# Belt Grinder Build



## LX Kid (Feb 19, 2022)

I have an older HF 1" belt grinder that is woefully underpowered for metal work.  Soooo I'm going to try my best to build a more powerful 2" belt grinder using an 1/2 hp bench grinder as the power source.  If that doesn't work out I have an angle grinder and 1 hp treadmill motor with controller.
     Here's what I'm going to attempt to complete by making a 3/4 plywood column/tower for the idler rollers. Your probably asking why would anybody want to use plywood?  Well I don't have a lot of metal sources and metal at the Metal Store has gone thru the roof.  I've already made the idler rollers out of electrical PVC.  I  I used 1" roller bearings and had to lathe them in order to make the bearings fit as well as the OD to make them concentric.
     1st Problem:  I don't own a wood lathe so I had to use the bench grinder as my wood lathe, along with my angle grinder, to make the belt drive pulley.  How large circumference should the drive pulley be?  Right now the circumference is 4" and I think that might be too large.  
     2nd Problem:  My bench grinder is too fast being a 3450 rpm motor so I don't think I'll be using this bench grinder motor.  I have another bench grinder in storage and have to go get it at U-Haul.
     Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  This project might take awhile!  Thanks for taking a look!


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## Dave Smith (Feb 19, 2022)

nothing wrong with using plywood for your beltsander, a 2" belt sander is pretty simple, but very convenient for home shop.
Dave


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## jwmelvin (Feb 19, 2022)

If you size the drive pulley right then the 3400 rpm motor may be okay. So far so good.


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## LX Kid (Feb 19, 2022)

jwmelvin said:


> If you size the drive pulley right then the 3400 rpm motor may be okay. So far so good.


Right now the drive pulley spins at 5800 rpm!!!  Having trouble getting the size of the drive pulley smaller.  I started out with a circumference of 4.25" and after a long sanding with angle grinder I'm down to 3-7/8".


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## rwm (Feb 20, 2022)

5800 rpm on a 4" drive is a good speed for metal.  Use the green zirconia belts.


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