A new knife grinder

**Gert Odendaal** · 13-09-2016, 20:31

Excellent Von Gruff, I am currently busy converting the charcoal/air aluminium furnace to a used-oil /air furnace. When completing all the aluminium casting I will be proceeding with more attachments for my knife blade belt sander machine.

**Von Gruff** · 13-09-2016, 22:02

Originally Posted by da_asassin

You Sir, inspire me to go out and try these builds.
But then, i think that, Kak, i started making a set of drawers and cupboards for my pregnant wife and my unborn baby and haven't completed it yet because of there being no time.
My son is now 20 months old!
Eish!
My vrou will kill me if I start anything else, without completing her unit.
She then asks me, why is it that you can do all of this work and more for your clients, but not for me.
My response is: Darling, because they pay for it!

And then the fight starts

hahaha, that is a very familiar scenario in my house as well, except that my answer is often more in the line of - that I like doing the knives and guns stuff and doing the things in and to the house is just what I did as a builder - cabinet maker all my working life

**Von Gruff** · 15-09-2016, 08:35

Most of the wheels and a few of the belts I had been waiting for arrived so there was a little more progress on the grinder today.
It did take a little while to set up to make sure all the wheels were in the same plane from the edge of the base and thata required a spacing with washers to get it all right but eventually I ran the belt and it tracked true so I was a bit pleased.

Having it running true I crowned the drive wheel the simplets way by glueing a 1/4 in strip light leather round the center point of where the belt ran then covering it with another strip of 7/8 in to effect a rudimentary crown that does work well.

Getting the platen plate wheels sorted was next but that now tracks to the same position on the tracking wheel as the big wheel so it all seems to be working as intended.

There is a replacable platen plate that is bolted to the angle iron backer so that it can be changed out as and when it inevitably developes wear patterns.

There is only the first few belts that have arrrived at the finer end of the spectrum from 120grit to 600 but there is a number of 40 and 60 grit on the way along with another set of idler wheels, one of which will be for the lower part of the small 1 inch wheel for doing the front curve on the knife handles.
I gave the disc grinder a run and it is all that I hoped it would be so along with the leather stropping wheel I think this is all about ready to be put to work.

**Von Gruff** · 25-09-2016, 03:55

Another little part of the project came together today with the plunge line jig done although it still needs hardened yet.
The end of a file I had made a knife from with some die and a couple of scribe lines marked in

A bit of cutting and I have the required parts.

A while later with a bit of shortening and a pair of holes so I could grind it all paralell and it bolts onto the knife to define the plunge line. It will ensure that both sides are exactly the same.

This is only part of the jig as there is a piece of angle alluminium with a hinged base plate that this little plunge line jig fits into and clamps onto so the bevel grinds are both exactly the same as well.

**Andrew Leigh** · 25-09-2016, 05:59

Von Gruff,

where did you get your contact wheel and smaller rollers from?

What arr the square tube specs, outside dimension and wall thickness?

Thanks

**Von Gruff** · 25-09-2016, 07:09

Giday Andrew. The 12 in contact wheel came from here https://www.aliexpress.com/af/belt-g...ls&blanktest=8

The idler and tracking wheels came from here http://www.ebay.com/sch/oregonbladem...p2047675.l2562

The steel box section is a 50mm for the outer sections and a heavy walled 40mm for the inner but I used a piece of light angle iron to shim the 500 box so the 40mm box was a nice sliding fit.

**Andrew Leigh** · 25-09-2016, 07:24

Thanks

**Gert Odendaal** · 25-09-2016, 08:57

Excellent Von Gruff, everything is coming together now...I enjoy this build , we completed the Piet Breedt shooting course yesterday and I will dedicate time to complete my belt grinder as well...I will turn the aluminium wheels tomorrow and fit bearings to it...

**Andrew Leigh** · 25-09-2016, 14:41

Was cleaning the garage this a.m. and dragged these out of the dusty corners. Any know where this is going to end up

?

It is a 75mm tracking wheel assembly, might prove a little big for my application as I don't have much space. The motor is a single phase 1.1kW, 1 410rpm. I would like to fit a drive unit to vary speed.