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Tool Time Let's talk shop. Equipment, Tips & Tricks, Safety issues - Post it here.

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  #1  
Old 06-27-2003, 03:31 AM
LHKnives LHKnives is offline
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Home made belt grinder

My first grinder in which I designed and built, this bad boy is sporting a 3horse motor. MAN!! can you lean into a grind with this, best thing is, not including the motor this grinder cost me less than $80 to build with new steel.



Here is a close up of the very simple tracking device.



here is a pic of me hoggin some metal.



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  #2  
Old 06-27-2003, 09:12 AM
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GANNMADE GANNMADE is offline
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cool deal ,what is the contact wheel?


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  #3  
Old 06-27-2003, 03:24 PM
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Simple. SWEET!
I like it.
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  #4  
Old 06-29-2003, 04:29 PM
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millironknives millironknives is offline
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Ya! I like how simple it is. I would also like to know what your contact wheel is. And where is your belt tension device. You could put a spring inside of the square tubing that stands verticaly to adjust your idler wheel assembly for a quick belt change out. Just and idea!@#


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  #5  
Old 07-13-2003, 10:01 AM
SkaerE SkaerE is offline
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my guess is there is a spring inside the main vertical tube. (if you welded a plate across the open of the smaller tube, all you would have to do it drop the spring inside the large one and waalaa, instant tension.) at least thats where i would do.

your contact wheel looks more like a lawn mower tire but i could be wrong, its kind of hard to tell.

very nice looking though. simple as all getout.

what wall thickness did you go with on the steel? my entire grinder is made of 1/4'' plate steel and tubing, weighs about 90 lbs though

i like simple
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  #6  
Old 07-13-2003, 10:20 AM
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aiiifish aiiifish is offline
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Killer.

Where did you find the 2in wheel?? the largest Ive been able to find has been 1.75.


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  #7  
Old 07-13-2003, 10:55 AM
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Bill Vining Bill Vining is offline
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I think we are all interested in where the conact wheels came from. Some of the larger ones I've found are in the $200+ range.

Bill
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  #8  
Old 07-13-2003, 12:44 PM
SkaerE SkaerE is offline
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if it only cost $80 total i doubt its a "contact wheel"

probably closer to this: only metal spoked and with bearings.



but i could be wrong.
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  #9  
Old 07-14-2003, 05:03 AM
Pete E Pete E is offline
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Contact wheels...

What is the issue with contact wheels?

I have seen these real expensive ones and I can understand the price to some extent if they are custom made out of alloy. However it seems many people turn their own out of wood or use salvaged wheels off hand trucks or lawnmowers. Wayne Goddard in his book "The $50 knife shop" even states that he is sure his grinder does not know the difference between a salvaged one and one of the high dollar commercial ones...

so whats the scoop here?

Regards,

Pete
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  #10  
Old 07-14-2003, 08:01 AM
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aiiifish aiiifish is offline
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I have a couple of blacksmiths in the area that have made their own. they both use hand cart wheels. They say when the surface gets a little rough they turn it down a fraction. Seems to work well for them.

I've been looking for a 2in wide lawnmower wheel. Figure the way I beat up equipment I could replace them easily. Since most of my stuff is convex or flat ground I don't want to spend alot on a hollow grinding set up.

Looks like ron has solved all those problems. Hopefully he'll get away from that new grinder long enough to clue us in.


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  #11  
Old 07-14-2003, 09:34 AM
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Geno Geno is offline
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Contact wheels are like tires on a car. Most people won't know the difference but a "driver" will.
Wheels first have to be balanced. The faster they go, the more critical this becomes.Unstable wheels WILL come apart.
Bearings or pillow blocks are needed if not mounted directly to the shaft.Plastic is not a good choice esspecially for fast machines.
The face must be smooth and round. This can be trued once on the machine.If it is not round, it will dig pits and ruts, bounce, and give poor grinds.
Hard face has no rubber.
Smooth face for finish grinding.
Serrated wheels for hogging metal.
Diameter controls the geometry of a hollow grind, most use large diameter wheels to give a flatter appearence. I use a 6" wheel for most hollow grinding because it gives a more dramatic hollow grind.
Lawn mower wheels are not recommended.
Casters can work, the best ones are from the medical world.
Most Americans don't mind driving on cheap tires, but the pro's want/need the best.
If your grinder does 80% of your work for you, why skimp there?
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  #12  
Old 07-14-2003, 06:51 PM
LHKnives LHKnives is offline
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Sorry guys I thought I had replied here already...musta had a brain fart.

There is a machine gun spring in the vertical shaft which puts pressure on the belt.
The contact wheel looks alot like a lawn mower wheel with bearings. If I speed it up too much the rubber wheel comes apart from the rim!!!
I made the other wheels on my lathe.
I don`t do hollow grinding I just use that wheel for profiling, and it was the easiest way to get the grinder up and running, since then I have made a square nose attachment for flat grinding. I made my own 2" rollers for that at is works beautifully. I`ll get a pic of it up later. The new attachment could`nt have cost me much more than $20 most of it would be in the bearings.

Stay tuned for pics of the flat grinding set up.


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  #13  
Old 07-20-2003, 02:16 PM
jaybacca72 jaybacca72 is offline
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Thumbs up new grinder

it looks awesome and cheapier is good,i was wondering if you could please post your building dimensions as i would like to try and build one for myself.
many thanks
jay
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  #14  
Old 08-09-2003, 08:21 AM
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Mike Routen Mike Routen is offline
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Ron,

I would also really appreciate it if you would either post or email your dimensions and any tips in building one of these nice looking grinders. I'm just getting started and am on a really tight budget. This could just be the ticket to getting me to the point where the knives start paying for themselves.

Thanks,

Mike Routen
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  #15  
Old 08-09-2003, 05:23 PM
sfoo sfoo is offline
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Do the contact wheels need to be coated with rubber, or can they just be bare metal? I poured a 6"x2.5" aluminum wheel to use.

I have a friend with a welder and most of the tubing who is going to help me make one of these and was curious about that.
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