I got a couple questions...

Lagrange

Lagrange

Well-Known Member
First...I'm having trouble with belt tracking on a 2 x 72 grinder I built. I've checked and rechecked the alignment of my wheels but I still am getting a slight jerk on the belt. I'm using a domed idler pulley and a domed drive wheel. I'm curious if that is the problem. In order to get my belt to track I have to adjust the idler so that the belt is running on the inside of the domed portion of the wheel.
I hope someone recognizes the problem and can help me.

Second...I'm making a couple kitchen knives for my wife for christmas out of CPM 154. This is my first run with SS. I've gotten them through heat treat and now I am trying to remove the residue and clean the blades up for final finish. But I cant get my low grit belts to even make a dent. I'm afraid of using too coarse a grit and taking too much material off. I was wondering if anyone can tell me the grits they use and in what order to finish off the blade.

I really could use the help guys.
Eric
 
Eric.
If you say you are getting a slight jerk on the belt I believe your crown may be too high and the belt is sliding off. Have you tried with just crowning the idler wheel and not also the drive wheel? By the way, I've found that plain ordinary masking tape works best for this and will last many months.
I only do folder blades but, I grind almost all my blades after heat treat. I like the CMP154 and similar steels. Perhaps the belts you are using are too worn? Otherwise I would just keep backing up to a more course belt until you find one that will do what you want and go grom there. I use ceramic belts and the trizact and newer Norton ones. Auminum oxide and the blue zerconias don't do much to these hardened steels. Hope this helps. Frank
 
When you say you are getting a "Slight Jerk" what does that exactly mean? I just finished a grinder build and had to track down several tracking issues. A couple of things is if the belt is moving to either the right or left while grinding you do not have enough belt tension. I acutally have a 70lb spring on mine and it stops all belt wandering.

If the belt is running and jogging back and fourth from side to side a little bit look at a couple of things. 1. Try another belt 2. Turn a 50 grit belt inside out and run it on high for a minute or two and then dust off your wheels and try again. Sometimes our "Perfect" wheels are not so perfect and this will smooth them out.
 
Because you say that you have to track off to the side of the crown of the tracking wheel I would try moving it over to get the belt to track over the center of it when running correctly over the contact wheels and platten.
 
Thanks guys.... I'll mess around with your suggestions and let you know what happens.

Eric
 
Good compression spring may just work. My grinder does not have compression spring. It has 2 springs on back of lever arm. I tighten as much as I can with the spring and then lock down. I then push up on the lever arm to get more tension and then wedge a small block of wood between the lever arm and the tool arm holder. This puts lots of tension on the belt and it solved the wandering belt problem.
Hope this helps as there is nothing worse than a belt that won't track good.
Good luck.
Jim
 
I adjusted my idler wheel so that now I get the belt tracking over the center of all the wheels.
I also adjusted the tension on the belt. I'm using a heavy compression spring. I got the belt pretty dang tight. But the belt runs like it did before...not wandering or jerking as much but still not running absolutely straight and true. I'm taking my drive wheel and going to turn the dome off of it. I think that will help.

Eric
 
I doubt that removing the crown is a good idea. I suspect that something is not in line. Try lying a straight edge along the wheels to make sure that they are in line and on the same plane. Remember that the drive wheel and tracking wheels are wider than the contact wheels.
 
Hi Eric, I have a modified multitool and if you are still having issues, it could be you are steering the car from both ends. By that I mean the crowned wheel, nomally the drive wheel, should always self centre the belt, around what the idler pulley is doing, in regard to the horizon across the flat of the belt but if the idler pulley is crowned also, I imagine it would skip back and restart out of tracking process, until it skips back again or throws the belt. Could this be the jerking you refer to. If you have an uncrowned idler you can swap it for, I would tryb that next. We can blame precise alignment but my pal cuts wood with a drivebelt off a tractor crown wheel, there are no dial guages there but the idler is not crowned, could be a hint.

Axeman
 
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I took the drive wheel and mounted it in a lathe to take the crown off. When the machine was turned on the wheel appeared to be turning off center. We readjusted the wheel and it did the same thing. We put the wheel in a different lathe and got the same result. when we brought the tool to the edge of the wheel it was obvious that it was not centered. I got this wheel from beaumont metal works where I am almost certain they turned this wheel on a lathe. I dont know how it could be that it's not centered.
Any thoughts?

Eric
 
Contact Rob from Beaumont I am not sure how long you have had it or if you still got a receipt, but Rob is a stand up guy. He may just honor that wheel. Every once in a while and a bad one gets out of a shop no matter the equipment used to turn it. If you don't believe that start watching NASCAR and keep up with engine failure. We are talking big bucks there but it is usually traced back to a bad part!

I mean if you haven't turned it already it will be obvious that it hasn't been fooled with and its a bad wheel!
 
In fact I think they use a CNC machine to make those. Thing is in any process things can happen that are not wanted. They are known to be very good people. I'm sure if you contacyed them they would be all over you to help. Frank
 
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