If you were wanting to get your hands on a good sized contact wheel for your 2x72" grinder, but the price was unsettling; I've pieced together a good quality option for the Do It Yourself type that rings in at around $150 CAD. OK, it's not pretty but should get the job done. Grizzly Industrial makes an aluminum wheel for their 2x72" belt grinder. They also sells replacement wheels which run around $77 USD. With shipping, exchange and GST and this was under $120 CAD. The good news is that's easily the most expensive part you'll need to buy. The rest are little bits. The bad news is that the wheel is intended to be driven directly from the motor shaft, which means it has no bearings in it. I guess I could fire this off to a machine shop and get some lathe work done and some bearing pressed in, but I am on a budget here. Thanks to my pal Alaskabearhawk for the crux of this idea. This item doesn't appear in Grizzly's paper catalogue. Search their website for "G9242". Two 3/4" pillow blocks and a 4"x5" piece of 1/4" plate. The holes for the bolts are 3-3/4" x 2-1/2" on centres, 3/8" holes. About 6" of DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) tubing with an OD of 3/4". Walls are 0.125". Shined a little with sandpaper. Ye old 1-1/2" H.S.S. square. The heavy wall (3/16") will give some solid support for the wheel. I bought 18" at Metal Supermarkets when I bought the DOM tube. Turns out that 18" is perfect for my machine. You'll have to size up to fit your grinder's receiver and get a good fit with the belt on. For a spacers over the shaft I'll use some 3/4" schedule 40 galvanized pipe. These will allow us to put a long 1/2" bolt or threaded rod through the whole assembly and be able to tighten it down without stressing the bearings. I used a tubing cutter to get this started nice and true. Two pieces at 1-1/4" are required. I used a hydraulic shop press to press the DOM tube into the wheel. It is designed for interference fit on a 3/4" shaft. Press in until flush. This is the test fitting. I ended up cutting the 1/2" bolt back from 8" to 7-1/4" so when the collar goes on not too much bolt is sticking out. Another test fitting. Here you can see how the pieces will eventually fit together. The right pillow block will have some longer 3/8" NC x 3" bolts that will go all the way through the tool arm. Loosing the bolts will allow for some amount of adjustment. The next steps are to get the H.S.S. drilled, splash some paint on the bearing mount and arm. See you in Part 2. Dan
Part 2 After some paint drying time and parts are ready to assemble. And this is the view from the underside looking up. It might be prudent to replace the 1/2" nut with a nylon locking nut so it won't work loose whilst spinning. A spot of Loc-tite would work there as well. The option exists for flipping it over and having the bearings on the top side of the arm. This would raise the wheel about 5". Whatever works and is comfortable. If you flipped the bearings topside you could attached a rest to it easily. I'll explore some more and let you know. And there you have it folks. It runs beautifully smooth does exactly what I want it to do for about $150 Canadian. I have some more detail on my blog with some additional dimensions and photos. http://dcknives.blogspot.ca/p/large-wheel-attachment-for-bg272.html All the best! Dan
Dan, great idea. I like looking at your blog and seeing all your creations. Definitely helps out on my own wallet!
Brad -- It was very easy to align. I spun it by hand until the belt wasn't walking off the wheel, then locked one nut down. Ran it up to speed for a check and tightened the other three nuts. That was it. There is a fair amount of wiggle room with the four bolts. The bearings will take up to 1/2" bolts and I am using 3/8". Thanks Derrick. The next projects are a hydraulic pin press, etching power supply and acid etching and stonewash tumbler. I've been going all summer and falling behind on posts. Autumn is a great time to catch up. Dan
I had the wheel machined to take the bearings, I think the advantage to your setup is the larger bearings. They don't have to turn as fast and won't heat up as much as mine. I've had to change them a couple of times. Frank
Good point Frank. I am hoping that having the Zerk fittings will also aid in extending the life of the bearings. I'll let you know how it works. Dan
Nice tutorial Dan. I've been wanting to get that wheel and use it on my small wheel attachment to see how it would work out.
The Grizzly wheel is by all accounts a good one. It's balanced and rubber appears to be durable. One just needs to find a way to make it spin. (I stand corrected. A small blurb on the wheel appears on the bottom of page 166 of the Grizzly 2014 catalogue. ) So, now I can stop making tools (yeah right!) and start making knives. Christmas is coming! Dan
