Thread: A couple questions before attempting my own razor :D

Originally Posted by BeJay

Shooter. How was that thing for grinding? I was considering trying to hand file some blades and was trying to figure out a solution for grinding. It's obviously not ideal but I don't have money or space for a real grinder. Some of my the reviews mention the wheel wobbling a bit. Can the wheel be flattened? Is there a previous thread showing it in action?

Almost all of us who have been at this awhile agree that our first tools were inadequate compared to our present shop gear. I started on a 1x42 belt grinder and kinda miss that size for certain jobs. Excellent belt tracking controls and balanced wheels are optimum whether a production built or home built grinder. Anything else will drive you nuts.

The idea of making your first razors/blades with files is not to be taken lightly. The tools are simple and you learn a great deal about removing metal and forming the shape you want. Even if you forge steel, you will have to remove metal later, the skills are priceless. Then, only then, when you need to get the job done faster, turn to power tools. You will understand how to get the power tool to work in the direction you wanted with the files.

If you decide it's too much work with a file, you won't likely stick with it after you've invested 2,500.00 in the best belt grinder or milling machine. The loss on your investment will be much greater too. Unless you run a fab shop or the like...

That little grinder is SLOW, but it's so slow that you aren't going to rush anything either and mess your razor up. If you look at this thread, you will see that I hogged out the material with a cheaper grinder and imagination, then finished it on the craftsman grinder.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/forge...ake-razor.html

I still use the 4x36 for some things, but it's sounding quite tired and may scatter any day. Like Mike said, most of us start out with making do and imagination. You should look up some of Charlie's (member Spazola) early threads...talk about a great imagination on making your tools work for you!

I will agree with what Shooter and Mike have said, I am just starting with my first razor and even though I have mills, lathes and the such available I can only do so much with the machines. Mostly because I am not a machinist but it is awesome to learn I still did a lot of work with files and sandpaper after getting my rough shape. I did learn on this first one that I will not use the mill to follow my actual shape. This was very tedious and above my skill level. I did it but broke a couple bits and will in the future just cut out a general shape then use other tools to get the shape. I did like the mill for getting my circular shapes in my design then sanding and filing from there to get more what I wanted. Next I have to pull my 4 x 36 apart and chuck the wheels up and crown them for better tracking before starting my hollow grind. I shredded a new 3M belt because it was all over the place and that sucks. Hoping to get the wheels done this weekend and get busy grinding

Originally Posted by ejmolitor37

Next I have to pull my 4 x 36 apart and chuck the wheels up and crown them for better tracking before starting my hollow grind. I shredded a new 3M belt because it was all over the place and that sucks. Hoping to get the wheels done this weekend and get busy grinding

Sounds like you're having a good time mate! I'm not sure what sort of belt grinder you have, and you may already know this, but don't crown the wheel you use as a contact wheel. That will make for a difficult grind. My grinder has three wheels and only the tracking wheel is crowned. Drive and contact are flat.

It's a harbor freight cheapo. I never thought about not crowning both. Thanks for the insight, I was just going to follow what I had read and watched online to fix tracking issues : ) great advice though thanks.

If yours is different to mine, I have a little buddy, then your fix might be very different. I do think you will have issues grinding evenly if you crown your contact wheel however!

Originally Posted by mattm82

If yours is different to mine, I have a little buddy, then your fix might be very different. I do think you will have issues grinding evenly if you crown your contact wheel however!

I think what I'm going to do is try and just true the "contact" pulley and hopefully it will track the belt straight : ) if not I will try something else. Gotta do with what we have

Yes we do. Best of luck with it mate. Perhaps see if you can find a busted one and then you can go all out in a spare set of wheels without fear.

The first attempt at crowning the wheel could be just adding a circumferential piece of strapping tape (the stuff I used had the fibers running length wise but I've seen electrical tape and other stuff work too) around the center of the tracking wheel. It raises a high spot where the belt wants to go and saves having to get the wheel modified. You can experiment for the sweet spot easier and it comes off if it doesn't work.

Mike Blue, I'm feeling honestly very silly. I work at 3m making tape and we "bumper" idler all the time to keep the tape centered and remove wrinkles. It never even dawned on me to try that! I already have the dang thing tore down so I guess I'll finish my plan but I can't believe I didn't think of that simple solution. Thank you for the thought though.