Show me your..... Belt sanders ( please )

[The Iron Dwarf]

just found a source of scotchbrite type sanding belts and am thinking of making a machine to use them.

they are 40mm and 50mm wide and 6' 6" and maybe 7' 6" long aprox, was thinking of making a machine that will do both types and the more common 2" by 60" belts as well and am looking for ideas.

anyone want to share a pic of their favorite sander?

[Jurgen]

Here is the one I made for 2x48" belts:

http://scametalwork.com/personal/images ... _large.jpg

I've used the surface conditioning belts on it before. They work well, but don't last as long as I think they should for the cost.

Jurgen

[CTrumbore]

no love for the wheels? The grinders we had at the shop I worked at had a belt on one side, and a SB wheel on the other.. worked the nuts. You could put a mirror shine back on a piece of stainless with the right wheel. (usually had to buff out spotwelds and such)

[The Iron Dwarf]

have a small polishing wheel that I use rarely, mostly I just use flap discs on a grinder.

nice simple one Jurgen,
have been thinking of a removable platten, telescoping top wheel for many sizes of belt and a removable table.
60" seems to be a common length here for 2" wide belts but the scotchbright belts are longer ( and at the price of them it is worthwhile getting them for hand use )

[RoundTop]

Wheels are great for surface polishing/general brushing, and some forms of grinding.

but a good belt sander takes crud off, plus you can make nice curves, etc if you use a courser belt. I wouldn't want to try and round a corner on a wheel

[johan1212]

I saw a Thread not long ago for gauntlet kits. I looked at his site and he had a sander kit that looked good and would fill your needs.

[Sir ThorolfR]

I don't have any pics but I have the scotchbrite belts for my 2x72 and for the 50mmx 960mm sanders. If you are looking for a kit, Polar Bear Forge has a nice one.

[J.G.Elmslie]

Personally, I use a Downland Engineering Maxi Grinder Direct.

Invertek optidrive digital inverter linked to a 2hp motor (240v 1 phase, rather than a 3-phase), direct connection from motor to drive wheel means less noise and vibration, and with the inverter, I can control the belt speed exactly to what I need. Runs 50mm x 1.86m or 2m belts, 1.86 is pretty much the default standard nowadays.
Working adjustable platen head or contact wheel head for 30-150mm shore60 contact wheels, and a full set of rests for horizontal, vertical and freehand work.

fantastic peice of kit. tracks like a dream, and I can run it at full speed, and balance a 20p peice on the platen head arm, its that smooth. the only thing that could be improved on it is its a bit difficult to do really small radius fullering cuts on big blades due to the contact wheel bearing assembly. but that is more than compensated by the fact that a 150mm wheel runs perfectly smooth.

[Sean Powell]

I love home-built tools and belt sanders sepecially. I haven't seen one yet that wouldn't make an OSHA safety engineers head spin like the exorcist.

Jamie at Polar Bear Forde sells a 'Grinder in a box' that might give you some ideas. Given which side of the pond you are on , the cost of shipping and that you had a massive-big gear sprocket already laser cut, you might just get his plans and modify them for the belt size you have... or look at the pictures and re-engineer it from what you have available. The second is probably better as I'll bet Jamies uses imperial hardware, not metric.
http://www.polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html

The only thing constructive I have to say is to make certain that the drive wheel is slightly domed so the belt tracks towards the center. Many people forget that simple step.

Good luck!

[The Iron Dwarf]

imperial hardware is no problem, I have to source materials for restoration work.

my intent is not really to work from others plans but more to get ideas and then build something new, after that we will find out what it is good or bad for.

having a source of belts at about $1.50 each means I can have a play without much cost

[Kenshin Hanabe]

http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCKnifeMakingGrinders.htm

[The Iron Dwarf]

many thanks to all those who posted, lots of food for thought, what a great selection on the CNC site, thanks Kenshin

[Kenshin Hanabe]

Np, I'm in the process of rebuilding mine and I stumbled across that sight! Lots of good ideas.

[Jurgen]

I've got a separate buffer for polishing.

I also have some holes that I can use to bolt on a platen now. I rarely use it since I have a 4x48 inch bench belt sander right next to it.

[Sam O.]

I remember seeing one a couple of years ago that Padrig built that had multiple configurations.

I saved a couple of pics for inspiration, I hope he doesn't mind me posting them.

[Thaddeus]

Mine is built from a Polar Bear Forge kit.
Works ok, I made a couple of mistakes building it that have given me some tracking control issues.
They are solvable, but to be honest by the time I finish tweaking and fiddling with the thing I would have been just as well served to buy a Bader or a Beaumont KMG, when you consider cost of parts AND labor.
However putting it all together myself was a lot more fun than just opening up a box and unwrapping a new tool.
Any way here are the pics. 2x72 with a 2HP 3600 rpm motor.

[Voshe]

For deburring and rounding the edges of sheet metal, try this. Complements belt sanders nicely in finishing edges. This is a dense woven abrasive wheel mounted on a guard free side of a bench grinder. Silicon carbide is the abrasive impregnated into the fibers. Works on all metals. Has more aggressive metal removal than any polishing wheel. Want to remove more? Just push harder. It can take it. https://www.mscdirect.com/product/81243917?Arg=nv Anybody else try these?

[Jurgen]

I've used deburring wheels. They work great, but they are godawful expensive for how long they last.

[Mac]

Here is the belt sander attachment I built about 15 years ago. It fits on the left side of my ancient and venerable grinder in the place where I might otherwise mount a wheel. I built it as an attachment because, at the time, I could not spare the room for a "stand alone" belt sander. If I were to do it again, I would design it around a longer, wider belt.



The other side of same..... The handle on the right engages a series of holes in the side of the grinder, so that the angle of the the belt sander can be changed. It can also be swung up and locked out of the way.



This is the belt tensioning cam and ratchet. (sorry about the focus) The cam puts pressure on a coil spring inside the telescoping arm.



Here is the belt tracking mechanism. Turning the knurled knob moves the "tiller" on the nose wheel yoke.



A detail of the nose wheel. The nose bearings are ABEC-5 "Killer Bees", intended for Rollerblades.



In addition to the platen which is currently mounted, I have these others with different profiles and varying degrees of cushioning.



Mac

[Voshe]

I've used deburring wheels. They work great, but they are godawful expensive for how long they last.

These wheels are expensive. Wasn't always so. About 15 years ago, you could get more than twice the wheel size for that money. The durability of this wheel isn't bad tho. 9 density means that it feels as hard as oak. Most wheels are not that dense, and can tear up quickly. You can expect a decent life out of these. The bear-tex 9 density silicon carbide wheels by norton last even longer, but cost twice as much.

[Giles de Bois Guilbert]

ID, You want to share your belt source - I'm still getting bits and bobs for mine. it's based on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8ss_PZDWP0 but I've made mod's because I wanted it to drive a buffing wheel as well. Frame is done but still looking for the right motor - probably end up shelling out for a new one I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

[J.G.Elmslie]

ID, You want to share your belt source - I'm still getting bits and bobs for mine.

Get them from John Townsend. Lovely guy, and really knows what's what.
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/sho ... -Grits-Why

[Giles de Bois Guilbert]

Here it is ID in all it's virginal glory sorry about the background clutter.
Dammit! Suzerain another forum to get lost in......thanks

[The Iron Dwarf]

thanks Giles ( and everyone else too ) lots of ideas, next I am hunting for components and then I will start to build the monster!

can get you as many as you want giles or see me at the next newark autojumble in about a month and I will introduce you.

what sort of motor are you after, I have a few

[Signo]

Question : what is the recommended power of a bench wheel or belt sander that won't slap your face with your ripped off arm, and that at the same time, will do his job reasonably well?

[Mac]

Marco,

The home-built machine that I have used for decades has a 1/2 hp motor. I make up for it by speed reducing pullies. I sometimes wished I had more power, and if I ever replace the motor, I will probably step up to 1hp.

In this, as in so many things, I find myself an outsider; and you may feel free to consider the low power of my machine to be the perverse results of a flawed and warped mind.

Seriously, though, many people use machines that are way too powerful for their own good. They can be dangerous, and can ruin the work too fast. A moment's inattention; and a crest line can be lost, or the work flung across the room.

Mac

[The Iron Dwarf]

think I will try 1hp as I have motors that size

[Voshe]

My old wilton square wheel belt grinder (it's a belt sander. They just call it that.) has a 1 hp motor that spins at 1175 RPM, but a drive wheel that's 10" in diameter. With those two numbers you should be able to calculate surface feet per minute. You can adjust the diameter of your drive wheel to your proposed motors rpm to match the surface feet per minute. Don't know if that speed is optimal or not. Probably some qualified opinions here.

[The Iron Dwarf]

was talking to someone at an event recently who had a 4" drive wheel on a 1400 rpm motor who worked out it was about half the optimal speed for the belts he was using, dont know about how normal abrasive belts compare to scotchbrite that I have though, may look for a 6" or larger wheel

[Giles de Bois Guilbert]

ID, I was looking for a 1.5 - 2hp running about 1475rpm but if you have 1hp for a good price that will get me in the saddle leastways. I agree with Mac on the power deal people tend to think bigger is better but it depends upon application. For fine work it's the files by preference, it's hard to screw something up totally with a file without working really hard at it

[Thorvaaldr Frithsamr]

I would go at least 1 hp; that's what my Burr King has, and I often wish it had a leeeetle bit more.

http://www.knifemaking.com/product-p/bk99100.htm

That is my favorite belt grinder, as requested.

My second favorite is

http://www.knifemaking.com/product-p/bm101.htm

I have nothing against the buy-the-plans and make it ones, if you have those skills. If you do not, I unreservedly recommend the above two machines, in their various configurations.

If you are putting your own together, I cannot stress strongly enough how highly I recommend getting a first rate TEFC (Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled) motor for it. I have had my Burr King, with its factory original TEFC Baldor motor, for over twenty years, and it runs just as well as when I bought it.

It comes in a 60 inch model; most American knifemakers use 2x72 inch belts, and that's how mine is configured.

http://www.burrking.com/catalog/p-10000 ... lt-grinder

[Jiri Klepac]

Hi Guys,

I got a lot of information from Mac, Jeffrey H. and others and bulit this one a while ago:

http://www.photobucket.estranky.cz/fotoalbum/hracky/
now it has a flat platen and a contact Wheel and a safety cover too

if you want to see the large gallery with belt grinders:
http://gonza-rytec.rajce.idnes.cz/brusky/

all the best

Jiri

[Padrig]

I remember seeing one a couple of years ago that Padrig built that had multiple configurations.
I saved a couple of pics for inspiration, I hope he doesn't mind me posting them.

Not at all, to the contrary I am glad you saved them. It's been taken apart a while ago and replaced with a variable speed KMG.

[Aussie Yeoman]

I've been wondering on and off whether it would be possible to utilise a bench drill for the drive and variable speed for a grinder. Sometimes I work wood, so a metal-speed grinder would burn it. Sometimes I work metal, so a wood speed machine would take painfully too long. A variable speed motor is pretty expensive. Hence my idea.

In the link Jiri posted, it looks as if someone may already have done just that:

http://img4.rajce.idnes.cz/d0409/2/2593 ... ont20b.jpg

Albeit in a horizontal manner.

[Padrig]

I am not sure I understand. Is the drillpress variable speed? Those are expensive.
You can get a VFD for about 130$ and build a box to keep the dust out like I did and a 2HP 3 phase motor runs about 200$ new. (you could surely find a better price used). Reasonable I think.