Build Your Own Belt Grinder

Build Your Own Belt Grinder Belt Grinder

Right behind the welder and the chop saw, a belt grinder is one of the most versatile shop tools you could ask for. Belt grinders are used for tube notching, de-burring cut edges, removing mill scale from hot-rolled steel, sharpening tungsten for TIG welding, and general metal shaping. When it comes to tube notching, a belt grinder is much easier to use than a hand-held die grinder. You'll get better results and waste less material. It's a machine that's worth its weight in gold.

The bummer about many ready-made belt grinders is that they're also priced like gold. What's a hard-working home fabricator to do? Build one yourself!

After deciding that fabricating life just wouldn't be complete without a belt grinder, yours truly did some Internet searching under "DIY belt grinder." I found a website that showed an owner-built belt grinder which featured grinder wheels sourced from Beaumont Metalworks.

Beaumont Metalworks, of Columbus, Ohio, offers several different diameters and configurations of grinder wheels. To build the envisioned grinder, three wheels were needed. The first need is a contact wheel, which is a grinding wheel with a hard center core and a soft rubber over-wrap. Second, a tension and tracking wheel is necessary to make sure the belt behaves properly and doesn't wander off course. Finally, the grinder has to have a drive wheel to propel the whole thing.

Grinder wheels are the major ingredient in a DIY belt grinder, but they alone don't complete the machine. Pulleys, a drive shaft, an electric motor, and a frame are also necessary, to say nothing of the assorted odds and ends. Conveniently, Beaumont Metalworks also offers pulleys, electric motors, and driveshafts. If you don't have the patience or time to build your own grinder, Beaumont manufactures and sells its own line of belt grinders, called KMG grinders.

At press time, the grinder frame was built and the three pulleys were in place. The belt tracked straight and true. The motor still needs to be mounted, and some details attended to, but it won't be long until this grinder is out in the shop, taking its rightful place near the top of the tool pecking order.

1. Clockwise from the top: a 6-inch drive wheel, a 3.5-inch by 2.5-inch tracking and tension wheel, and a 3-inch diameter contact wheel. Beaumont Metalworks recommended the 6-inch drive wheel because it turns the belt faster (expressed in surface feet per minute) than a smaller-diameter drive wheel.
1. Clockwise from the top: a 6-inch drive wheel, a 3.5-inch by 2.5-inch tracking and tensi
2. Beaumont offers step pulleys to fit 5/8- or 3/4-inch drive shafts. They're made from cast iron for superior rigidity and machined and balanced for smooth operation. This grinder will be powered by a drive belt that connects the electric motor to the drive shaft via the pulleys shown here. The steps make it possible to alter grinding belt speed by changing the position of the drive belt. The pulley with the 5/8-inch bore will fasten directly to the output shaft of the electric motor, and the pulley with the 3/4-inch bore will fasten to one end of a drive shaft.
2. Beaumont offers step pulleys to fit 5/8- or 3/4-inch drive shafts. They're made from ca
3. Here's the drive shaft and pillow-block-mounted bearings. The shaft is available in 5/8-inch and 3/4-inch diameters, and the pillow block bearings are available to match. The pillow blocks encircle the bearing in a spherical housing, which lets the bearings operate bind-free even if the bearing housings are mounted on an uneven, misaligned surface.
3. Here's the drive shaft and pillow-block-mounted bearings. The shaft is available in 5/8

4. Most grinders are based on a flat plate. This approach chosen here called for what seems best to call a spine and a mast. This piece of 1.5-inch round tubing makes the mast. Three pieces of smaller tubing are pierced through the mast and welded in.
4. Most grinders are based on a flat plate. This approach chosen here called for what seem
5. The mast was then set into the spine. The spine is a 2x2-inch piece of square steel tubing with a 3/16-inch wall thickness. Holes were bored top and bottom on the spine so that the mast could completely pierce the spine and be as perfectly aligned as possible.
5. The mast was then set into the spine. The spine is a 2x2-inch piece of square steel tub
6. Here's the tracking/tension wheel affixed to half of the tracking adjustment mechanism. The wheel comes with sealed precision bearings already pressed in. Small parts, such as the adjustment knob and the bronze bushings for the pivot, were sourced from a local industrial supply warehouse.
6. Here's the tracking/tension wheel affixed to half of the tracking adjustment mechanism.

7. When the knob is turned against the tab it rotates the tracking wheel up or down to adjust the tracking.
7. When the knob is turned against the tab it rotates the tracking wheel up or down to adj
8. The tracking wheel was mounted onto a pivoting arm to provide spring-loaded belt tension. This configuration uses the same wheel for both tracking and tension. Bronze bushings were used at the arm's pivot. Note the tension spring's position.
8. The tracking wheel was mounted onto a pivoting arm to provide spring-loaded belt tensio
9. Once the tracking/tension wheel was in place, the other wheels could be located relative to it. The contact wheel was mounted on a tubular arm that can be adjusted via a tube clamp. Shaft collars welded to the contact wheel bracket allow further alignment adjustment.
9. Once the tracking/tension wheel was in place, the other wheels could be located relativ

10.This shows the mounting bracket for the drive shaft. It bolts onto the main mast. A Piranha ironworker was used to shear the plate to size and dimension, and to punch the bolt holes. An ironworker can save loads of time and sweat if you have access to one. If not, the same plate work can be done using a Sawzall, a hand-held grinder, and a hand-held drill.
10.This shows the mounting bracket for the drive shaft. It bolts onto the main mast. A Pir
11. The driveshaft mount was ideal, but it interfered with the tension spring.
12. A mis-mounted spring won't stop me! The easy solution was to move the spring's lower mount onto the driveshaft's mouting plate.
12. A mis-mounted spring won't stop me! The easy solution was to move the spring's lower m

13. The current spring is too long and not stiff enough, so a shorter, stiffer spring is on order locally. By pushing down on the tension arm you can produce enough grinding belt tension to spin the whole works by turning the drive pulley. The tracking mechanism works great. The grinding belt is a 2-inch-wide, 48-inch-long belt, which is commonly available from many sources.
13. The current spring is too long and not stiff enough, so a shorter, stiffer spring is o
14. The grinder's frame needs to mount to a stable surface. The "backbone" tube was cut short and plates were welded on to function as mounting tabs. The tube's ends were also capped off.
14. The grinder's frame needs to mount to a stable surface. The "backbone" tube was cut sh
15. The motor is a 3/4-horsepower, 3450 rpm model. It's a 56C motor frame, and is TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) to withstand the dusty environment of grinding. I used steel plate to make the mounting base. The motor is welded to the base. I kept the welds fairly small to keep from frying the motor's innards.
15. The motor is a 3/4-horsepower, 3450 rpm model. It's a 56C motor frame, and is TEFC (to

16. The plan was to make a base from tubing, but this sheet metal cabinet came along instead. The motor and grinder will be mounted to the top, with storage space below.
16. The plan was to make a base from tubing, but this sheet metal cabinet came along inste
17. Casters are a must for mobility. The two weldments seen here will be tied together by a pair of cross tubes. Each caster pad will get a diagonal brace to keep it from flexing upward.
17. Casters are a must for mobility. The two weldments seen here will be tied together by
18. Here's the basic layout on top of the cabinet. The grinder needs to be mounted off of one edge for best work access. This leaves enough space for a bench grinder on the same mounting surface. Grinding nirvana? Maybe. We wanted to showcase a finished grinder in this story, but didn't get that far. We'll finish this online at www.off-roadweb.com. Once you're on the home page, go to "community" and then select "blogs."
18. Here's the basic layout on top of the cabinet. The grinder needs to be mounted off of