Others will have their own opinions but from what you describe you could get by fine with a single speed belt grinder for your needs.

One machine. One speed. And a good selection of belt grits.


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Thank you.

 

I have a few different belt Sanders or grinders. A 1"x42" sander, a 2" x48" belt grinder and a 2-1/2" x 60" with a 12" disc grinder on the opposite side of the spindle. The 2x48 is homebuilt modeled after a Kalamazoo with a 1 hp 3450 rpm motor. The 2-1/2" x60 is an old Ryman that I modified the base and motor. That currently has a 1 hp 3450 rpm motor that I plan to change to a larger one which may or may not be a 3 phase motor. All are single speed and work fine as I don't use them for fine finishing work.

 

Thanks. How fine of work do you do? What is the finest grit sanding belt you use?

 

I'm not gonna tell you what size belt to get, since it's all about how much space you have. The longer the belt, the longer it lasts. Wide belts are good for flat stuff, narrow belts are good for contours.

My belt grinders are all fixed speed and sometimes that can be an issue. It'd be nice to be able to slow them down to sand wood.



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I'm not gonna tell you what size belt to get, since it's all about how much space you have. The longer the belt, the longer it lasts. Wide belts are good for flat stuff, narrow belts are good for contours.

My belt grinders are all fixed speed and sometimes that can be an issue. It'd be nice to be able to slow them down to sand wood.

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Thanks. I was thinking about buying or building a separate machine for sanding. Usually sanders are good for wood i suppose although i may or may not need to sand wood. I don't plan on polishing any metal to a mirror finish so I'm thinking maybe 220 or 320 grit would be fine enough for my work? I'm not sure.

 

Also, for metal, FORGET Aluminum oxide. Buy ceramic and Silicon Carbide. The coarse ceramic belts are AWESOME. All my fine belts are SiC, never tried the ceramic belts in fine grits.

I recommend buying a grinder based on availability and cost of belts. I swapped from a 1X30 fo a 1X42 recently, because the belts last longer and cost about the same.

Another edit: I've been using the same set of ceramic belts on my 4" machine for over a year. On the 'ol 1X30, I'd burn up multiple aluminum oxide belts in a grinding session. SiC and Ceramic last WAY longer.
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Thanks for the ceramic belt info.

 

Scotchbrite belts are available also-- in three different grits.

I like Klingspoor and 3M belts but there are several good manufacturers out there.


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Those saw motors i have run at 3500 RPM. Is that too fast for sanding? Is it better for grinding?

 

Google something like "SFM for belt sander". SFM being short for "Surface Feet per Minute". The RPM really doesnt matter. All has to do with the diameter of the roller that drives the belt. Think truck tires. If you have 54" tires, your first gear will go a lot faster than if you have 32" tires.

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5,000 sfpm is about ideal for grinding steel

 

Just curious, how much HP and what type of work are you doing? I'm not not disagreeing with you - I'd love to run my grinders faster. My grinders are all fixed speed and I set them pretty slow so I don't mess up on finish work. I REALLY need some variable drives.

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Don't necessarily get hung up on HP

My older single speed Burr King 482 is only 3/4 HP and I have never bogged it down.

I think the newer versions are 1 HP now and available with variable speed as an option.

Keep a good selection of quality belts handy

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My neighbor has an old industrial bench grinder he wants to sell for $80. He said once it gets up to speed there is no bogging it down. I thought about buying it and putting a belt grinder attachment on the side.

 

My opinion is for general metal working single speed is fine. IF you can afford it and (or) you are making knives then go variable speed.

IF I was a professional that did a lot of grinding I would have a dedicated 12 foot work bench with multiple (3-6?) identical variable speed machines set up with progressively finer grits.


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got this HF belt grinder/sander severals years ago.

installed motor 1 1/2 hp....pulleys are arranged for about 2700 rpm

 

got this HF belt grinder/sander severals years ago.

installed motor 1 1/2 hp....pulleys are arranged for about 2700 rpm

View attachment 1731378

I thought about buying one of those for my sanding needs. Having experience with a small HF drill press i figured i would need to replace the motor with a bigger one. I ended up buying a bigger drill press. Its still a cheap brand but it works good, and i got a spare motor for it too. It was a good deal.

 

Then again, maybe the saw motor will be ruined by abrasive grinding wheels or buffing compounds. Maybe a saw motor is only good for cutting wood. Maybe it would make an ok wood sander, i don't know. Or maybe i could use those motors for belt driven machines if i protect the motor with a casing of some kind.

 

They will still suck in dust.


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Maybe those saw motors would be ok for wire wheels. I hate to scrap them.

 

The 1-1/2HP motor on my 4" belt grinder is an old ODP motor off one of my bandsaws. Stays coated in abrasive swarf. So far so good. If I ever have any issues with wear, I'll just put new bearings in it.

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Thanks.

 

Im considering getting one of these belt grinder attachments for a bench grinder. I can get an adjustable speed bench grinder later on down the road to replace the single speed i have now. Has anyone used this attachment? I want something that can hog away metal fast if needed. I wonder if this grinder attachment will do the job.

https://youtu.be/SUwEFERH3Iw

 

That would get the job done but certainly not “hog away metal fast” by most definitions.


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I can also get one of these cheap angle grinder attachments for contour grinding.

 

I'm a big believer in having multiple grinders on hand. Just picked up an old Jet 2x48 with a 1/2hp motor and it does the job very well. I thought it might bog down like my old 1/3hp bench grinder, but it doesn't flinch a bit at what I ask of it.

While I have a 2x72 on hand, the 2x48 is nice because it's set up with a coarse belt and wire wheel to do a specific job for me. It's just for knocking off burrs and cleaning things up. I'll probably invest in some different grits of belt for it just because it's so handy to have around, but I'm happy with just using it as I do. The belts are far better than stone wheels in terms of life expectancy and how much dust they throw off, and it's really nice to not have to worry about changing from one belt to another.

As I recall, Brent Bailey does much the same in his videos, with multiple grinders around the workshop for doing different things. It really is nice being able to flip a switch and get to grinding!

 

I'm a big believer in having multiple grinders on hand. Just picked up an old Jet 2x48 with a 1/2hp motor and it does the job very well. I thought it might bog down like my old 1/3hp bench grinder, but it doesn't flinch a bit at what I ask of it.

While I have a 2x72 on hand, the 2x48 is nice because it's set up with a coarse belt and wire wheel to do a specific job for me. It's just for knocking off burrs and cleaning things up. I'll probably invest in some different grits of belt for it just because it's so handy to have around, but I'm happy with just using it as I do. The belts are far better than stone wheels in terms of life expectancy and how much dust they throw off, and it's really nice to not have to worry about changing from one belt to another.

As I recall, Brent Bailey does much the same in his videos, with multiple grinders around the workshop for doing different things. It really is nice being able to flip a switch and get to grinding!

Thanks. I don't have room for multiple grinders but i am thinking about using a 2x48 belt grinder attachment for a bench grinder that i mentioned earlier, similar to the one in your picture. Its a lot cheaper than buying or building a 2x72. It will get me by till i have the chance to save or earn enough money for the bigger belt grinder if i see the need for it. If anything i will end up with 2 grinders which would come in handy like you said.

 

I'm not sure about this statement "There are good and bad in every design, so don't let perfection be the enemy of good enough."
If you are building a tool for yourself to have for sometime to come, do it right. There is not shame in making changes to make it better.
Now to the grinder I built a 2" X 60" belt grinder (maybe 1985) and used the heck out of it. It was simple 2-- 6" wheels and a vertical platen 2 HP motor loved it did great. About 2 years ago I moved to a 2" X 72" belt grinder, these things are so flexible, they have many grinding possibilities. Being able to adjust the angle of the grind and different optional attachments allows then to fit into many projects start to finish. I understand not everybody can afford or have the time to build one but if you do you will be happy you did. This is the Jeremy Schmidt design, I did make a few changes, I did CNC Plasma cut the custom shaped parts.:jester:

 

Nice grinders. That's the thing that i noticed, 2x72 belt grinders are versatile. I saw knife makers use a surface grinding attachment for their 2x72.

 

Perhaps at this stage of the game I wouldn’t get too caught up on horsepower.

My older Burr King 2”x48” is only 3/4 HP and if it was my only belt grinder I could get by just fine with it. Keeping in mind I’m not a pro or a knifemaker.


Also that Jet Vaughn T has would be ideal, especially if you found one used.


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Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like some motors outperform other motors of the same HP. Those Jet grinders seem like a good brand but they start out at $500. It would be worth it if they don't bog down under pressure.

 

This eastwood belt grinder is cheap, its only $200, but i wonder if it will bog down under a load.

https://www.eastwood.com/1-2hp-8in-...=annotation&utm_campaign=2019-04-22&utm_content=bench+grinder+belt+sander+combo

 

After reading reviews on this grinder i dont know if this is a good grinder. One person said no one sells the size belt this grinder takes, he said you have to special order them. That's not for me if its true. Unless this person is wrong. It takes a 2x28 belt. I have seen them with a quick google search

 

Generally speaking any belt size is available but without a doubt the major belt manufacturers offer the greatest variety of grit/composition selections in 2”x72”.

And probably the best grinding cost value can be had from using a 2x72 machine. IMO




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Generally speaking any belt size is available but without a doubt the major belt manufacturers offer the greatest variety of grit/composition selections in 2”x72”. IMO


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Thanks. something to consider.

 

I think i might just get the multi tool attachment. After thinking it over i think it will work on my RA saw motor. And i could use it in the vertical position like i would prefer. All i need is to make an adaptor so it would bolt onto the part that the blade guard usually bolts onto. I'm sure it will work but if not I'll get a good bench grinder because mine bogs down easily.

 

What nice about the radial arm saw motor is I can put the multi tool belt grinder on one side and a drill chuck on the other side which i can use for either a disc or drum sander attachment. Its also a 2 HP motor with 3500 RPM which is ideal unless I'm mistaken. Its almost too perfect. I definitely need to try that out. I also have two of those motors, i could make two grinders or have one for a spare motor.