Thread: How to/what do I need to build a grinder?

I am yanking the motor out of the wife's old treadmill(shhhhhhhh don't let her hear that.) You wouldn't think it, but most treadmill motors are over 2 hp and have the speed control built right in to the panel on the treadmill. Or you can buy a dc motor controller.

Been there, done that. It worked great for about 3 years - then it died in the middle of a knife class. The only problem with them is that they are not shielded, so sooner or later metal dust gets into the motor and they fry. There are many advantages to a variable speed set up -this time I bet the bullet and went with a 3 phase 3 hp motor and a phase controller. Not cheap, but no worries about metal dust (shield case motor). The thread mill set up should serve you well for some time, and the price is right.

I made one for about $800. Here was the thread if you're interested:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/forge...r-project.html

Originally Posted by Undream

I made one for about $800. Here was the thread if you're interested:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/forge...r-project.html

Thanks Brad, very interesting and cool not at least

I've gotten some good ideas so far and they keep developing in my head. I like designing and build stuff on my own, and I think I have a lot of what I will need to build a basic grinder to start out with.

I also found two old files in the scrap metal at work today that I brought home for future projects, one 1" wide and the other 1 1/5"

I built mine with the no weld grinder plans in the second post of this thread. Pretty straight forward and if you are lucky you can get a lot of the metal needed at a scrap yard.