Thread: Contact Wheel sizes

Hi,

I'm starting my belt grinder build based on Michael Clerc's design. Now I've got a dilemma that I'd like help on.
What size contact wheels should I get?
I'd like to eventually try hollow grinding rather than just wedge type blades and I'm considering buying two - the postage is cheaper than if I were to decide to buy another in a couple of months.
Currently I'm thinking 100mm (4 inches) and 200mm (8 inches).
Should I be looking at the 150mm (6 inch) wheel instead of one of the other two or not?

I reckon that with both sizes I should be able to do just about everything I need and I'm also considering poly coated platen rollers so I'll have 2 inch (50mm) wheels to grind on as well.

For info so far I've only got the motor - 60 dollars from a fella down the road and it's a 2HP 1500 RPM model.
Gonna pick up a drill press this weekend and order some taps etc as well.

Only problem I have so far is that the motor doesn't have what I'd expect to be called a keyway, just some sort of built in key on the shaft and so I'll need to cut my own keyway on the pulley when I get it.

Thanks,

Paul

Am 8" and 4" wheel would serve you well. I would also think about getting a 2" if you want to do thin grinds,

Charlie

Originally Posted by spazola

Am 8" and 4" wheel would serve you well. I would also think about getting a 2" if you want to do thin grinds,

Charlie

Thanks for the info, I'll probably pick one up a little while down the line. I was considering using the platen rollers more for shaping the tang than actually hollow grinding but I can see the benefit of having a third that I can fit on as a contact wheel too.

I have a 2 inch contact wheel on the upper location on my flat platten setup. That way, I get double duty out of one setup. +1 what Charlie said.

Originally Posted by BakerandBadger

Thanks for the info, I'll probably pick one up a little while down the line. I was considering using the platen rollers more for shaping the tang than actually hollow grinding but I can see the benefit of having a third that I can fit on as a contact wheel too.

That is what I do, I have a 2" on one end of my platen and a 3" on the other. I just rotate the platen when I want to use either wheel alone.

Charlie

Just out of interest, below is a diagram of blade hollows along with the corresponding wheel size that was used to grind them:



They are from the notes of Ken Hawley, taken when he interviewed Bill Hukin, the man once called the Last Razor Grinder In Sheffield (he died in the mid 1990s - some say 94, some 95). At the time, Bill Hukin was working for John & William Ragg at the company's London Works in the 1970s.

The 'thin' blades (rattler, half rattler (faux frameback) and swedish rattler (frameback) had straight-ground sides, so presumably a much larger wheel was used. Other forms, like more modern double-concaved and other types of full hollow use a number of different wheels for one blade.

Regards,
Neil

Cheers Neil. So based on this you don't need bigger than a 5 inch wheel?