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#1
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Update on my various projects and a new one, belt grinder.
Alright, you may have noticed that I have a tendency to post information on projects I start and then forget to add pictures and update them. While I still haven't gotten around to doing pictures I do have some results and information on some of the things I've been working on and I'm adding a few more projects to the bag of madness.
First up is casting a grinding wheel. I've met a moderate amount of success with this one. The wear characteristics are still not quite what I want, but they are much better than when I started, I have one full size one curing right now. If I had to guess it's somewhere around 200-300 grit and 24" in diameter. The biggest problem I've had is getting a good casting mold, I'm still using plain old sand as my abrasive media. The primary problem I'm having is that the stone isn't wearing as quickly as it should, so it tends to clog as it cuts. I'm going to be casting another one with a higher percentage of clay over cement to reduce how well bonded the abrasive is. Now before anyone starts to shout and scream about the stone breaking and slinging bits off in all directions, the stone has fiberglass reinforcement and it's running maybe 100rpm tops, and that is if I really go on the pedals. Next up, burners and forge design. If anyone wants to see the cutaway of my burner design I'll be happy to post a CAD drawing of it with dimensions. They burn beautifully, much better than when I started making them. Having a metal lathe makes a lot of difference in being able to make them precise and efficient. My current forge building project is shelved for now I need to finish building my belt grinder. I might do another small one for giggles, but not really into it right now. New project, belt grinder. I've finally managed to burn out my little 1x30 Harbor Freight sander. This tells me that I need to upgrade and build something. After tooling around on the internet and looking at prices and such it appears that 3x60 belts are pretty cheap, and I like the width more than the 2x72's. However I'm still going to be able to run those too. Right now I'm busily cutting the wheels for it. They're going to be 4" diameter on high speed roller bearings (which I found for a steal). Originally I was planning on having the main drive wheel be 12" diameter, but it won't fit on my lathe. So I'm going to be turning down an 8" castor for the contact wheel. I've managed to get my hands on a really unique thing too, a 115 volt single phase 3hp motor. That is what I'm planning on having drive this thing, I might have to gear it down some, but I have a big stack of cast iron spur gears that should let me bring the rpm down a good bit. I can do v-belts for the drive, but I like gears. So, any questions, comments, suggestions, etc? |
#2
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how much for you to turn me a couple 2" wheels for my platen
Austin __________________ Austin Colvin |
#3
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If anyone else wants a custom wheel for their grinder, I'll be happy to. Just let me know dimensions and I'll give you a price quote.
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#4
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What would some 2" or 1" wheels run me a piece? Don't have to be aluminum.
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#5
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Well, 2" wide x 2" diameter without bearings would be about $40.
a 1" diameter x 2" wide would be down around $30. If you want bearing in em, I need to know what size and type. Regardless I'd need to know what diameter and length to cut the center bore to fit your grinder. Also, bearings cost extra, I ain't running a charity here. If you do want any I can get em done in about a week and shipped off, this includes doing CAD and a 3D model to make sure it's going to fit and look like you want it to. Obviously this time estimate is from the day that you give the go ahead on the design. Marc. |
#6
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Right, those are the designs I'm going with for my belt grinder. Obviously it's a KMG clone, but it's going to be a 3x60 rather than a 2x72 Both those models are to scale, if anyone is interested I'll post the sketchup model for you to poke at. |
#7
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I would love to see the cutaway CAD drawings of your burners. If there had been something like that when I started to research for my forge build I would have understood it more and been able to make my own rather than buying a kit. I always seem to end up buying extra unnecessary crap when I don't have a clear pic of what I am trying to do.
I like the KMG clone design. But I would recommend initial set-up with 2 X 72 since there is such a huge variety of belts available for metals and wood. Make a set of 3" wheels when you want to go 3 X 60. I would think there would be some wobbly tracking running a 2" belt on a 3" wheel. I think in the long run you will be glad you did that. Just my opinion. Thanks for posting! Tony Z Kansas City, MO __________________ ABS Apprentice Bladesmith USMC Veteran VFW Life Member "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" Captain Lloyd Williams, USMC Battle Of Belleau Wood June 1918 |
#8
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Forgot, what kind of metal lathe do you have? I am considering a small one for my shop, just need to do more research. Thanks again.
Tony Z Kansas City, MO __________________ ABS Apprentice Bladesmith USMC Veteran VFW Life Member "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" Captain Lloyd Williams, USMC Battle Of Belleau Wood June 1918 |
#9
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That is the design I've been doing for my burners, they all are threaded except for the burner flare, that I friction fit using a 0.5 degree taper. You can scale this design up or down as needed, as it sits it's pretty big. My lathe is a vintage 1920-1930s South Bend with a 4 foot bed and 8-9 inch swing. It won over the newer ones due to price and size, most new ones in that range can get up to $1500, which is too rich for my taste. I'd suggest trolling through craigslist and classified ads for a South Bend or Atlas with similar dimensions, its big enough to do most of what you would want, but not going to require new electrical drops to be installed in your shop. If you have further questions about metal lathes, feel free to ask. I did a lot of research and searching to fine mine and would be happy to share my experience further. |
Tags |
2x72, art, bee, building, casting, custom, design, forge, grinder, grinding, iron, kit, make, making, metal, mold, motor, post, problem, sand, scale, stone, what kind, wheels |
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