My grinder

Daniel Macina

Daniel Macina

Well-Known Member
Well I'm partly embarrassed to post this and partly giddy with excitement. I had no idea how exact everything had to be on a grinder and it was certainly a learning experience. Full disclosure these grinders can be built much nicer. If I did it all again I would probably just buy a grinder because of the precision required to build a good grinder. I messed with the tracking for about a week and this was as close as I could get it. Still tracks a little to the right but I've tried and can't get it any closer. As @EdCaffreyMS said no matter what you do the arm that holds the tracking wheel has some side to side flex that will keep you from having perfect tracking unless you find a way to stop it from flexing. I didn't feel comfortable enough to make something to keep it from flexing so it was just left as is. far from perfect but still a huge step up from my harbor freight 1x30. Now for some pics and a short video. Please be brutally honest about what you think. I won't get my feelings hurt.

Can't figure out how to post a video but once I do I'll get it posted.

Ps: yes the VFD got mounted a little crooked. I'll fix it. Lol.

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I'd say you did pretty good - that design has some real short comings in the basic design - especially in the tracking/tension arm. There's just no way to get all the flex from something that long and tall. When you say it's tracking to the side - is it steady in tracking? Belt not moving side to side any - or very little? That's the big thing, as long as it's steady. I'll bet if you push on the tension arm from side to side a bit you'll see the belt move from side to side? That should give you an idea of fix to make belt run in center.

All in all - good job.
 
KenH said:
I'd say you did pretty good - that design has some real short comings in the basic design - especially in the tracking/tension arm. There's just no way to get all the flex from something that long and tall. When you say it's tracking to the side - is it steady in tracking? Belt not moving side to side any - or very little? That's the big thing, as long as it's steady. I'll bet if you push on the tension arm from side to side a bit you'll see the belt move from side to side? That should give you an idea of fix to make belt run in center.

All in all - good job.
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Yes sir I definitely learned the short comings of the GIB when building it. Yes the belt will move when you push the arm to the side. I thought I would be able to get it dead on with very thin (paper thin) bushings and anything I did made it worse so I just quit messing with it. Might try and improve it a bit more. Yes it is steady in tracking there is a tiny little bit of side to side movement but you can can't really see or feel it.
 
Daniel, just noticed - your motor is mounted at the base rather than 56C face mounted. You can "twist" that motor a tad to move the belt from side to side allowing you to center the belt where you wish it to run. That won't help the flex in the tension/tracking arm, but you can adjust tracking left to right by twisting the motor. I don't remember which but there is one manuf of 2X72 grinder that uses that method to adjust tracking rather than the tension arm.
 
It looks good! Im sure building one is no small task. I'm sure the tracking is frustrating though.
Could you add another support to the tension are to help with the flex. My lb1000 has one on either side.
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@Justin Presson I probably could make some type of yolk or something to stop the flex but it would have to be Machined to perfect tolerances and I don't have anyone close to do that and certainly don't have the capability to do it myself. It's kinda funny there's not even enough flex to see with the bare eye but it's just enough to cause a little trouble if you get to pushing on the arm.
 
Congrats! It's always a good feeling, and a confidence booster when a project like that comes together.

I suspect Ken is right about the way the motor is mounted....and also suspect that could be a source of the tracking issue.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
Congrats! It's always a good feeling, and a confidence booster when a project like that comes together.

I suspect Ken is right about the way the motor is mounted....and also suspect that could be a source of the tracking issue.
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Thank you sir! I went through some extreme lengths to make sure the motor was perfectly square but it very well might not be square. I will tinker around with it and see if I can get it right. It will drive me nuts if it's not right!
 
I'm curious..... were the (plastic?) wheels including in the grinder package? I ask because those type of wheels concern me in a grinder application.....they are just not made to handle the stress that machine will produce..... and if they are the same wheels I'm familiar with, could also be a part of the tracking issue.
 
EdCaffreyMS said:
I'm curious..... were the (plastic?) wheels including in the grinder package? I ask because those type of wheels concern me in a grinder application.....they are just not made to handle the stress that machine will produce..... and if they are the same wheels I'm familiar with, could also be a part of the tracking issue.
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The wheels are from Oregon Blade Maker. I fully intended to get aluminum wheels but they where out of stock. I should have been patient and waited till they came back in stock or found another supplier to buy from. I am planning on upgrading to a multi platen soon and will probably get a aluminum drive wheel and tracking wheel.
 
When I think of a "tracking issue" I tend to think of a belt moving from side to side. Daniel doesn't seem to have that problem, says the belt tracks very steady. Just can't get belt to move over to center of wheels. That's why I'm thinking adjust the motor alignment a tad.
 
Going back and looking, particularly at the 3rd/last photo, I suspect/it appears that all the wheels (drive, idler, and attachment are possibly not centered/aligned on the same plane ....which is a tedious/difficult thing to achieve on any grinder build. I've built a number of the "EERF" machines, and literally spent hours getting all the wheels aligned...... and in some cases have had to scrap parts because I bored or threaded a hole slightly "off".
 
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