2" by 72" Homemade Belt Grinder Construction Part 1

[@varun009]

Thank you for sharing, sir. I wish more people were like you.

[@tim9lives]

Thanks for posting this detailed 5 part video. I like your design and will be following your design to make one for myself. Thanks again.

[@alaskabearhawk]

+tim9lives You're more than welcome...and thanks for the nice comment!

[@enachenicolae8098]

thank you very much for your answers and advice. i`m from Romania, east Europe.

[@PinuckBaby]

Thank you so much for sharing your engineering with us. I love the recycled timing belt pulleys. I have borrowed some of your ideas, and I must give credit where credit is due. I too will pay it forward and share my design ideas with anyone who is inspired to build things themselves.

[@alaskabearhawk]

You're welcome! Thanks for the kind words...

[@terryharris5100]

And I just want to say thank you for the great plans. I have my motor already and most of the metal. I bought a set of bolt together plans off of eBay and they are way too complicated. I love the simplicity of your design and will be building one this week. Hope you have a merry Christmas 🎄

[@paulminelga3353]

Thanks for the kind words Terry! I never regretted making mine and it's one of the most used tools in my shop. Good luck on your build and Merry Christmas!

[@enachenicolae8098]

thank you. i think i will use a step pulley setup. I'm thinking that the run speed of the belt should be something along the lines of 20 meters per sec, 28 m/s and 35m/s. what do you think?

[@enachenicolae8098]

i wish to use mine to profile knifes, i`m a beginning blacksmith(with a medical nurse degree) so i need to remove a lot of material fast and efficient but still have the option to do fine work at slow speeds. I have a small 250 watt belt sander that runs at 20 m/s and i have read about burr king grinders that run at 35m/s i think, complicated conversions from imperial to metric.

[@alaskabearhawk]

I don't remember anymore, but it was probably around $100. The 10 inch contact wheel from Grizzly Tools was the most expensive part. Everything else, except for the drive pulley on the motor, I had lying around the shop. The motor was a garage sale purchase for less than 5 bucks.

[@alaskabearhawk]

The engine power being too much is not a factor...too little is what is critical. 3hp is more than adequate. Of course the motor is heavier as well. The rpm is your choice. I have seen grinders with a step pulley setup or a variable speed control (expensive!). The 2850 rpm would do fine I'm sure. The good news is if you want a different rpm, all you have to do is change the motor or the way the belt is driven. The main structure of the grinder is what is important. Thanks for your interest!

[@SL-ez7qn]

Would it be possible to provide the details of the spring. I need some guidance on how stiff the spring has to be.

[@alaskabearhawk]

There are a few ways you can deal with this. One is to get thinner wall tubing and weld on thin shims and miss the seam. The other is to use an angle grinder and grind a thin vee groove in the smaller tubing so it can slide into the larger, the groove compensates for the seam. One other, but labor-intensive way is to get a file and file the seam flat. Look at the next video, Part 2 at 4:54 and that describes the vee groove to compensate for the seam

[@marlingalde110]

I am building a belt sander with your video help. My question is how does stainless steel work for a platten surface wear plate?

[@alaskabearhawk]

I don't think that it's necessary. I've used my grinder for a few years now and the platen is just starting to get polished. Mild steel works just fine.

[@alaskabearhawk]

The motor is 3/4hp, 1725 rpm. Pretty standard stationay tool motor. It has a 5/8ths inch shaft.

[@jeepjames7663]

alaskabearhawk I Apreciate all the info on the build. The only thing i didn't understand is, What kind of spring is used to supply the tension?

[@alaskabearhawk]

jeep james Hi... Look at the video kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ6pYYp7mq2frtk starting at about :35 sec. It has the explanation for the spring. BTW, you're welcome!

[@enachenicolae8098]

what is the diameter of your contact wheel on the engine( preferably in centimeters) and your engine's rpm? so that i may get an idea about your setup's belt speed.

[@alaskabearhawk]

A wheel grinder is essential for making the fishmouths in the tubing. But this grinder is great for general fabrication work. A regular grinder will work fine, but once you have used one of these, you wonder why it took you so long to have one.

[@B.G.Legendcooker1779]

Can you please tell me the horse power of the motor on the sander. I just bought a 1/2 horse motor from tractor supply. I dont know if its strong enough

[@marcosdelaguila4120]

Thanks for taking the time you did to film and post this video and the others regarding your 2x72. I found it very useful when building my own. It looks nothing like yours (you could check the video) :-) however the design of yours was tremendously helpful as I constructed my own. Thanks again!

[@alaskabearhawk]

You're welcome. That's what's great about the internet. Sharing ideas and using them to make your own. Like you said, I don't see much from mine in your video, but yours is fantastic! I really like the treadmill motor idea. Great job!

[@marcosdelaguila4120]

Thanks for the compliment! The wheel from Grizzly I knew about from your post. I purchased and used some of the tubing from Aircraft Spruce that you mention as well. Just those two thing alone were tremendously useful. I agree about the internet being such a great resource as well. Marcos

[@matthewruddock7928]

The horizontal tube which comes of the vertical piece is what length, is it 8 or 6 inches. Just a bit confused from the video. Loving the design as well

[@alaskabearhawk]

Matthew Ruddock Hey Matthew...sorry it took so long to get back to you. That main tube is 8 inches long. Hope this helps...

[@mikegunnellsministriesinc5384]

what size bolts did you use for your wheels? That goes through the wheels to hold them on or in place

[@alaskabearhawk]

3/8ths, but that will vary depending on what you end up using for wheels.

[@mindfreak001009]

hi there..the wheel on the motor, is that stainless?

[@alaskabearhawk]

KZbin blocks web links, so just google Chicago Die Casting and one of the top links should be for the company. At the top of the page there are some links, click on the Pulleys link and that will show you the crown-faced pulley on the bottom-left of the page. You will have to know your motor shaft diameter. I think the pulley is 3 inches wide. You will probably have to call to find out where to buy one. I bought mine locally at a motor and tool repair shop. Hope this helps...

[@Dustendee]

Did you happen to use "Nestable" Tube steel when it came to the 1.5" going into the 2"? Im having the hardest time making this happen because of the weld seam.....

[@enachenicolae8098]

How important is engine power? I have a 3 hp motor at 2850 rpm. Is it to powerful?

[@cucumebember]

Hello, super video, can you please tell me what was the total cost of this build ?

[@alaskabearhawk]

Sure. I have around $100 into the build. The contact wheel was about $70, the zinc sheave on the motor was about $15, the contact wheel support bearings were about $10 and then other various bits and pieces. Prices of the components have probably increased since then. Where I really lucked out was the motor. I got it at a garage sale for $2. The wiring was all messed up and the owner couldn't figure out which wire did what, so I bought it for basically scrap value not knowing if the motor worked or not. I got that straightened out and it runs just fine. I use the thing almost every day and has held up over the years. The only maintenance I have done is cleaning it occasionally. You will never regret building one. The time you spend building will be made up many times over in time saved by having a belt grinder. I can't imagine trying to make anything in the shop without one.

[@lukeriley4628]

can you show tell me about the hardware used to mount the wheels?

[@paulminelga3353]

Hi Luke... It's just a 3/8-16 bolt. Pretty standard...hope this helps.

[@terryharris5100]

The piece that you slide the platen in is 8” or 6”?? 1/4” thick wall or 1/8”

[@paulminelga3353]

Hi Terry... I'm visiting family and won't be back in the shop until later this week. I'll post the dimensions when I get back.

[@mitoshiba9105]

Hi Mr.,can i get pictures plans About make Belt Grinder Construction Part ty

[@alaskabearhawk]

Sorry, I do not have plans available at this time. I may do so in the future

[@alaskabearhawk]

Mine is 3/4 hp, but not because of any specific design. I got it at a garage sale. I'm sure 1/2 hp will be fine.

[@1slowz2]

I was curious how much you would charge to make one of these... I live in Anchorage and need a 2x72 grinder. I currently am working with a 1x42 with a 1/3hp motor, just isn't getting the job done and I can't afford a 1-2k grinder.

[@alaskabearhawk]

Hey Kendall... To be honest I have enough on my plate now to keep me busy for quite a while, so I don't think I'd be able to help you out. Besides, this is a pretty easy build. Why not just start by making some parts, maybe an hour or so every few days? In no time you'll have it together.

[@genesmith5188]

the up right pipe how wide is it and gage?

[@alaskabearhawk]

Hey Gene. It's 2 inch square tubing, 3/16ths wall thickness.

[@genesmith5188]

thanks

[@genesmith2416]

do you think 16 gage tubing would be to light for this build

[@alaskabearhawk]

Gene Smith Hey Gene, 16 gauge seems really light for the application.

[@1slowz2]

Yeah, Doesn't look bad, but I don't own a welder. Thanks and great build!

[@alaskabearhawk]

Sorry it took so long to get the information. The wheel on the motor is 7.5 cm (75mm) in diameter and the motor turns at 1725 rpm. Hope this helps.

[@ipikns3008]

Can i get measurement plans ty

[@alaskabearhawk]

Sorry, no plans available at this time. I may have some available later this year. Thanks for your interest!

[@unapro3]

What is the advantage of having such a large belt grinder? Won't a normal 2 wheel belt grinder do the same job? Any more vid's of your BH project? Oh yeah, nearly forgot......first view woot!

[@alaskabearhawk]

It seems fast to me at the top end. By my calculations my belt speed is about 5.74 meters per second. I just don't know how fast you want to go. A variable speed Burr King goes between 3 m/s and 31 m/s. A Jet turns at 23.4 m/s. Your 28 m/s and 35 m/s seems too fast by comparison.

[@davidratkay9281]

what type of motor is that in the back of the belt grinder platform?

[@d.comeaucustomknives2677]

Thank you so much. I watched these videos back in January 2014 and I now have my grinder up and running. I found a 3 phase 2 hp motor that I am driving with a VFD. In my blog, I have added cut lists, a wiring diagram and lots of details on the build. I ended up using a 4" nylon caster for a drive wheel and it works great! I hope that others can make use of the info there. dcknives.blogspot.ca/p/2-x-72-belt-grinder.html Thanks again.

[@alaskabearhawk]

Your build looks really great! I'm glad you were able to find some ideas useful. After using it for awhile, you will wonder how in the heck you survived without one! A fellow posted a few months back that he build one and used a motor and controller from an old treadmill. Very creative and certainly not as sophisticated as your installation, but I'm constantly amazed as to the variations (read improvements) there are on the basic design. Your blog has very nice, clear and detailed info on your grinder build. BTW, thanks for the kind words!

[@alaskabearhawk]

Yep. It seems like just about anything I buy these days has a warning that is causes cancer in California. I figure I might as well jump on the bandwagon. Amazing that those products don't seem to cause cancer anywhere else....hmmmm.

[@steelveal7]

THESE THINGS CAUSE CANCER IN CALIFORNIA?!? I better phone my brother and let him know to watch out for these then!!…. @_@