The drive belt came today and I ran the grinder for the first time.
It is a bittersweet success. First the grinder runs great, BUT........ there are a couple issues to work out. The main one is the belt is too short and that makes it too tight when stretched onto the pulleys.
Let's start at the motor. The motor has plenty of power for grinding, but the starting torque is not real high. the belt is so tight the grinder cant start with out a little push. It seems once the belt warms up , the thing can start on its own and run fine. Now, this is my fault. I ordered this $20 belt off ebay and the service was excellent. I used a website belt length calculator to decide the belt size.
The calculator is set up for round pulleys like mine. You enter the pulley O.D. , the distance between the pulleys, the depth of the pulley groove, and they use a "stretch factor" and that number is 10.
When you plug the numbers in it gives you the cut length of the belt. It says use a 24 inch belt, so stupid me orders one.
Well , it is wayyyy too tight. I refigured the belt with the calculator and leave the stretch factor out and it gives a 26"
belt. I ran a tape measure around the pulleys and the distance is 26 inches. Imagine that!!!!!!
So now , I have to order another $20 belt.
It will run fine with the right belt.
Now ... the spindle..... I ran the spindle for 30 minutes. It runs quiet and smooth. the housing is just warm to the touch. The spindle inside the cavity where the collet will set is hot. I am pretty sure this is because that is the spot where the oil seal rubs on the shaft. The oil seals were specified at .875" I.D. I measured them with calipers ( as best you can measure a rubber seal ) and they seemed about .020" under size. I think this is why that one spot gets hot. If so, the seal may wear in some. I noticed assembling the spindle that the oil seals put a pretty good drag on the shaft. The bearing areas are not hot.
So..... all in all this is a success except for the belt issue. I am working on a hair brained, red neck idea
to solve the belt issue , but I ain't gonna say what it is unless it works... then I'll tell ya.
There are still some details and a few small parts to make before we start grinding tools so I will keep going and posting the progress. Keep watching folks ..... we getting close now.