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Attached are some pics of a couple 2x72" grinders I built this year. I have built a few over the years and have refined my design each time. I drew upplans and a detailed parts list for this grinder – I am happy to share them andI can email them to you if you drop me a PM/email. Once you have a 2x72" I your shop - you will wonder how you ever lived with out one.
https://i.imgur.com/jdOT3CCl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ohyn8xfl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GhTYpApl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/10aOfMNl.jpg
May I ask where do you get your wheels?
Nice build....
Kevin. Those serrated wheels I bought from alieexpress(China). They are exceptional for the price. The tracking and drive wheel I bought from AmeriBrade - equally impressive for the price. I have tried almost all other brands but these are the ones I prefer
What do your neighbors think about your fence decoration?
These tools look like some factory offerings. Really nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brad jansen
Regarding the serrated wheels...did you have to bore them out to accept bearings? The ones I'm seeing seem to be drilled to accept a keyed shaft, or just a shaft presumably with a set screw....thx!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Shepherd
No you do not need to bore them out. Search that site for "belt grinder contact wheel". You will find them from Rams Bralin. They come in various sizes. Order them ready for 6202 bearings. I then purchase 6202 bearings (1/2" ID) separately and install them myself in the wheels. Then I have a quality bearing installed on a Chinese wheel - and frankly I find they are just as good as a $300 US rubber wheel.
Is a metal lathe and mill required to make one of these? I would be interested in the plans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by John Densmore
No John. You do not need a lathe or a mill. PM me your email address and I'll send you the plans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by brad jansen
How Cool!! I'll PM you.
Awesome. Great job!
Very nice. I've been thinking about a 4" along those lines.
So what is the benefit of these? What do you use them for? My first guess is sharpening? What's the overall build cost?
Simplest answer would be removing material. These are really essential for a lot of knife makers. In fact its basically the ubiquitous tool in knife making. You can really hog out some metal and with the right setup put some fine belts and do some sharpening on low speed. Small radius wheels, bigger contact wheels, smaller contact wheels, flat platens, curved platens, slack belt set up, belts for wood; the possibilities are plentiful. And this is coming from someone who lives in Neanderthal Haven.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlos Alvarez
Vince
Yep, exactly. I started making these for knifemaking as I did not want to spend the money to buy the one I really wanted. It turned out they are pretty easy to make. Total cost depends on the options you have, but I have it all layed out in my plans which I can send you. I run 4 of these in my shop - all set up for different tasks. I have one in my woodworking shop too for general sanding, sharpening, deburring random stuff, etc. Once you have one, you will use it every time you are in the shop.
PM sent, because that's exactly what I'm thinking and I don't even have one yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by brad jansen
Have one in my shop I made from 2 tread mills. My goto for most any kind of stock removal type grinding, wood, metal, plastic whatever.
The plans look great and the build of materials is very detailed. They call for using a 3 phase motor combined with a vfd for speed control. I have a single phase motor that spins at the typical 1725 rpm and was thinking about making one without the speed control just to use what I have and save significantly not having to buy the vfd. Anyone use one of these with the speed control? Any real issues?-- NORMAL --
You can certainly use a single phase motor WITHOUT a speed control. Those grinders I have pictured in this thread are single phase 1 HP grinders - 3450 RPM motors.
If you want to use a single phase, C face motor that is 1725 RPM, then order an 8" drive wheel and it will work great as a single speed grinder.
Note You cannot use a variable speed controller on a singe phase motor ( at least not for long.....it will burn up the motor).
Here is something that may be of help to those building their own and wondering about motor RPM, belt speed etc. When I was researching my build, mostly on knife maker forums, I found that most users as well as belt suppliers recommended 3600 to 4000 feet per minute belt speed. I created this spreadsheet to help me see what my belt speed would be for a given size pulley plus added a variable that I could input drive pulley RPM. The end result was that if I made my drive pulley just under 4" diameter, an RPM reading is identical to feet per minute. If someone would like the actual Excel spreadsheet just PM me.
This one has 1725 in as the variable.
Attachment 397521
This one has 3450 as the variable.
Attachment 397522
Hope this is helpful in your DIY build.
PM or Post if you need further explanations for what this is showing.
Edit: This allowed me to add an RPM meter to my drive pulley and label the readout as Ft/Min Belt Speed.
Thanks for the tips. I didn't catch the part about the c-face until now. The motor I have has a standard face/resilient mount (a Baldor RL1307A) not the c-face so not ideal for these plans. Am going to try and find a c-face unless there's a reliable way to mount the one I have.
I would recommend finding a C face motor, it will make a much better unit. Use your RL1307A to make a 9" disc grinder....You can buy a high quality 5/8" arbor disc from TrueGrit or other knifemaker supply stores for about $85. A 9" disc will allow you to glue on standard full 9x11 sheets of sandpaper which makes it easy and cheap to change out paper.
Great idea Brad! I'm going to do that. Do you just use a spray adhesive like super 77 to glue the sheets on? -- NORMAL --
Yes Dean,that is exactly what I use. You can also use 3M feathering adhesive and that works well too.
Brad,
I PM'D you for a set of plans. Thanks, Bill.
hi all,,,new here,,,is it possible to get the plans for this belt grinder
morning brad,grinder looks fantastic,,,is it possible you could send me the plans,,been looking for the right set for a long time, thanks for your time
Brad,
Do you mind if I upload a public copy of your plans so they're accessible? You sent some to me in October so I can just put a link here so that anyone can just download in the future if they'd like. Let me know at your convenience.
Hi Dean. Yes that would be totally fine (and very helpful for me too). I am going to send you an updated version as I made a few notes within the plans for contact wheels abd other questions I received. I have been sending emails almost daily for a year now - a lot of interest and it’s great!!
Dean could you send me an email or PM me your email address. I must have lost it in my sent box. Thanks.
Brad Jansen's Ultimate Belt Grinder Plans 2019
https://f001.backblazeb2.com/file/dc...inder+2019.pdf
Thanks again Brad, great work!
Thanks for doing that Dean!!
Many thanks to Brad for the design and plans, and Dean for putting a link here.
ron
Many motors can be converted to quasi-C-face simply by buying 4 couplers from the hardware store and threading them onto the motor rods.
I got bored. I had to make one. It's a little different...
Nice one Kevin - Simple, effective and minimal footprint. I like it.
Thank you, Brad, for your generosity. I am going to build one eventually. I sharpen knives and a lot of times need to retip or fix a chip. It's on the to-do list.
Hello Brad. I'm not sure how to PM from my phone. Could you please email me a copy of your plans? dakoym@gmail.com
Thanks!
Darrin
I would love to get started in some metal and woodworking projects! Please send me the plans and info so I can also make this on a tight budget. Thanks in advance! 'Jpmbidwell@gmail.comQuote:
Originally Posted by brad jansen
Hi there brad this grinder looks really good and robust do you still have the plans