The past couple months, off and on, I have been designing a 2 x 72 grinder. The design is not done yet but i figured I would post some screen shots of it to get your opinions and thoughts. I am trying to obviously keep it as cheap as possible but still solid and also as little machining as possible. Here are the pics. I will be trying to keep the material sizes as common as possible so that I can just buy a couple bars and cut to length. It is shown with a 1hp AC motor but I will try a treadmill motor for the variable speed just cause i have it. If it lasts... cool if I only get a month out of it... at least I didn't have to spend the money on a motor right away and I can work out any bugs the grinder may have. I am hoping to do all of the drilling, tapping, c'boring, etc at work after work. If i go thru with the build, I will keep updating this thread and keep it as a WIP if anyone is interested. If anyone has any questions or ideas please feel free to type. thanks
Well it looks nothing like the grinder i just built, which in reality is likely a very good thing for you haha. Mine isnt pretty but it sure makes sparks. Yours looks great so far.
I like it ! ..............alot ! I'll be in Toronto next week on business , maybe I should stop by and give you a po# !! or pick up a sample to demo LOL !!
Thanks. I saw yours. It looks great and much simpler than mine. LOL. I wish i had a completed one to "sample".
Looks really nice, Icho-. I like the adjustability. I think I'd make the table much longer, but that's just me. Question: is it really that much cheaper to build a grinder like that than buy one or does the "roll your own" factor overshadow cost benefits?
Thanks. To me the rest is very important. I want to be able to go from horizontal to vertical as easy as possible. Also hoping to be able to set it up to be able to grind a concave notch in the end of tubing for welding tubing together. I will see about taking the platen assembly off and attaching drums from an oscilating drum sander I have. Just have to figure out a quick change method. I will definately check all costs before I actually build it. So far it looks like materials are a lot cheaper than getting a kit. It definately helps that I have and know how to use cad(I design dies all day) and designing a grinder is fun and a good change. Also I have access to a machine shop (I'm actually a die maker). Making stuff out of metal is so much fun!
Wow that looks great. I am looking in to cost of getting a grinder in a box water cut in Calgary but its costly. Here is a link to the layout and plans. http://www.polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit_faq.html Check out all the links. I have a company that would do the cutting for me if I build one for them as well. But I am having trouble finding Canadian suppliers of the parts like tracking, idler, contact wheels, 2x72 belts, Variable Frequency Drive controller. Do you have a Canadian source for these things? Or what would be the cost for your kit once your done? I don't mind ordering from the states except for the shipping cost so it would be nice to stay in Canada. I was also going to rig a 9" disc grinder off the back of the square grinder to save the cost of a second motor. CAD drawings always look cool.
Sounds like you may have a good deal going. Nice looking grinder too. I have been looking at adding the large contact wheel like it has but I stopped messing with the wheels untill I see all of my wheel options and prices. Can be tough finding the wheels here in Canada. I don't know of anyone other than going to a machine shop and telling them what you need. One thing I will be looking into for idlers is skateboard wheels. Not sure if they come in the right sizes but I'm hoping to make it out to a skate shop and see what they have. Also, Princess auto has cast aluminum casters with urethane theads. I think 8" dia x 2" wide. Were on sale for $25. Would be nice if it was a bit bigger dia but for that price i may have to check it out. If it looks good I will probably use that as one of the wheels on the platten assembly. I always thought CAD drawings look cool too.
Thanks. I just have to get the ambition to finish the design. I still have to look into a few things but it also makes it difficult because I sit in front of the computer for 55 hrs a week right now at work.
HI Icho I looked at the casters in Princes Auto and good luck finding a round and balanced one. The skateboard wheel is a great idea though. I gave up the idea of a VFD controller and am going with step pulleys now. I finally found the step pulleys at Canadian Tire after looking at every industrial supply I could think of.
I noticed the wheels weren't very smooth. I would try a good bearing and if I had to I can re bore the hole and true it up. If I decide to tryy it out I would bring it home and check it with an indicator and go from there. I didn't even think of Canadian tire for the step pulleys.
Thats a nice looking grinder and very simalar to the one I made for myself. I got the plans off the net ( google No Weld Belt Grinder ). I still have the plans if you want a copy. There complete blue print type line drawings. I made my wheels and pulleys but they suck and I'm going to order a pre-made set. One problem with the skate board wheels is the size of the bearings. I think there to small. Your grinder can run for hours on end with a fairly heavy load and I don't think skate wheels would last. The bearings in my idlers and track wheel have 1/2" I.D and 1" O.D. and I still have to chage them out a couple times a year.
Thanks. Yours looks good too. The protractor is a neat idea. I have seen the plans for the no weld grinder and I may already have them. I have a few different sets of plans that I got online but thanks for the offer. I was wondering about the bearing size but I seen a set of new wheels with bearings for less than $20 on ebay so I may try them out. I will see cause I also have a treadmill and may even use the rollers off of that.
Nice photos, what software are you using to draw with ? That's an interesting variation on the KMG clone design by having some of your bars vertical. How long is your tension arm? It seems very short to me, I would tend to double it. The longer that lever the better leverage you have to apply tension to the belt. I'm also looking at the vertical you have to the tension arm pivot and I would try to do that on both sides, maby some spacers required to do that It looks like you have shoulder bolts drawn in for the pivots. They are expensive but provide a much nicer fit than normal cap screws.
Dont mean to hijack but have a question for 1234567890. By any chance are you the same count from BF? There is a user there with the same handle and it got me wondering if maybe you were the same guy?
Thanks Sam. I use Cimatron at work and keycreator at home. Ya because i am trying to use the same size CRS bar i figured why not use it for the vertical supports. I can get a 1/2 x 2.5 x 12 feet for about $90 so I want to use as much as possible and I will still have lots extra for other projects. The tension arm will definately be longer. There is still some changes i want to make to the design once i figure out all of the materials and if i will definately get some shop time at work. I havent worked on the design much since I started this thread. Right now my mind is more on the KITH and wedding in a few months (Even the best fighter has to tap out sooner or later LOL) The tension arm has a full length vertical bar and another shorter one that screws to the top of the main frame. That is definately plenty and possibly stronger than having a longer screw with the spacers to make up for the extra width. I agree the shoulder screws are much nicer and smoother and since I already have I figured why not use them.
I've been putting some thought into not being able to find grinders and parts here in Canada so last night I started from scratch on my grinder design. Now that I've been using my grinder for a while i have a better idea of what features are nice in a grinder. I will hopefully make a prototype to test and find out actual cost and time to make. Now that I have a lathe and have access to a laser cutter it may be a reality. So far what I'm thinking is: - 2 x 72.... obviously - aluminum frame .500 thick (depending on cost compared to cold rolled steel) -1.5Dia idlers on flat platten. Platten about 7 inches long. -optional rest fully adjustable similar to the one in the first design. -56c frame motor direct drive mounting with step pulley mounting capability. - I will look into gas spring tensioner - and who knows what else. I'll see what the computer draws up. Here's what I have so far and I'm open to opinions and ideas.
