Wilton square wheel "slow down" wheel?

A

apox77

Joined
Sep 24, 2003
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I'm looking for a cheaper alternative to the Koval $135 "slow down" wheel for my Wilton grinder...any ideas or if any of you have one for a little cheaper let me know.
 
Just ordered one from TruGrit that's made by Hardcore... 7" wheel that slows us down (according to my calculations - so take with a grain of salt) to 3250 sfpm.
If I'm not mistaken, we need to use a gear puller to yank the drive wheel off, so be prepared! Anyone here have any experience with this, so we know what to expect?
 
I don't know a better price. As Judy, Troy, and Tracy Koval are all friends of my wife and mine, and Mick was a special friend as well, I am biased toward doing business with Koval Knives unless they don't have the particular item I am looking for.
After almost a decade in the knifemaking trade, I have accumulated a Square wheel with slow down pulley, 10" smooth rubber wheel and a variable speed motor which seldom is run more than 20% of max speed unless I am hogging the rough outline of already heat treated blades: a "pre-litigation" Burr King with variable speed motor and is my platten setup which almost never is run over 10-20% of max speed; and a Bader
that was custom built as a horizontal grinder with variable speed that seldon is run over 10-15% of maximum; and a reversable variable speed disc grinder that is often run under 10% of max speed and sometimes turned by hand to fine tune a handle slab to fit between a double bolstered folder.
Save your "Shekels" and eventually change out the single speed motor for a variable speed....I'd bet you will like it alot. If you are near another maker see if he/she will let you try their variable speed grinder if they have one...suggest you take your own 2x72 belts and steel. Enjoy! :)
 
Howdy Apox77,

Just a word of warning: If your Wilton grinder is like mine was, be ready for the worst experience of your life trying to get the old drive wheel off! Mine was stuck on the dang shaft. We had to use a stearing wheel puller to get if off and even then it cracked the wheel. We ended up cutting, sawing, cussing, making deals with Satan, etc to get it off....

Best of luck though, the slow down wheel works 1000% better than the old wheel once you get it on.

Take it easy.
 
I'll have to agree with John Fraps. Variable speed is the way to go, best money a knife maker can spend. I have a Wilton with the slow down wheel and it's still too fast to do a good job with the fine grits. I use my two variable B 111s for everything and the Wilton just sits there, I should go ahead and put a vari speed motor on it or sell it.

Don Hanson lll P.S. The Kovals are great peaple to do business with.
 
Thanks for all your replies! Someone emailed me who has a used one.

Thanks again


Ed
 
...so I just installed my slow-down pulley, and there's no way I can see to actually generate enough belt tension with this pulley, even with the contact wheel adjustment pulled all the way out.

What am I missing?

PS - My stock 10" drive wheel came off relatively easy, with a bit of light machine oil down the set screw holes. No more than 10 minutes of pulling and pushing! Guess I got off easy.
 
Answered my own question.
BOTH mount screws for the drive wheel adjustment need to be pulled and put in the same (furthest) oval slot, correct? Seems to work fine, but I'd appreciate it if someone would give me the thumbs up so I don't inadvertently sever any limbs!
 
That's how I did it... So far, so good. I've had mine on about a month, and haven't severed any limbs yet, but if I do, I'll let you know.
 
Have you noticed your machine running smoother due to this pulley? Maybe it's just the change of speed, but I'll be damned if it doesn't feel like it's smoother. Also, I had the guard door open to make sure the wheel was running true and I actually had to look at the keyway slot on the arbor to make sure the motor was spinning! The pulley is so perfectly round it doesn't appear to be moving!
 
I think the machine does run more smoothly now. It's also eliminated most of the "bounce" of the piece against the wheel when using the small contact wheels.
You got yours from Tru-Grit, right? That wheel's made by the same folks who make the Hardcore grinder, which is one reason I got it -- I have a Hardcore variable speed grinder which I wouldn't trade for anything.
 
Yup, Hardcore makes it. I had a wheel on backorder at Koval (where I get most of my stuff - good people) for a month and a half, and figured I'd give the folks at TruGrit a shot. They said they were out of stock on them, but that they'd walk across the parking lot and get one for me! Apparently, they're right across the street from Hardcore. Pretty convenient for a company that primarily sells abrasives, I'd say.
I mounted the wheel 2 nights ago, and I still haven't had a chance to use it! The suspense is killing me!

Anyone got a line on a 10" or larger contact wheel?
 
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