markyboy07 Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 (edited) Last month i went to a country show and entered a competition to win a days knife making course. I couldn't believe my luck when the following week i received the call saying id won!! i attended the course the following week and spent a day forging and grinding a great knife, i paid extra and attended the following day for tuition on handle and sheaf making. The course was brilliant and the end result was a great knife. the other thing i realised was that i definitely need a 72" belt grinder. After scouring the internet i discovered they are pretty expensive so looked into making one. i opted for a 3hp three phase motor coupled with a VFD so i could make it variable speed. I went to a local trading estate and managed to pick up some rusty old 50x50 and 40x40 steel box section for £15. I ordered up a motor and cheapo chinese VFD as well as some aluminium wheels ( would of liked to make them myself ideally but company politics are preventing me using the equipment at work!!). i nicked some rough designs and dimensions off of youtoob and then proceeded to chop and weld the frame. I then made an idler wheel adjuster by cutting off one side of box section, drilling and making a hinge. i got a bit carried away and didnt document the different stages very well but you get the idea. this mechanism allows you to adjust the tracking of the belt. The 40mm box section isnt as snug a fit as id like so i cut some shims from box section offcuts and welded them to two sides of the insert. Again i got a little excited and haven't photographed how i made the plattern plate, but its just a bit of angle iron with a few holes drilled. I used 12mm bolts as the axles for the rollers. I drilled 12mm holes and then welded 10mm nuts to the frame where inserts can be um ... inserted some of the photos show bolts as i was awaiting delivery of some hand wheels. Heres a quick mock up with the belt in place and here with the hand wheels attached again i havnt shown this very well but beneath the idler wheel is a large spring. the idler wheel is attached to 40mm box section inserted into the frame, the spring is under this to tension the belt. i needed some sort of lever to aid compressing the spring. And heres a quick video right after ive wired in the VFD, i still need to adjust everything to make sure everything is aligned properly as well as set all the parameters on the VFD. i also need to make other attachments such as various contact wheels and tool rest attachments. Not bad for a few weeks work and although still quite expensive ive saved a 300 - 400 quid doing it myself. ill do a proper video showing things in more detail and like how it all goes together and the VFD changing direction and adjusting speed. Edited June 9, 2019 by markyboy07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
washerboy Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 We had one at work but I binned it because the belts where too expensive for the amount we used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdom Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Excellent. What bearings did you put in the idler wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diver One Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Excellent work, I'm impressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted June 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 not sure about the bearings? i ordered the rollers on line and the bearings came with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy Galore! Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 really like that, I've made a bit of room in the shed so I might finally get round to making one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Now that's some impressive stuff, top man 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 yup hats off to you and getting stuck in................really impressed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 I'm impressed. Why does the belt need to be so long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bala Posted June 9, 2019 Report Share Posted June 9, 2019 Like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 is there a manual version of the speed controller....something with just a knob on it that you can turn.......all that electric stuff frightens me to death....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatchap Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 Are you going to have the 10" wheel for hollow grinds? Good stuff by the way, Watch out for zirconium belts they are waaaay expensive compared to the 2x72 Ali Oxide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooops Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 awesome, well done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 Very good project well done 😊 and a picture of the knife you made on your course would be nice to see 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 we want more of this sort of thing....................."im going to bloody do it " threads... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted June 10, 2019 Report Share Posted June 10, 2019 58 minutes ago, Old farrier said: Very good project well done 😊 and a picture of the knife you made on your course would be nice to see 😊 hello, i just thought that myself, wheres a photo of the new knife, 5 star for the belt sander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 On 09/06/2019 at 23:50, Gordon R said: I'm impressed. Why does the belt need to be so long? I think it helps with heat and means it takes longer to wear out? On 10/06/2019 at 11:25, ditchman said: is there a manual version of the speed controller....something with just a knob on it that you can turn.......all that electric stuff frightens me to death....... ive seen some single phase motor versions and they have different pulley sizes attached with a belt drive, like you'd expect to see when you lift the top lid of a pillar drill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 answered my question ...read it again...3hp 3phase motor...so it would need something special... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 Here's the knife i made in various stages of completion, its not perfect but i'm still dead chuffed with it, hopefully be the first of many Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markyboy07 Posted June 11, 2019 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 On 10/06/2019 at 12:31, fatchap said: Are you going to have the 10" wheel for hollow grinds? Good stuff by the way, Watch out for zirconium belts they are waaaay expensive compared to the 2x72 Ali Oxide. I do want a larger contact wheel for hollow grinds yes, is ten inch the way to go?? i saw a good vid on you toob with travis wuertz using the plunge saw method ( i think that's what it was called) of hollow grinding, not sure if youve seen it but his technique seems to make it look very doable for a beginner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 wooooor..................now i like that........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 that knife and sheath are bang on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 17 minutes ago, mel b3 said: that knife and sheath are bang on bloody right.............you could make a dozen of those using a stainless and sell them as upmarket steak knives............lovely simple design.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old farrier Posted June 11, 2019 Report Share Posted June 11, 2019 Very nice good work well done 👍😊😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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