How to mount drive wheel to motor for belt grinder

[dado5]

I am building a 2 x 72 belt grinder (like everyone else!) and need help how to mount drive wheel to motor shaft. I have a 2hp motor with 7/8" keyed shaft. I want to direct mount the wheel. After mounting the motor i will only have 1.25 to 1.5 inches of shaft to use due to clearance issues. The drive wheel will be a little over 2" wide. The end of the shaft is not threaded. How does the wheel stay on? set screw? Is a keyed shaft supposed to be an interference fit and thus hold the wheel on? I feel like I need to extend the shaft some but not sure how. Was thinking of making a larger bushing to go over the current shaft and just make my drive wheel to fit it. Also thought about trying to tap the end of the shaft and can then screw in an extension which would also hold the drive wheel on. Could I just use tapered bushing with the current shaft? I don't really want to use pulleys since I will be using a VFD to change speed.

 

[ConValSam]

In my experience, a tapered bushing is the way to go. They are cheap to purchase, already fully engineered for a given speed, and easy to integrate into your final drive pulley.

 

[ttabbal]

My drive wheel came with a set screw in the center, aligned with the keyway. I don't see any reason a tapered bushing wouldn't work though. It sounds like you are turning your wheel, so you can build it to match whatever you decide to do.

 

[f350ca]

Tapered hub would be the way to go. Careful tightening of the draw bolts will eliminate any runout you might get. Can you offset the centre of the wheel (like a cup grinding wheel to get more shaft engagement?

Greg