Belt Grinder (Nov 2018)

I've wanted a belt grinder for a few years but the cost to buy is high so I started collecting parts in about 2017 with the intent to eventually build one.

After looking at every possible version on the market and going through many designs, I found what I thought was one of the best DIY builds on the web which was made by Jer Schmidt and you can see his creation on YouTube here

The reason I liked his design so much was the vertical and horizontal aspect. This is what I wanted but with a rotating head rather than the fixed plate of Jer's design.

Despite the fact my design may not look much like his, I have to give Jer credit as I spent many hours watching his build and picking out ideas, but in particular the pivoting mechanism.

Apart from the horizontal to vertical pivot mechanism and the rotating head, the rest was built and made up on the fly.

This is a beast made from 40mm and 50mm x 4mm wall thickness square steel tube, and 10mm & 12mm plate.

The motor is 3HP 3 phase driven by VFD for speed control. It'll happily grind fingers all day.

Even now in 2022 it's not completely finished as I'm still adding attachments which might mean a mod, hence why it's not painted yet.

I've made a small wheel attachment and have a large wheel to finish plus a few others. But even in its current form it's one of my favourite and most used things I've made. Good for grinding parts for fabrication but also tool sharpening and grinding points on tig tungsten.

Machining pivot mechanism

Rotation head plate

Welding up the stand and pivot mechanism

I bought the wheels off eBay and they only had a bearing on one side which wasn't very stable. Easily fixed by machining the other side for additional bearing. Much more rigid.

Use of a modified Stanley vise mount as a platform clamp.

Making a small wheel attachment