Sander/Grinder Plans - Ideas Needed

rayjay

Senior Member
Work table mounting. I think I will leave to the very last the drilling of the hole to bolt that piece of angle iron to the alum plate. I will probably slot the hole so there is some adjustment available. The work table can be rotated around it's single mounting point to align it with the platen.
 

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StriperrHunterr

Senior Member
My bad, when you said angle grinder, I was envisioning a handheld side grinder. Still you are going to be a good bit "underpowered" with a 1/2. Once you put pressure on the belt things load up fast. You will probably not be able to hog any big pieces down efficiently. Looks like you might be able to upgrade later to a bigger motor.
I do suspect the existing mount will have some vibration issues, hopefully minor, that might make you finishing grinds a little rough. You'll have to learn to dance around that.

Would the underpowered motor, thus longer grinding time, have a play in ruining heat treats/tempers (excuse me if I'm not using the right term), on already treated blades being that it would be exposed to the heat for longer?

Or at the very least cause you to really slow down your grinding so as to not overexpose it?
 

Anvil Head

Senior Member
Although speed control is an important "player" in the grinding game, it is secondary to quality abrasives and paying attention to heat build up. Always use good sharp belts when grinding after heattreat. This reduces the "time" factor and will give you a cleaner finish with reduced pressure against the belt. Most of us have learned to grind barehanded so we can be more sensitive to friction generated heat. We also keep a slack bucket in close proximity to the grinding operation, usually right under the wheel or platen. Allows for a quick cooling dip if things get warm. Simply put if the blade is getting too hot to hold then it is getting to hot.
These things are "practiced-learned", more you do the better you get.
Speed will get you there faster but also allows you to make mistakes faster. You will have to find that "just right" speed for you and your grinder.
One rule of thumb that will save you some grief, always get all the scratch marks from the previous grit out before moving to the next finer grit. Trying to get the scratches from two grits back with a finer grit is just asking for trouble with overheating the blade.
Hope this is helpful.
Also sending you a pm about a reasonably local maker that can show you a few things about grinding.
 

StriperrHunterr

Senior Member
Although speed control is an important "player" in the grinding game, it is secondary to quality abrasives and paying attention to heat build up. Always use good sharp belts when grinding after heattreat. This reduces the "time" factor and will give you a cleaner finish with reduced pressure against the belt. Most of us have learned to grind barehanded so we can be more sensitive to friction generated heat. We also keep a slack bucket in close proximity to the grinding operation, usually right under the wheel or platen. Allows for a quick cooling dip if things get warm. Simply put if the blade is getting too hot to hold then it is getting to hot.
These things are "practiced-learned", more you do the better you get.
Speed will get you there faster but also allows you to make mistakes faster. You will have to find that "just right" speed for you and your grinder.
One rule of thumb that will save you some grief, always get all the scratch marks from the previous grit out before moving to the next finer grit. Trying to get the scratches from two grits back with a finer grit is just asking for trouble with overheating the blade.
Hope this is helpful.
Also sending you a pm about a reasonably local maker that can show you a few things about grinding.

Thanks for the info and the leads. I'm counting down to trackrock and being able to use the gift cert my wife got me for my birthday with Goat n' Hammer.
 

rayjay

Senior Member
Here is a belated update. I've used the grinder a good bit. Had to upgrade to a much stiffer spring right off the bat. I had a base from a dead grille that I had been saving with this project in mind and I finally got around to putting it all together. Works out great as I have a perfect small spot against the wall that it will go in right at the garage door. I always roll it outside to save making a mess in the shop.

I used it to sharpen our steak knives about an hour ago. Also deburr parts when fabbing stuff . All in all I am very happy with it.
 

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rayjay

Senior Member
Well, for some reason the pics are side ways......
 

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rayjay

Senior Member
More pics.
 

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WayneB

Senior Member
I wonder if a piece of delrin or similar plastic behind the belt would be beneficial? Looks to me like pressure against the belt will abrade the backing and part the belt.

I love me some home enginerded tools. :)
 

rayjay

Senior Member
I don't know. I am a bit concerned but I think that's sop for the platen to be bare steel. Somebody correct me if I am wrong. I will never do any hogging on this machine. Just deburring, polishing and knife sharpening.
 

Anvil Head

Senior Member
Steel platen is what is most common and supplied by most mfgrs. However, they do wear and round off from extended use, so most knifemakers install a tempered slab of glass or ceramic to slow the wear down considerably. Trick is to get alignment right on the platen so that the belt rides smooth and flat across/along it's length and width. Good belts will wear just fine when using a platen, just avoid those with lapped joints as they bump and can mess up your work.
 

rayjay

Senior Member
You can see some of the lapped joints in the pics. They definitely go bump bump bump .
 

Dr. Strangelove

Senior Member
Great job! Looks like a giant Worksharp!
 

Artfuldodger

Senior Member
I made one when I was getting into knife making. I only made a couple of knives and developed other interests. I had a perfect blade shaped and melted the tip off in the furnace. Oh well, maybe one day I might give it another try. Doing the handles was fun.

Yours in the OP looks better than mine. I didn't have a platen on mine, I just shaped things between the wheels. I wanted one with the contact wheel such as a KMG made by Beaumont Metal Works.

I looked at different designs of the homemade variety. Mine used a hinge as well for tracking. I used some stainless steel rollers that I found. They were about 2" x 2". The bearings would get pretty hot. It was good for light shaping and sharpening.
It kinda looked like the No Weld Grinder/Sander;

http://usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages.html

It would be nice have one where you could have a platen attachment that could be removed and replace with a 6" contact wheel.
I wonder what is the most common contact wheel size is?
Maybe the makers use two or three different wheel sizes.

Mine did not have a work rest either. Mine didn't use a standard 72" belt. At the time I had some other sanding options on a Shopsmith that I had. I was trying to clean my shop out to work on some old cars and got rid of some woodworking tools.

I've never been able to get my shop cleaned out though. It just keeps filling up with junk. Here is a shop I remember looking at back when I was looking at grinder options;

http://www.burgessknives.com/8201/index.html

I got a lot of good advice from makers on this forum.

Yep Ray yours should serve you well.
 

Artfuldodger

Senior Member
Isn't there a guy in Georgia that sells grinder belts? What are some good sources for belts that don't have lapped joints?
 

Anvil Head

Senior Member
Pop's Knife Supplies in Washington
There are also a lot of other suppliers around, but Pop (James Poplin) will treat you right. He's also an exceptional knifemaker and can give you solid advice on what belt works best for any application.
Do need to get away from the lap joints if you plan to do any finesse work.....they'll make you nuts.

Most mfgr grinders come standard with 8" contact wheels, but you always wind up wanting a 10" or larger and small ones for doing radius work. (Wants never end!)
 

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