SWMBO organised a two day course with a bladesmith as a birthday gift. So last weekend, in Brittany, I had my first go at working in a proper little smithy, with box-jaw tongs, a propane forge, decent anvil at almost the perfect height for me, and a belt grinder.
This was my first time using a 2 × 72 inch belt grinder. When I was 16, I once used what I knew back then as a linisher to make myself a centre punch out of a fully hard drill blank (must be either M2 or M42 steel), and I have a little 4inch wide belt sander, but this was my first time using a purpose-built knifemaker's machine.
So that's what I ordered this morning: a 2 × 72 inch belt grinder with a step pulley.
I can drive this with the 1HP motor that I already have, with a step pulley on it, that used to drive my little 4" polishing wheels. I impressed myself, last night, with how quickly I was able to find the motor, the NEMA mounting plate, the forward/stop/reverse drum switch and the two vee belts that I packed away in boxes before moving back to France.
I'm scouting about, now, for some belts for when it arrives and when I've had time to install it.
Belts sorted: 15 of each 40, 80 and 120 grit.
Rewired the motor to run on 220V (it was wired for 110V when I bought it), tested it and it works.
Wired in the drum switch, but that doesn't work well: the motor always runs clockwise, whether in forward or reverse positions (at least the stop position works). The wiring diagram shows different configurations for clockwise and anticlockwise operation, so I think that the motor will always run in the direction determined by the wiring, and that the drum switch will not work as I expected.
This was my first time using a 2 × 72 inch belt grinder. When I was 16, I once used what I knew back then as a linisher to make myself a centre punch out of a fully hard drill blank (must be either M2 or M42 steel), and I have a little 4inch wide belt sander, but this was my first time using a purpose-built knifemaker's machine.
So that's what I ordered this morning: a 2 × 72 inch belt grinder with a step pulley.
I can drive this with the 1HP motor that I already have, with a step pulley on it, that used to drive my little 4" polishing wheels. I impressed myself, last night, with how quickly I was able to find the motor, the NEMA mounting plate, the forward/stop/reverse drum switch and the two vee belts that I packed away in boxes before moving back to France.
Belts sorted: 15 of each 40, 80 and 120 grit.
Rewired the motor to run on 220V (it was wired for 110V when I bought it), tested it and it works.
Wired in the drum switch, but that doesn't work well: the motor always runs clockwise, whether in forward or reverse positions (at least the stop position works). The wiring diagram shows different configurations for clockwise and anticlockwise operation, so I think that the motor will always run in the direction determined by the wiring, and that the drum switch will not work as I expected.
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