Do you use a Tilting/Horizontal Belt Grinder?

I would love to have a flip to horizontal feature on my KMG. It would make things a lot easier. I plan to modify mine eventually.

To anyone that has a KMG, this is a way of keeping things straight and even while grinding vertically. I learned about it from MS Steve Culver. I just clamp the tool rest on though, not bolt it in like in these pics:

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https://www.culverart.com/Jigs and Fixtures.htm
 
Alright well I'm sold on the tilt. I also think I might be able to make a surface-grinder-ish attachment (like a table saw sled) for a horizontal wheel FAR easier than a vertical one. I once took 1/8 stock down to 1/16 on a 4x36 sander because I wanted to make a paring knife out of the 1075 I already had. That was a chore, especially trying to keep it all straight and even using those red arrow welding magnets since that's the biggest thing I had.

I drew up an idea of what I want to build. It's obviously missing a lot of small stuff but I think it covers the main points of the design. This is my first time using Inventor and it's really hard to not use Autocad keyboard shortcuts. They're all different and I keep messing up my work with the wrong commands. Something I tried to "improve" on the original was the simpler plunger style tensioner that you see here highlighted in blue. This does two good things, it makes for an easier build and it keeps the motor further to the right, so it doesn't swing as far down when you tilt it. Those are 6" legs and it just BARELY doesn't clear the table/ground. But when you move the belt farther out in the vertical position, that turns into it being higher in the horizontal position. So high that I'd have to adjust the work rest every time I use it, which defeats the purpose of using the Jeremy Schmidt design entirely. If I were to simply move the work rest higher, I'd lose most of the platen in the vertical position. This would be even worse with a contact wheel and make small wheels unusable vertically.

So back to the drawing board we go. I have an idea about putting the tracking wheel on top of the tensioner plunger rather than on the side, and moving the platen and motor over to match. That way it will draw the belt in more. It is currently 2.75 inches too high while horizontal, just moving the belt over to be centered over the tool arm will take care of most of that. That means the motor will have to go lower to clear the frame, but it's looking more and more like this thing will need it's own stand anyway. A stand will give me a good place to store extra attachments and mount a spark bucket too. I'll also put a handle coming out the left side of the tensioner with a ball on the end (Car shifter maybe?) as it will make belt changes easier and will give me something good to hold on to while tilting.

Any input or questions are welcome and appreciated.

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Your rest needs to be adjustable for height. Otherwise you can only use a small portion of the belt.
The plunger might seem easier to build, but I think you'll kick yourself later on down the road. You need that spring to put 30+ lbs of tension on the belt. What a PITA especially sitting horizontal. You need to figure out a way to make the tracking wheel adjustable left and right. Being out of square by a miniscule amount will throw your belt out of whack by a mile. Not to mention the fit of the plunger and the upright needs to be really close. Like a couple thousands clearance.
No matter what you build, you'll want to change the platen frame. It should be shaped like a capital letter "E" without the center line. You want to have clearance on the left side. At least 3 inches back from the platen face, but 4 is better.
The worst part about Jeremy's design is the wheels being inline with the frame. Go watch the YouTube video and tell me how you can ever change the drive wheel size. You're stuck with whatever you decide on in the beginning. Another thing is the difficulty in building attachments. The biggest advantage of a horizontal is using a small wheel. I'd plan on one from the start.
 
I used to own a TW90. I really liked the horizontal feature for certain tasks. A nice option to have if possible
 
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