Author Topic: Horizontal Belt Grinder  (Read 12110 times)

Offline cfellows

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Horizontal Belt Grinder
« on: January 20, 2014, 03:18:38 AM »
I did my very first real CNC work today on my newly converted Enco Mill/Drill.  Took me over 8 hours of redrawing, reprocessing with CAM and cutting test pieces using MDF until I finally got it right.  What a learning curve!



So, on to the real subject at hand.  Ever since I first saw one of these, I've wanted one. 



So, I've decided to add one to my small, already crowded shop.  The two pieces I started with, above, will hold the small drum on the outboard end of the grinder and be used for grinding very small, inside radius's.  The slotted ends will accept interchangeable drum sizes fitted with 7/8" OD x 3/8" ID ball bearings on each end.  The overall design is really pretty simple.  Here are drawings done in Visio...



Mine will use a 2" x 48" belt.

Chuck
« Last Edit: January 20, 2014, 03:27:52 AM by cfellows »
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Offline steamer

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2014, 03:21:26 AM »
Nicely done Chuck!...how much of the sander did you program?

Dave
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2014, 03:26:31 AM »
Nicely done Chuck!...how much of the sander did you program?

Dave

So far, just the two pieces shown.  I have a feeling me and CNC are going to have a long, love/hate relationship.  Hopefully as I gain more skill with it, parts won't take so long to do.  I'm using Autodesk Inventor with their integrated HSM Express CAM software.

Chuck
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2014, 05:51:02 AM »
This is the motor and drive pulley I'll be using for the grinder. 



It's a 100 volt, DC motor that's rated at 3/4 HP at 2500 RPM.  I have a full wave bridge rectifier installed inside the switch box so I can plug it into 110 volts AC and it runs fine, although it's a bit torquey on startup and will jump pretty hard if not fastened down.  Running at 110 volts, I should get close to 2750 RPM.  The drive pulley is 3.5" diameter x 2.25" long.  This should give me a surface speed on the belt of about 2500 feet per minute.  Higher would be better, but the belts should last longer at the lower speed.

Chuck

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Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2014, 11:58:07 AM »
Very interesting Chuck and it looks like you can not only do radii out there on the far end but also flat work with the other backing plate and rest there on the side.

Bill

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2014, 02:45:47 PM »
That's right, Bill.  Here's a demo video of one that I'm modeling mine after. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMG__RLcxZU

Chuck
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Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2014, 03:19:41 PM »
Oh yeah!!  After seeing the video, I can see why you were drawn to it. I have to admit, I have not seen one of these before. Changing out the various radius rollers is a breeze too.  The design folks there at Beaumont did their homework it seems on this one. I'm afraid to check out the price though...lol. Still its quite a doable home project as your progress demonstrates. 

Bill

Offline Lew Hartswick

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2014, 03:54:59 PM »
OHHHH!   I like it. Especially the interchangeable rollers and the up / down ability make it almost as
good as an oscillating spindle sander.  Now lets do one with a 6" belt. :-)
   ...lew...

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2014, 07:59:28 PM »
Thanks, Bill, Lew, nice to see some other folks validating my thoughts that I have a need for one of these!   :cheers:   I'd like to make it convertible from horizontal to vertical so I could replace my vertical 2" x 48" belt grinder, but so far I haven't figured out an easy way to do it.

Today I pretty much finished up the interchangeable roller bracket. 



Still have to bevel the inner edges of the vertical piece to clear the belt and drill the through hole that mounts it to the base, but for now, I'm going to move on to the tension idler assembly.  I plan to finish that up before I start on the base/cabinet.

Chuck
« Last Edit: January 20, 2014, 08:05:19 PM by cfellows »
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Offline ths

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2014, 01:12:05 AM »
Hi Chuck,

My son and I did a knife making course a couple of weeks ago, where we used Radius Master belt grinders, such wonderful machines, as yours will be. I particularly like the interchangeable rollers, which will make forming different radii a doddle. The Radius Master has a rotatable head which contains a selection of three differently sized rollers, and can be altered without removing the belt (in fact, whilst the machine is running), but is limited to the supplied three.

Are you planning on making the motor speed controllable? It could be quite useful for different materials, particularly wood.

Hugh.

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2014, 01:25:12 AM »
Hi Chuck,

My son and I did a knife making course a couple of weeks ago, where we used Radius Master belt grinders, such wonderful machines, as yours will be. I particularly like the interchangeable rollers, which will make forming different radii a doddle. The Radius Master has a rotatable head which contains a selection of three differently sized rollers, and can be altered without removing the belt (in fact, whilst the machine is running), but is limited to the supplied three.

Are you planning on making the motor speed controllable? It could be quite useful for different materials, particularly wood.

Hugh.

Thanks, Hugh, yes I have several AC Variac's that I can plug the grinder into which will make the speed completely variable.

Today I got started on the Belt Tensioner / Idler. 



The vertical piece is 3" x 1.5" x 1.25".  The bottom piece is 3" x 1.25" x 3/4" and is attached to the vertical piece from the bottom with two, 5/16" Socket Head Cap Screws.  Tomorrow I will notch the top of the vertical piece to accept a 3" x 3/4" x 3/4" steel arm that will hold the idler pulley.  It will swivel up and down with an adjustment screw to provide belt tracking.

Chuck
« Last Edit: January 21, 2014, 01:28:41 AM by cfellows »
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Offline Don1966

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2014, 03:20:11 AM »
 I want one! Chuck just chatching up on this thread and will be following you. Where can one get one and how much? That is one bad belt sander.

Don

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2014, 03:40:57 AM »
I want one! Chuck just chatching up on this thread and will be following you. Where can one get one and how much? That is one bad belt sander.

Don

I found some prices posted back in 2008 that were $950-$1400, depending on options and accessories.  If you already have a motor, you could probably build one with materials on hand.  So far, my total outlay has been $2.50 for some screws.  I will likely have to buy some more bearings for additional rollers, but that's it.

Here's one last picture for the day. 



I made a 1" roller.  I plan to make a 3/4", a 1.25", a 1.5", and a 2".   I can also make more as the need arises.

Chuck
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #13 on: January 21, 2014, 11:21:42 PM »
Had a pretty productive day in the shop.  Managed to get the belt tensioner assembly mostly finished.  Here is the idler pulley for the tensioner:





The pulley started out as a 2" diameter piece of aluminum rod, 2.5" long.  It has a 5/8" hole bored straight through, then a 1/2" ID ball bearing recessed into 1.125" pockets on each end.  A 1/2" bolt will thread into the supporting arm with the jam nut to lock it in place.  I formed the crown on the pulley by turning a 3 degree taper on each end in about 7/8".  Then I used a rasp, a file, and 320 grit sand paper to smooth the transitions while spinning it in the lathe.

Here's the assembly so far:





The support arm is hinged on a 3/8" bolt in back with a 5/16-24 Jack Screw for the belt tracking adjustment.

Still have to figure out the tensioner spring arrangement, drill a mounting swivel hole in the back, and mount a handle on top of the support arm before I can call this part finished.  Then I'll be about ready to start putting this puppy together.

Chuck
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Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2014, 11:58:11 PM »
Chuck, what is the minimum diameter you could have on the interchangeable rollers?  AM wondering if it would be determined by the bearing OD's or the minimum bending radius of the belt itself.

Bill

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #15 on: January 22, 2014, 02:24:54 AM »
Chuck, what is the minimum diameter you could have on the interchangeable rollers?  AM wondering if it would be determined by the bearing OD's or the minimum bending radius of the belt itself.

Bill

The minimum diameter would be determined by the belt.  Here's a video of a fellow that has a 3/16" diameter roller...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYxRogKm9L8

I plan to implement adjustable height grinding rests like he has, although my mounting mechanism might be a little different.  As far as rollers go, I hadn't planned on making anything smaller than 3/4" diameter, but you never know what might be required somewhere down the road.
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Offline Hugh Currin

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #16 on: January 22, 2014, 04:05:13 AM »
Chuck:

Nice work as usual. Did you consider putting a tilting table on the flat side? I remember you modified another vertical belt sander but can't remember if you put a tilt table on it or not. I recently built a vertical belt sander which bolts to the wall to save space. The idea likely wouldn't work for yours but.....

I remember you bought ceramic glass from one of the web knife supply houses. I tried to also buy from several places but they were out of stock. I finally went to a local glass shop and asked if they could get ceramic glass. They had it in stock and when I asked for a 2" x ? piece he said "new or used". I took used and it was no more than a couple of bucks. He even sanded the sharp edges. I think they keep it for fireplaces. Before ordering a piece you might check locally, it sure worked for me. (I thought you might be looking for the new sander.)

Nice build, I wish I had room for one.

Hugh
Hugh

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #17 on: January 22, 2014, 05:32:56 AM »
Chuck:

Nice work as usual. Did you consider putting a tilting table on the flat side? I remember you modified another vertical belt sander but can't remember if you put a tilt table on it or not. I recently built a vertical belt sander which bolts to the wall to save space. The idea likely wouldn't work for yours but.....

I remember you bought ceramic glass from one of the web knife supply houses. I tried to also buy from several places but they were out of stock. I finally went to a local glass shop and asked if they could get ceramic glass. They had it in stock and when I asked for a 2" x ? piece he said "new or used". I took used and it was no more than a couple of bucks. He even sanded the sharp edges. I think they keep it for fireplaces. Before ordering a piece you might check locally, it sure worked for me. (I thought you might be looking for the new sander.)

Nice build, I wish I had room for one.

Hugh

Thanks, Hugh, I am considering putting a tilting table on the flat side.  May consider the glass at some point although I hadn't thought about it up to now.  I did install glass on my vertical sander...



It's my workhorse and hardly a day goes by it without it getting a lot of use.  So far, the glass platen has absolutely no sign of wear.  It also has a tilting table.  In addition to deburring grinding metal, I use it to sharpen my wood chisels, plane blades, and HSS lathe tool bits.

Chuck
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #18 on: January 23, 2014, 01:10:44 AM »
Getting Close!  Here's the mostly assembled grinder, parked in it's new home.  This space on the end of my Table Saw stand was previously unused and the grinder fits in there nicely. 







Here's some photos of the rest of my garage/shop.  You can see it's a bit crowded...





Now I have to build the spring assembly for the tensioner arm, the backing platen for the straight bit, and the adjustable table assemblies for both the straight part and the end roller. 

Chuck
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Offline Don1966

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #19 on: January 23, 2014, 01:36:03 AM »
Cool Chuck, that's turning out pretty dam nice. I like............. :ThumbsUp:


Don

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #20 on: January 23, 2014, 02:02:44 AM »
Nice progress Chuck.   I would love to make on about half that size since shop space is already tight to non-existent.

Bill

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #21 on: January 23, 2014, 04:42:26 AM »
Thanks, Don, thanks Bill.  I wouldn't have had room for this if I hadn't found that bit of space at the end of my table saw.

Here's a short video of the grinder.  Not finished yet, but the running gear is done...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkdHQBYd9Wc

Chuck
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2014, 12:00:19 AM »
Here's today's progress report.  I finished the platen for the straight section and got it installed.



I also got the spring for the tensioner assembly installed.  I made it simple for starters and can modify it later if it needs to be adjustable.



And, I got started on the grinding rest for the spindle end.



The horizontal rest will be mounted on an arm that swings out away from the grinder so the belt and/or spindle can easily be changed.  A 3/4" shaft will provide the hinge mechanism as well as the elevation adjustment so I can use different parts of the belt as it wears.

Chuck
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Offline Don1966

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2014, 12:31:35 AM »
Loved the video Chuck, I have a question about the belt adjustment. Is there a way to adjust the belt to make it ride higher or lower on it' s rollers? I don't seem to see any on yours. I love it though, talk about some metal removal.

Don

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2014, 01:39:40 AM »
Loved the video Chuck, I have a question about the belt adjustment. Is there a way to adjust the belt to make it ride higher or lower on it' s rollers? I don't seem to see any on yours. I love it though, talk about some metal removal.

Don

Thanks, Don, the SHCS on top of the arm that carries the idler pulley rides against the top of the vertical support.  Turning the screw adjusts the angle of the arm which makes the belt ride higher or lower.

Chuck
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Offline DICKEYBIRD

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #25 on: January 25, 2014, 02:36:16 PM »
That is one awesome tool Chuck, thanks so much for posting!  I need one of those real bad.

Might I suggest a KBIC-125 (or the like) speed control?  They're usually dirt cheap on ebay, dead reliable and are completely adjustable.  Soft-start, easily configurable for different motors & simple to hook-up.
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #26 on: January 25, 2014, 08:36:22 PM »
That is one awesome tool Chuck, thanks so much for posting!  I need one of those real bad.

Might I suggest a KBIC-125 (or the like) speed control?  They're usually dirt cheap on ebay, dead reliable and are completely adjustable.  Soft-start, easily configurable for different motors & simple to hook-up.

Thanks for the tip.  I'll check it out.

Today I finished up and mounted the grinding rest for spool end. 





Some of you may notice the boo boo on the outside edge of the table...  :rant:  I almost cut the notch on the wrong side, but my subconscious jumped in and made me reconsider as I was cutting it.  I'll probably remake it at some point, but it'll have to do for now.

On to the other grinding rest!

Chuck
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #27 on: January 27, 2014, 01:38:44 AM »
Here is the adjustable bracket for the front grinding rest.  I welded a 5/8" thick block on the front of a 1/4" thick piece rather than try to make it from one solid piece.



The bracket is fastened to the cabinet with a 1/4" bolt coming down from the top and a nut and washer on the bottom.



The slot in the bracket arm lets it move from side to side as well in and out.



The rest itself is (tightly) press fitted onto a 3/4" round pedestal that slides up and down in the bracket.



So the grinder is now functionally complete.  Everything works and both grinding rests are done.







I want to replace some of the plain nuts and/or bolts with handles so I don't have to reach for a wrench when I want to move something.  Then I will post a video showing how everything works.

Chuck
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Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #28 on: January 27, 2014, 01:45:05 AM »
Wasn't able to check the last couple of days Chuck but it looks fantastic. I like the simple solution to the belt tensioner spring!! Very nice project!!

Bill

Offline geoff5269

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #29 on: January 27, 2014, 08:41:56 PM »
Chuck, you seemed to have inspired a lot of folk to think about making one of these very usefull sanders, i wanted one to when i saw how well it worked but like a lot of replies here i wondered were i could accomidate it in my small workshop and i have no spare motor to use. Then i came up with an idea to use my pillar drill as a power souce and base for the sander. So this afternoon i put together this mockup to see if it is workable. I put a rubber sanding drum in the chuck and this drives a belt from a vacuum cleaner to the same pully driving the sanding belt. I'm sure it can be improved and i can see it does need a tracking device but it is certainly compact at just 5x20". I added a couple of pics of my workshop as well for anyone interested.
Geoff

Offline sshire

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #30 on: January 27, 2014, 10:26:38 PM »
Looking great, Chuck.
My concern is that if you make one more tool, you'll have to add another garage.
Best,
Stan

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #31 on: January 28, 2014, 12:06:15 AM »
Good idea, Geoff.  I had seen a similar setup on youtube before I started on mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAAadzaSBhE

Looking great, Chuck.
My concern is that if you make one more tool, you'll have to add another garage.

I don't think another garage or shop is in the cards.  I'm about at the point where any new tools will require the retirement of something else.  It's all about tradeoffs at this stage of the game.

Chuck
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Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #32 on: January 28, 2014, 12:08:59 AM »
Here's a video I made today of the finished grinder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkxWFjFUy6g

Hope you'll pardon the videography, it's pretty amateurish.

Chuck
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Offline Don1966

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #33 on: January 28, 2014, 12:37:40 AM »
Awesome Chuck and my I suggest you make ball handles for the T rest, so you don't have to go looking for a wrench. I like the belt height adjustment knob nice touch. You built that one up pretty fast. I like........  :praise2:

Don

Offline cfellows

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #34 on: January 28, 2014, 11:34:38 PM »
So I took your advice, Don, and made a ball handle for the outboard rest. 



Next I'll make one for the straight section grinding rest.

Chuck
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Offline Don1966

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #35 on: January 28, 2014, 11:53:03 PM »
Cool Chuck and I do like........... :ThumbsUp:

Don

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: Horizontal Belt Grinder
« Reply #36 on: January 29, 2014, 12:51:31 AM »
The little fine tuning touches just keep making it better Chuck!  Kudos for this excellent project!! 

Bill

 

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