I'm in the process of putting together my no weld grinder and was considering putting a flat disc on as well. I would be using the flat disc and slotted shaft from from USA knifemer.com My question is can I just let the drive shaft extend beyond the drive wheel and mount onto that? I don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing so any advice or even pics would be great.
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disc sander for no weld grinder
- Thread starter elasmonut
- Start date
I'm assuming that you're wanting to have one power source for both types of grinder.
Yes, you can do that if you extend the shaft and disk to the left side of the grinder.
You cannot go right of the drive wheel because you still need a way to easily install and remove the sanding belts.:34:
There are two ways to do this. The first method involves running the disc on the same shaft as the drive wheel.
Besides the longer shaft and disc, you will also need an extra pillow block bearing. Also, a short extra piece of the same (square) tubing that's used for the base mount on the NWGS.
The extra bearing is needed for support directly behind the disc. The square tubing is needed to keep that bearing in line with the bearings on the NWGS.
Doing it this way will work, but it's not ideal.
It will give you two different grinder/sanders powered by one motor, but the caveat is that any time one is running, the other is also running.
Even if that (both running at the same time) is not a concern to you, a more serious problem is isolating the variables when problems occur.
For example, suppose you're trying to determine the source of a vibration problem.
Because it's all systemized as one unit, a problem with one grinder will affect the other.
A slightly unbalanced disc will also make the belt grinder vibrate.
A bad bearing will affect both grinders.
The longer the shaft, the more critical that it be straight. (By the way, longer shaft lengths really call for precision shaft material instead of "round stock".)
On and on... sometimes it can really drive you nuts trying to figure out the exact cause of a problem when everything's tied together.
Assuming your goal is to use the same motor to power both the disc and the belt, my suggestion would be to arrange it in such a way that the disc can be decoupled from the drive wheel on the NWGS. Which brings up the second method.
To do that, you'll need to have the disc powered in the style of a bench (pulley) mandrel.
Basically, go ahead and run a longer driveshaft extended to the left, but install an extra pulley on it. You'll now have two pulleys on that shaft- one that connects to the motor (providing power for the shaft itself), and another to connect with the separate pulley mandrel on which the disc is mounted. As mentioned above, use an extra bearing mounted on the end of the shaft for support.
Constructing a separate mandrel for the disc means additional expense. To make the mandrel, you'll need an extra piece of shaft (in addition to the extended driveshaft), two extra bearings (in addition to the extra bearing to support the extended driveshaft), an extra set of pulleys, and an extra (link) belt.
I've done it both ways; I'll take the separate pulley mandrel everytime over having the disc on the same shaft as the drive wheel for the belt grinder.
A little more money up front, but it sure saves a lot of frustration. Plus, the disc is easily kept separate from the belt grinder by disconnecting the belt. (On one of mine, I no longer take the belt apart because I made a clutch for it- but that's another adventure.)
Hope this helps. Don't have a camera, but maybe others have done what I'm describing and can post their photos or chime in further.
Good Luck,
Rob
Yes, you can do that if you extend the shaft and disk to the left side of the grinder.
You cannot go right of the drive wheel because you still need a way to easily install and remove the sanding belts.:34:
There are two ways to do this. The first method involves running the disc on the same shaft as the drive wheel.
Besides the longer shaft and disc, you will also need an extra pillow block bearing. Also, a short extra piece of the same (square) tubing that's used for the base mount on the NWGS.
The extra bearing is needed for support directly behind the disc. The square tubing is needed to keep that bearing in line with the bearings on the NWGS.
Doing it this way will work, but it's not ideal.
It will give you two different grinder/sanders powered by one motor, but the caveat is that any time one is running, the other is also running.
Even if that (both running at the same time) is not a concern to you, a more serious problem is isolating the variables when problems occur.
For example, suppose you're trying to determine the source of a vibration problem.
Because it's all systemized as one unit, a problem with one grinder will affect the other.
A slightly unbalanced disc will also make the belt grinder vibrate.
A bad bearing will affect both grinders.
The longer the shaft, the more critical that it be straight. (By the way, longer shaft lengths really call for precision shaft material instead of "round stock".)
On and on... sometimes it can really drive you nuts trying to figure out the exact cause of a problem when everything's tied together.
Assuming your goal is to use the same motor to power both the disc and the belt, my suggestion would be to arrange it in such a way that the disc can be decoupled from the drive wheel on the NWGS. Which brings up the second method.
To do that, you'll need to have the disc powered in the style of a bench (pulley) mandrel.
Basically, go ahead and run a longer driveshaft extended to the left, but install an extra pulley on it. You'll now have two pulleys on that shaft- one that connects to the motor (providing power for the shaft itself), and another to connect with the separate pulley mandrel on which the disc is mounted. As mentioned above, use an extra bearing mounted on the end of the shaft for support.
Constructing a separate mandrel for the disc means additional expense. To make the mandrel, you'll need an extra piece of shaft (in addition to the extended driveshaft), two extra bearings (in addition to the extra bearing to support the extended driveshaft), an extra set of pulleys, and an extra (link) belt.
I've done it both ways; I'll take the separate pulley mandrel everytime over having the disc on the same shaft as the drive wheel for the belt grinder.
A little more money up front, but it sure saves a lot of frustration. Plus, the disc is easily kept separate from the belt grinder by disconnecting the belt. (On one of mine, I no longer take the belt apart because I made a clutch for it- but that's another adventure.)
Hope this helps. Don't have a camera, but maybe others have done what I'm describing and can post their photos or chime in further.
Good Luck,
Rob
Frank Niro
KNIFE MAKER
I recommend a separate machine set up with the disc. Frank
David Metzger
Member
I am using separate motors but same speed control. Using 9 connection toggle switches. Works well