Well I think after all this talk I may build a grinder. Just shut up and do it right. I have been back and forth between buying and building for over a month now. I am pretty handy there is no reason I can't build a good grinder more solidly than what I could spend the same amount on. I have a 2hp 3450 rpm motor. For simplicity reasons I wanted to build a direct drive. Buy with a pulley that has a bigger circumfrence than the shaft of the grinder say 4-5" won't that boost my belt speed higher than the rpm of the motor. I suppose I can't build one this way with the motor I got huh? It sounds complicated to try and machine a shaft with bearings for the step pulley design. It would be so much easier to just attach a pulley directly to the shaft. Cory