Belt tension

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Natlek

Joined
Jun 9, 2015
Messages
6,182
For now I have two belt grinders .Both use 2x42 belts .One have gas spring tension other have ratchet mechanism . The one with gas+ steel spring tension/ over 44 lbs. together / have 22cm dia. drive wheel and after some test I make i concluded that I have belt slip . Other one have ratchet mechanism and only 14cm. drive wheel and it is impossible for belt to slip whatever I try .
Today I used this belt frequency meter/ I use that tool most for timing belt tension / to measure belt tension on both grinders.....I use Hz because to measure in Newton or LBS I need to enter mass of belt ......Here what data I get ..................

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I try in newton without enter mass of belt ........

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So if I take this data seriously I should use over 90 lbs in first one to get rid of belt slip on first grinder ?
 
I have a 60lb spring on my GIB and that solved tracking issues and belt slip long ago
 
i have a kmg and the tw-90. i have noticed if you leave a belt on the kmg with the spring tension when it is not being used, it wobbles from side to side the next time you use it. with the tw-90 that does not happen. i left a belt on with tension for 2 days and it ran straight.
 
john april said:
i have a kmg and the tw-90. i have noticed if you leave a belt on the kmg with the spring tension when it is not being used, it wobbles from side to side the next time you use it. with the tw-90 that does not happen. i left a belt on with tension for 2 days and it ran straight.
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Right ! Spring push belt all time , ratchet keep tension steady .Another thing , I m start to think that when we apply high pressure one belt when grinding /on grinder with spring/gas tension somehow belt push tracking arm down little and lower tension and from there come belts slip and walking belt side to side ?
I wonder why manufacturer of belts don t give us exact data of max.speed and max.belt tension ????? Or I just can t find them ?
 
Natlek said:
Right ! Spring push belt all time , ratchet keep tension steady .Another thing , I m start to think that when we apply high pressure one belt when grinding /on grinder with spring/gas tension somehow belt push tracking arm down little and lower tension and from there come belts slip and walking belt side to side ?
I wonder why manufacturer of belts don t give us exact data of max.speed and max.belt tension ????? Or I just can t find them ?
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Hi Natlek, That is exactly what happens with my 20lb gas spring.
 
timos- said:
Hi Natlek, That is exactly what happens with my 20lb gas spring.
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You should adapt your grinder to ratchet mechanism....
I would write post in another thread about that .There was are very simple way to do that :thumbsup:
 
I am actually gonna build a new grinder mounted on pedestal. I would love to build using the ratchet mechanism. It will have my 1800 rpm 1.5 HP 1PH motor with step pulleys for now but once I get higher voltage out to my shed Ill upgrade to a faster grinder. Do you mind if I email my design plans to you? maybe we can work out a newish design made solely for fast speed abrasive belts. I build my models inside solidworks
 
timos- said:
I am actually gonna build a new grinder mounted on pedestal. I would love to build using the ratchet mechanism. It will have my 1800 rpm 1.5 HP 1PH motor with step pulleys for now but once I get higher voltage out to my shed Ill upgrade to a faster grinder. Do you mind if I email my design plans to you? maybe we can work out a newish design made solely for fast speed abrasive belts. I build my models inside solidworks
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If that don t violated some rule here , I'll be glad to help if I can :thumbsup: I have no access to private message or right to public my email or other link to me ?
 
Natlek, you say
"I would write post in another thread about that .There was are very simple way to do that"
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I would be VERY interested in how to make a racket tension system. I've given it some thought and not came up with an easy way. Looking forward very much to your idea.
 
Ken H> said:
Natlek, you say

I would be VERY interested in how to make a racket tension system. I've given it some thought and not came up with an easy way. Looking forward very much to your idea.
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Have a look in this thread I started https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/my-new-2x42-toy.1571543/#post-18133111 If it is no clear to you how I done that I will explain in details .... It can be done on every grinder with very little modification . It works flawless , believe me .

I forgot this thread .......... https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/ratchet-mechanism-on-belt-grinder.1554914/#post-18002900
 
Natlek - you've got me thinking. The 2nd link has some good info. I've got to work on this some and see what I can come up with that will adapt to my KMG clone grinder.
 
Tin.Man said:
I'll second or third, Natlek we would love a how to guide on ratchet tension.
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I will disassembly tomorrow my grinder and take picture and I think that will be clear what I done .Till then look this two picture ............it s hard to me to explain with words on English but I will try tomorrow :thumbsup:
In short...First you tighten firmly bolt on tension arm , then you position tension arm where you would like to be when belt is tense . After that you weld part from hand brake on allen head of bolt .... then you measure distance for that small part and that is it .....proper distance you get from hand brake mechanism .
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PS . 2 is spare part for 4mm. ceramic glas for plate behind belt ....for now I use thicker ceramic tile ............:D
 
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One more thing , to do this conversion on any grinder you need free pivoting tension arm .You need pivot solution in tension arm in which bolt can be tighten hard and tension arm must be free to move up and down............
 
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Thanks for all the info and this is something I'll be looking at later. I'm in the middle of a couple of projects now. I see how you're doing it, and I do think I can use something along those lines myself.

Thanks again for taking the time to post photos and info.

Ken H>
 
If I was going to do a ratchet tension arm I would bypass all that complicated nonsense and just use a push button nut and a threaded bolt. The threaded bolt could be drilled on one side for a pivot and the nut tack welded to a support bracket.

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Now that would be a slick idea - I'd never heard of those type nuts before. With the cheap versions going for $20 to $30 each, and the "nice" made ones in the $50 range I'll have to do some thinking on that, but it does look like a good simple solution. AND might well be less expensive than the ratchet type. Thanks for posting that bit of info.
 
There are leveling mounts with holes in the base for mounting as well as a swiveling thread. I think it would be slow to release tension unless you could quickly disengage the whole thing. That should be possible using a leveling mount. You could use a second nut to lock the first one the same way a common stop works on a drill press. Edit to add: I see JT was talking about a push button nut, even better

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JTknives said:
If I was going to do a ratchet tension arm I would bypass all that complicated nonsense and just use a push button nut and a threaded bolt. The threaded bolt could be drilled on one side for a pivot and the nut tack welded to a support bracket.
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JTknives JTknives you know the saying............There are thousand ways to skin a cat :) But I don t think that your way is good one ..........
Give me your KMG and I will make it with ratchet mechanism in 10 minutes .....on my way . It will cost you one beer :D
 
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