[Grinder] Champion No.3 Belt Powered Grinder Refurb!

[seagiant]

Hi,
Thought I would put these pics up of an old grinder I had bought at a Flea Market, years ago and just getting to now.


It was in pretty bad shape, and sported a flat wheel pulley, that was pretty useless, with a small motor.

Had all the holes filled with dirt dauber nests, and was missing the Gits oil cups, I believe it had originally.

Has babbit bearings and would date it back to the 1930's at least.

Ordered some dies and taps I needed to chase all the threads and got on the lathe and made some bronze caps for the oil holes that were threaded.

Milled a key way and put on a keyed cast iron V Belt Pulley.

Chased the threads on the main shaft as they were all dinged up and would not take the nuts required.

Found an old 1/3 HP motor and cleaned it up and made a tensioned base for it.

All in all a little bit of work, but now runs great, and can't really bog it down, and is bigger anyway, from what I had.

Wondering if anyone else uses a belt driven grinder/wire wheel???

 

[jwmelvin]

That looks great. Thanks for posting. I have a Craftsman grinder powered through a v-belt, with none of the elegance or historical significance. It is powerful though.

 

[seagiant]

That looks great. Thanks for posting. I have a Craftsman grinder powered through a v-belt, with none of the elegance or historical significance. It is powerful though.

Hi,
Thanks, what HP is the motor you are using?

I'm only running a 1/3 HP but the grinder seems to work pretty good with that.

Probably cause of, the weight and torque?

 

[jwmelvin]

Hi,
Thanks, what HP is the motor you are using?

Mine is 1hp, just because I had one sitting around.

 

[seagiant]

Mine is 1hp, just because I had one sitting around.

 

[seagiant]

Hi,
Wow! Thats nice!

Looks beefy, I'm going to stick with the 1/3 HP, for now seems to work ok, and...

With the Babbit bearings, don't know how much power it could take.

I really wanted the Champion to use, instead of my 2"X72" Belt Grinder as the belts are $$$!

The AO wheel is cheaper for roughing in first!

 

[jwmelvin]

Yes it’s nice to have a variety of abrasive-removal devices. This was my first bench grinder, and now I have one of the old Rockwell carbide grinders, a couple belt sanders, and a couple buffers. I’ll likely put a wire wheel on this one, though that certainly doesn’t need the power. I did add a cheap foot-pedal switch and it’s super convenient.

 

[seagiant]

Hi,
I'm a freak for grinders and drill presses for some reason?

Here is my next victim, a 6" Dunlap that I've been using for years just never had the time to clean it up.

I used to use the canned spray paint, but it does not last long in Florida...

The heat and humidity just drills right through it and it's rusted up again.

I now just use a brush to paint with, and put about 5 coats in all.

Not Museum quality, but last a LOT longer for a working machine.

 

[ericc]

Oh boy, better be careful! I have one of those, and I run it slow with small wheels. I also put homemade guards on it. Anything heavy goes to the angle grinder. I've never had a wheel explode, but I know fellow smiths who have. I had an angle grinder wheel explode on me, and even though I had the guard on, I somehow still got hit by a piece of the wheel. That thing hurt!

 

[seagiant]

Hi,
Thanks, I do use safety glasses with a face shield.

I was up about 20 ft. doing some grinding, with a 4" angle grinder, and she bounced up, hit my nose for just a second, but...

That's all it took, bled like a pig, and learned my lesson.

Admittedly never had a wheel blow, but....