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belt grinders

My Baldor is just the plain 2" wide belt model. I use it as my all around deburring machine and with a fine grain belt I can sharpen/touch up some cutting tools. I could not do without it in my small shop!.
 
I have always felt that your shop rate has to be very high and you have to be awfully busy if you do not make your own belt sanders. They are easy to make and odds are you'll get a better one than you will buy....Joe
 
85% of my Burr King work is on the rubber contact wheel. Probably 10% on the slack belt & 5% or less with the platen in place.

IMO, the greatest disvantage of the Baldor 248-181TD is that there is no contact wheel. The lower idler wheel is covered by a heavy cast iron exhaust-type guard. Also, even if that guard were removed, the lower wheel is mounted directly to the motor shaft, which eliminates bringing parts of any size to that wheel.

24818XTD.jpg


In contrast, the Burr King uses a jackshaft and vee-belt to power the abrasive belt. This locates the contact wheel far forward of the motor shaft, allowing parts of almost any size to be brought to the belt.

482.jpg


It all depends on what you plan to do. Without the contact wheel, it would be far less useful.
 
What on earth are those things??!! :eek:

Talk about about complicated-looking and expensive!

We have used the Australian-made "Multitool" (by P.A. Products, Sydney) for years - excellent units! They fit onto one end of any 8"? bench grinder and use the 915x50 (3ftx2in) belts. They used to cost around US$150. They last for years and years, our 10-15 year old units still going strong.

One of the most useful machines you can have in a workshop - but not recommended for sharpening drills, toolsteel (IMO)

Some bench grinders are better than others for getting a linisher up to speed, if I remember correctly a cap start, cap run is best?

Edit: Just found this website, seems like they sell in the USA

http://www.ausmultitool.com/

You can fit a chisel holder attachment if you are into that, and a tilting table to suit the face wheel - things we have and never use...

This looks like the units we use, I see they are around $220, + adaptor kit.

http://ausmultitool.com/Item/MT362TG.htm
 
The maintiance shop that I've been in for almost 19 years had a Burr King when I started work there.With about 35 people in the shop, it's the most used machine in the shop.

We've never had to do anything to it but put on new sanding belts on.

Well worth the extra money!

2-Ton
 
What on earth are those things??!!
...it's the most used machine in the shop.
In my shop, too. During an eight hour day, the Burr King is used more often than I can count - probably twenty times or more. When doing contract parts, it stays running for four or five hours at a time as I walk back & forth from bandsaw to Burr King to bandsaw.

An industrial belt grinder - with a contact wheel - will quickly and smoothly remove stock, shape, contour, and modify the finish of the work. They are a huge time saver.
 
Here is a picture of my son using the Beaumont metal works "clone" that I built for him. (he is dabbling in knife making)
As can be seen it is a very simple robust design. The contact wheel is made from an 8" caster wheel.
I am planning to build a platen head for it.
I think total cost to build this was about $300 cdn including the motor ( I think it could use a little more hp than the current 1 hp)

grinder1.jpg


The original manufactures site has lots of information on it.

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/

Cheers
Pete
 
Here is a picture of my son using the Beaumont metal works "clone" that I built for him.
The contact wheel is made from an 8" caster wheel.
Pete,

I like your design and was thinking of building something similar. I found several sources for the contact wheel, but where did you get your idlers? Did you make those custom out of aluminum block?

Thanks,

Robert
 
Robert:
I built the idlers from some aluminum round bar, turned on a mandrel.
I'd be interested in hearing where to get contact wheels. I've seen them at Mcmaster, but those need external bearings and a keyed shaft. The caster/contact wheel I used has tapered roller bearings.

Pete
 
My 2x72" Burr King is one of the most used tool's in the shop.
I've tried both the 3 wheel model, shown above in precisionworks post, and the 2 wheel knife makers model.
I much prefer the 2 wheel model, as it can be rotated to place the contact wheel at any height you want it.
You can work with you'r arms near to strait, down by you'r waist, not holding the work up almost to you'r chest.
That might not seem like a big difference, but hold them there and grind for a few hours or a few hundred pieces,,,,,, it will be ;)

Theirs some good info here on building one like the beaumont 3 wheel.
http://www.frugalmachinist.com/beltgrind.html

Cheers, YOOO VINNY
 
If you look around on the Beaumont Metal Works site linked to above, you'll find that Rob has a whole variety of Contact wheels available, both smooth and serrated.

I have two of his KMG belt grinders in my shop and love them. I could have built replicas as done above, but my time in the shop is limited and I'd rather be making knives than making a grinder. One of the things that the KMG has going for it over a two wheel setup is the ease with which you can change setups. You can easily go from a round contact wheel as shown in Shapaholic's post to a flat platen assembly, or a small contact wheel like an inch or so all in less than 30 seconds. If you add a variable speed drive, you can really accomplish a ton of different grinding tasks with a single machine.

If you're going to build a grinder, build it to use a 2"x72" belt. The belts run cooler and last longer than a machine with a 36" belt. There's also a huge selection of different abrasives readily available in that size so you will be able to find the right belt for your material.
 
My 2X72 Burr King knife maker's model is probably the most used machine in my shop. I have belts from 36 grit to 9 micron film, plus cork and Scotch Brite. Some friends perfer the Bader, claiming more versatility. The 2X72 belts are widely available. Belt grinders are pretty simple, and if you have time available, you can save a bunch by making your own. I originally got the single speed model, but replaced the motor with a new Baldor variable speed unit I got on the Internet. I have the original Baldor single speed from the Burr King if anyone is interested.

Jim
 
I wanted a belt sander for a long time and I had looked at quite a few new ones. Some of the 250+$ machines were already broken in the stores so surely wouldn't have lasted thru the job I just did.

So I built my own this week. It takes 1x42 belts. I already had a nice 1/3hp motor. I put a 6" aluminium wheel onto it that I machined the way I wanted. Then made 2 other 2" wheels that both have 2 good bearings in them. A little welding, maybe an hour on the lathe and mill and I got a belt sander that runs pretty smooth and its just the way I wanted it.
 
What on earth are those things??!!

Talk about about complicated-looking and expensive
They are expensive. But NOTHING can remove material like those Burr-Kings. Don't even think of calling them sanders! They are grinders...you can put an 80grit belt on there and jam a file at any angle into that contact wheel and it'll grind it off so fast it out runs the heat....no kidding. The end result is so smooth and stays cooler than any other portable unit. You can take a quarter inch off of a bolt w/o worry of affecting temper. They have belt tracking even that under the heaviest load it stays right there.
Dxhall...save and get the real McCoy.
All hail the Burr-King!!
 
You want to really remove some metal quickly, toss a 36 grit 3M Cubitron ceramic belt on there and go at it!

KMG will take metal off just as fast and smooth as any Burr King.
 
Have a look at the belt grinders made by Gallant manufacturing,now there is a belt grinder that can remove metal fast.I have no affiliation but was in a shop years ago and saw one in action.
 








 
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