2 X 48 Belt Grinder (again)

[kvt]

I'm talking the other edge of the straight edge. That way you are not loosing .5 to .75 of an inch of belt. another way of me saying put your 90 degree line on the edge of the belt. (see red line) Thus you still have the full use of all 2 inches of the belt. IF you put it where you show in the picture you will increase the loss of belt surface with the change of degree. The other thing would be if you could put your pivot pin for the arm as close to the corner of the belt as possible (red circle) and as close to the edge of the straight edge as possible then it seems it would give you the best use space. or at least that is what I see. Also if you create your circle for the outer rim from your pivot point then the locking system I suggestion will work better.

 

[rwm]

I'm talking the other edge of the straight edge. That way you are not loosing .5 to .75 of an inch of belt. another way of me saying put your 90 degree line on the edge of the belt. (see red line) Thus you still have the full use of all 2 inches of the belt. IF you put it where you show in the picture you will increase the loss of belt surface with the change of degree. The other thing would be if you could put your pivot pin for the arm as close to the corner of the belt as possible (red circle) and as close to the edge of the straight edge as possible then it seems it would give you the best use space. or at least that is what I see. Also if you create your circle for the outer rim from your pivot point then the locking system I suggestion will work better. View attachment 128167

All excellent thoughts. I will incorporate them. Thanks!
Robert

 

[rrjohnso2000]

A little late to the party but may I suggest a dowel pin hole at your heavily used angles.

 

[rwm]

Good idea. I'm not even sure what I will use this for yet. What will my most heavily used angles be? I am thinking about a spring loaded taper pin maybe.
R

 

[Mark_f]

Thanks Ken. Why the other edge? I think I picked this edge unintentionally because I am left handed! The clamp and thumbscrew was exactly what I had in mind.
Hey Mark! Chime in here before I start cuttin' stuff
Robert

The table is great. I too am left handed. do like me , make things for left handed people! I like the plain square table and the rounded table is great. I would engrave 90 degrees of markings on the curved edge and make a bottom clamp for the movable arm. I would also make it easy to change tables from the rounded one to the square one. I would make the movable arm a 1/2" thick to support your work better. Also put a little knob on the top end to make it easy to swing and you can use it to grind radius's on parts by not tightening the clamp.
The arm can be clamped at an angle and used to grind lathe tool bits. The belt sander is great for that. By engraving lines and numbers you will be able to accurately set any angle quickly.

I have an idea , that needs perfected, for making a miter gage that does not require a slot cut in the table. The problem with a slot is it gets grit in it and the miter gage binds and won't slide.

 

[rwm]

Consider all these suggestions done!
Robert

 

[rwm]

Mark- I was planning on a 1/2 x 1/2" miter fence (movable arm.) I never considered the possibility of grinding a radius the way you suggested. Hmmm.
What are your thoughts on the engraving? I can hand stamp the numbers. I could put the table on a rotary table and scribe some lines with my mill. Should I use some type of rotary engraver in the mill or just scribe lines with a sharp tool. I have never done an operation like that. I think I may start out with every 5° and see how that looks.
Robert

 

[Mark_f]

Mark- I was planning on a 1/2 x 1/2" miter fence (movable arm.) I never considered the possibility of grinding a radius the way you suggested. Hmmm.
What are your thoughts on the engraving? I can hand stamp the numbers. I could put the table on a rotary table and scribe some lines with my mill. Should I use some type of rotary engraver in the mill or just scribe lines with a sharp tool. I have never done an operation like that. I think I may start out with every 5° and see how that looks.
Robert

I'm not sure of the size of the table but it looks big enough to scribe every degree. I would set it up on a rotary table on the mill and scribe the lines by moving the mill table back and forth. make the single degree lines .150 long, the 5 degree lines .225 long, and the 0 and 10 degree lines ,300 long. I use a sharp "V" tool ( about a 45 degree included angle to keep narrow lines) to scribe the lines .006 deep. don't go too deep and you get nice sharp fine lines. I hand stamp my numbers but use a guide and holder. Practice on a piece of scrap first. You don't want to stamp too hard or you raise too much metal and numbers look bad. NOW, if you have a CNC, that would be the way to go instead of the old school method.

 

[rwm]

Got it. Thanks! No CNC here yet.
R

 

[rwm]

I cut my table on the bandsaw and started on the miter gauge. The larger hole is where you will read the angle setting:









Unfortunately, there are some lines in the material that don't look so great. The table is 304 SS so these may be hard to sand out by hand. If only I had a surface grinder! Any other ideas on how to get these out? Just a lot of elbow grease?