The Armour Archive

Has anyone here built their own belt sander? I tried to get a couple simple looking flap belt sanders on ebay, but they went out of my price range. There are some motors on ebay for cheap and I wanna just make my own. Any instructions, ideas, help, or pictures?

Thanks.

You can find info here:

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/

Pad

------------------
L'Armurerie du Roi
webmaster@armurerieduroi.com

I saw that, a very cool site. But is there a cheaper way to get the wheels? He has them on there for like 40 each.

Can you turn them yourself? If not, you can probably find barstock in the size you'd need, or just use pipe.

Kalba

------------------
-----------
Barkalba bar Shalamsin
m.k.a. Jamie Szudy
LU2.DUB.SAR

No, I don't have a lathe. How could pipe be used with the it hollow in the middle?

I built my own 1" X42"sander and made or found my wheels. Tkae make the drive wheel I got four 6" square of maple plywood and cut them all down to octagons. I then glued them crossed grained together and drilled a hole the size of my shaft down the center. I put this block onto my motor and used rasps and sand paper to get a smooth wheel. T put cushioning on the wheel I went to my local flooring store and got two 12" X 1" strips of underpad for vinyl. I glued the strips on making a beveled lap-joint where the ends meet. fro th other wheel I wen to the local hardware store and purchased a dolly wheel that could be bolted.

James

I've built all my belt sanders. My first one was just a 2 x 72, and my current three are adjustable. One of them can take up to a 132 inch belt.

Wheels are always the most difficult part next to tracking. I bought a mini lathe just for that purpose and it has more than paid for itself. Rob does good work, and I wouldn't hesitate at all to recommend getting wheels from him.

I'm not sure that I'd use pipe. The bearings need to sit in the wheel properly to run true. Cart wheels or dolly wheels will work, but watch out for a few things. A lot of the bearings in those aren't going to last at 1725 rpms or so. Avoid hollow ones, make sure they are solid wheels. Otherwise they flex outwards in the middle.

What size were you thinking of making?

Jamie

btw, here's a link to my grinders. http://www.polarbearforge.com/grinders.htm

------------------
Jamie
jamie@polarbearforge.com
Polar Bear Forge - Custom knives

1x42 or 2x42 Those sanders you have are sweet! I need one that is upright because I don't have much room.

Thanks! I know what ya mean about running out of room. Sometimes it seems that I rearrange just to get 3 or 4 more square feet of floor space.

What were you going to use the belt sander for? Some belt sizes are somewhat limited on the available grits. Where you thinking the upright where theres a wheel on the motor at the bottom and one other wheel at the top for tension and adjustment?

Jamie

------------------
Jamie
jamie@polarbearforge.com
Polar Bear Forge - Custom knives

I plan to use it to finish all my armours. Right now I'm doing it by hand, and it takes WAY to long.
I want it to look something like this(without the table): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2560457878&category=25279&rd=1#ebayphotohosting

Yep, that was the style I was thinking.

Ok, I know you don't have lathe, what other tools do you have for construction? One can be made with or without welding, so that's not essential, just helpful. It can be bolted together from square tubing.

Do you have a motor? I don't know if you're planning on using the platen (metal piece behind the belt) but I'd recommned having it anyway and just making it removable. I would also recommend just making it a bit taller, and going with 2x72 inch belts. There's a wider range of grit sizes and manufacturers. Grits range from 24 grit (seems like pea gravel to me) on up to 10000 grit.

Jamie

------------------
Jamie
jamie@polarbearforge.com
Polar Bear Forge - Custom knives