DIY Belt Grinder Question

Rata222
You're welcome and if you need any detail pics of mine let me know. Personally I'm really glad I bumbled into mine as it doesn't take up a lot of room and is so well thought out and easy to use. For the first time I started thinking about trying to use it for polishing and found they make a kit by Mulitool that is a complete set. One of the retractions of the design is its kinda odd belt in that it's 2x36. But there are some made by others. This kit has several grades of fine belts and felt belt along with rouge sticks and some different disks. The fine belts worked way better than expected and the polish belt worked fantastic. Having never done any really mirror style polishing I was floored.

Good luck with your project.
 
Thanks guys for the quick responses !!! Big help.


Good to know - I had little experience with belt grinders. Stationary would be a simpler design, but if most are built to have dynamic tension- there must be performance benefits that warrant the added cost..


Mike & Frank - Thank you for taking the time to find the links and post the pictures. They show a nice clean way of providing flex and still have a solid setups. But does that leaf spring provide lateral tension? Is there a torque spring inside the cammed shaft mechanism?
Thanks

Jim

The pic that Frank showed is pretty much exactly the same device that the Sears belt sanders use. The spring inside the tensioner keeps the belt tight in use and allows you to simply pull the handle down to change belts. There is a tracking adjuster just above it as you can see in Franks pics. This tilts the crowned upper wheel and it is precise and works extremely well. It appears this same device is used on multiple sanders so it should be available somewhere. You will need the tensioner, the handle that sticks out of it, the tracking adjuster thing and the upper wheel that has an axle in it. All these parts are designed to work together.

If you found a way to bolt a plate to the outer rim of the grinder housing, it would be simple to incorporate the above mechanism to the top of it - just drill holes and bolt the thing in. Then stick the drive wheel on the shaft of the motor and you'll have duplicated the Sears/Palmgren/whoever belt sander. Depending on the length of the plate, you could make a 2x42, 2x48 or whatever you choose.

Personally, I think the 2x72 belt sanders are the ideal but not all of us have the space or inclination for those things. I can tell you that I really like my 2x42. If I didn't, I would already have built a 2x72.
 
The pic that Frank showed is pretty much exactly the same device that the Sears belt sanders use.

Crazy, that's the same setup as on my blue 1980's Jet belt sander. Elegant and simple, just pull the knob down to change belts.
 
Yeah I’m sure it’s not new. Mine is off a General Tools “International” grinder I bought about seven or eight years ago.
 
You're welcome and if you need any detail pics of mine let me know.

Thanks C-Bag for the offer. I may do that if I get stuck.


f you found a way to bolt a plate to the outer rim of the grinder housing, it would be simple to incorporate the above mechanism to the top of it - just drill holes and bolt the thing in.

Mikey It will be simple to bolt on a flat plate, once the wheel guard is removed, leaving four tapped holes in the motor hub. I may copy the design utilized on the Multitool Grinder attachment that C-Bag has. It allows you to easily rotate the unit from vertical to horizontal. Neat simple mechanism. If your interested----- Fig. 2 in this link shows the break down.


Not sure I would use the function but would be interesting to make. I will also give a go at building the tensioner -if I go that route- now that I know how it works. The purpose of the project is just for the enjoyment of designing it and building it.

Thanks again everyone for the help.
 
I am sure you could duplicate the Multitool design and it would work fine.
Robert
 
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