Quite Possibly the most versatile homemade belt grinder

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GaryPogueCustomKnife

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Oct 8, 2013
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Today, after watching a few videos and seeing a thread about mini grinders (like scaled down GIBs and NWGs) I hade the idea to attempt to make a belt grinder that can use belts from 1x30 to 1x72" There arent many 1" wide belts out there, the only two to come to mind are 1x30 and 1x42. 2 belt sizes wont cut it for me, so my idea is to use really long tool arms to accommodate different belt lengths. I know how to split 4" belts into narrow 2" or 1" belts. I could buy almost any size between 30" and 72" and just split them into split belts. For example i could make a 6x48" belt into 6th's and have 6 belts from just one belt. The bigger the belt, the longer you'll need to pull the tool arm out. Now i just need to source a decent motor and some 1" wide wheels. Let me know what you guys think of my idea and if it would be worth trying.
 
If you're going to all that trouble why not build a 2" wide belt design? They also come in a variety of lengths. Plus, you can run 1" wide belts on a 2" wide wheel but not so easy to run 2" wide belts on a 1" wide wheel.
 
Personally I don't think it's worth it. Building a grinder that can run 72 60 and 48 inch belts is one thing but going all the way down to 1x30 seems pointless to me a 1x30 belt costs about half of what a 72 belt costs but has 1/5 the surface area. If you build it big enough to properly use a 72 inch belt It's not going to want to fit a 1x30 in any worthwhile configuration. Lastly its one thing splitting high grit belts and J flex belts. It's quit another to split a 36 or 50 grit belt cleanly without wrecking it. I'm not trying to crush your hopes and dreams of grinder supremacy here man but honestly you would be far better off to just build a machine that runs 2 inch belts and can take 72 or 60 inch belts. You can easily run a 1 inch belt on a 2 inch machine when you need, not true the other way around
 
H'mmmm I have several 1" x 10" diameter wheels. They work just fine. Would I buy 1" again? Nope

IMHO The advantage of a 1" belt is that you can use a less powerful motor to run it. I think the friction physics of a 1" belt on flat platen are self explanatory.

ohhh wait there is another: 1" wheels cost less. On the other hand you can easily run a 1" belt on a 2" - 4" wheel but not vice versa.

If you have a collection of belts of all those different lengths I suppose you might want the capabilities you described. The reality is what Grayzer stated....... there's no economic reason to run a 1" x 30" when you COULD run a 1" x 72"

I do think that building your own grinder would teach you a lot and you can build in the ability to run various sizes of belt, go vertical or horizontal, choose pulleys or an electronic variable speed approach, weld it or bolt it together, etc. I think you'll be proud of what you, ultimately, build.

Good luck with this

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel
 
Make a 2X72 grinder and run it with 1" or 2" belts. You can use a 1" contact wheel if you want, or use the 2" wheel for both sizes.

I split a 2X72" belt sometimes into two 1" belts for sanding tight curves sometimes. I just put the 2" belt on the grinder with the flat platen installed, and insert a sharp blade at in the center of the belt. I have the blade edge up with the spine resting on the platen top . Turn the belt slowly BY HAND and it will split the belt neatly.
 
synthesist said:
H'mmmm I have several 1" x 10" diameter wheels. They work just fine. Would I buy 1" again? Nope

IMHO The advantage of a 1" belt is that you can use a less powerful motor to run it. I think the friction physics of a 1" belt on flat platen are self explanatory.

ohhh wait there is another: 1" wheels cost less. On the other hand you can easily run a 1" belt on a 2" - 4" wheel but not vice versa.

If you have a collection of belts of all those different lengths I suppose you might want the capabilities you described. The reality is what Grayzer stated....... there's no economic reason to run a 1" x 30" when you COULD run a 1" x 72"

I do think that building your own grinder would teach you a lot and you can build in the ability to run various sizes of belt, go vertical or horizontal, choose pulleys or an electronic variable speed approach, weld it or bolt it together, etc. I think you'll be proud of what you, ultimately, build.

Good luck with this

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel
Click to expand...

I'm just curious, where did you get the 1x10" wheel? I know Sunray has 1x8" wheels but there aren't to many places that sell 1" wheels.
 
I do find that I use my little 1x42 for smaller shaping tasks a lot, as it has a thin platen that I can get inside some odd shapes for contouring. I have considered making a specialized little 1x42 suited for odd shaping jobs especially.

You know, a 1x10 wheel isn't going to give you much room for a drive/tracking wheel if you run 1x42" belts...
 
My 10" wheels were made by Stephen Bader (this was quite awhile ago though). IIRC they'll make them just about any size you want.

Just for the record you'd find 2" wheels more versatile if a bit more expensive. Don't make a mistake on this particular decision. You may want the option of running both size belts down the road.
 
USAKnifeMaker.com sells 1" wide contact wheels IIRC. They also sell a 2" to 1" belt splitter, though you could make your own just as easily.

If you have a 2x72 with interchangeable tool arms, you can have a 1" wheel AND a 2" wheel. Best of both worlds.
 
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