ray machine. Maybe I can hook it up to that... ;)
 
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