Small wheel attachment

[Natlek]

Maybe someone would like this simple solution ......I used two idler bearing for timing belt on car engines , mine are from Volkswagen 1.9 diesel engine I think , but they are used in many other cars . Since Dia. is 27mm they run very fast while engine run . 25/27mm Dia. is which is most used small wheel / for me at least / they are double row ball bearing and they CAN run very fast ......on mine grinder they spin on 21000 RPM , they are used one , and they still work flawlessly and almost silently.They are longer then we need , but with belt on and running and with angle grinder they can be shortened to the required length .What I like on this setup is that I can use high speed and fast remove steel and they allow to make deep cut in tang ............Mount them on edge on tool arm so you can get clearance ..........
On pictures they are already shortened / 48mm/ so I can grind deep in steel ...

I used them on my horizontal grinder too ....

Clear picture how they look ...they come in different Dia, i have bigger one also but I not find use for them ...

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Simple solution, for sure.
Maybe a method well suited for a dedicated small wheel grinder running at a lower speed and using a smaller motor ( 1/2 to 3/4HP ) VFDs for sub HP motor are usually very cheap. It could run 2X36" or 2X42" belts.

One word of caution is running a small wheel on a large drive wheel will create a very high spindle speed. It is best to run small wheels with the motor/drive wheel running at 1000RPM or lower.

 

[Natlek]

One word of caution is running a small wheel on a large drive wheel will create a very high spindle speed. It is best to run small wheels at 10000RPM or lower.

I think one zero is missing ....................
One more thing , you can get this kind of bearing for free in any service .We change them every time with timing belt , when belt need to be changed , regardless they are still good .......
If someone come in my service and ask for them , I will give him not just bearing but beer too..........steel has no good price in scrapyards

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Thanks - The RPM I was referring to is the motor/drive wheel RPM. I edited the post to make that clearer.

A 7" drive wheel turning at 1750RPM is running a 1" small wheel 12,250RPM - that's too fast.
If the motor is is slowed to 1000RPM, the small wheel is running at 7000RPM. This is much better for the bearings.

 

[scott kozub]

Very cool idea.

Do you have any issues with chatter not having the give of rubber?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

There is such a small area of contact with a small wheel that chatter isn't usually a problem if the wheel is metal.

 

[Natlek]

Very cool idea.

Do you have any issues with chatter not having the give of rubber?

No chatter at all , but I notice that it leave much better finish then wheels with rubber .Now I want 10 inch contact wheel without rubber

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I think that is called a grinding wheel