have been working on my home made belt sander had a local welder cut the pieces and weld one part to the base. i placed a 3450 rpm one it first to fast. changed it to a 1725 rpm much better. the top idler wheel i a couple casters from a cart i had. total cost with motor 60 dollars. as you can see the belt length can be changed just drill another hole in the metal. works good enough for me. i'll just make a few knives for myself and relatives. love building knives. like bows the wood the style the shape never ends thanks to all the stickbow guys who helped me with this project. jackie

If it allows you to grind out a knife, the way you want it, then who cares if it is not a Burr King for a couple thousand.

my first knives like my first bows i will get better i think

these two skinning knives are for my son and grandson [ he is seven ] who are avid trappers. the handles are made of bocote. i haven't sharpened them yet.

one more knife who knows what its for

this is my adjustment to keep the belt on track as i go to different belts the adjustment works just fine tighten or losen the two bolts up or down and the shaft on the idler wheel will move up or down when i drilled the hole for the idler shaft i made it a little bigger on the bottom of the hole to allow the shaft to pivot up and down

Very interesting! I had just commented to a friend yesterday that I would like to have a friend who could show me the basics of knife making. This is a round a bout start. Thanks...bye for now

i think its great!!....nice job,...please wear saftey glasses, ive found when tweeking tools and stuff like that sometimes unforseen thinks can happen.?...because there are no shrouds if the belt breaks you could get it in the face?...might sting a bit?.....nice tool and i like your thinking!!

...one more tip...no loose cloths.....snake

i learned a long time ago to wear safety glasses. plus a mask i had no idea of the black metal dust there is from grinding knives. thought about a shroud but i use the bottom wheel to fine shine the blade thanks jackie

Great work man. Very simple effective design. Grinder and knives. ;~)

Two suggestions for down the road.

First, the way you designed it, it would be a simple thing to make a interchangeable 6, 8 or 10 inch contact wheel attachment to replace the flat platen you have on it now. I know flat grinds are all the rage, but having the ability to do hollow grind will serve you well as you progress as a knife maker.

Heck, for the price you have in that one, you might even just build another one just like it with contact wheels and not have to change anything but wheel size. Very cool!

Second, I can't tell from the pics if you've done it already or not. So just in case...If you have any problem with the belt walking back and forth when you put it under load, which is very common with home builds, it's pretty easy to fix. Just put a little crown on your drive and/or idler wheels. And nope, you don't need a lathe or mill to do it. You can just put a temporary axle through the wheel and put it on a 4x36 belt sander at a slight angle and let er spin. Just put a finger against the side to add slight pressure as it spins and it will sand it right down and stay perfectly round. Just coat the wheel so you can tell what you've removed.

You have probably already thought of both those, but I thought I'd mention them just in case. As you progress with your knife making your gonna think of all kinds of stuff you want to try. The way you've designed your grinder is going to make it VERY easy to add new gadgets. Very cool!

Don't be afraid to try new stuff and innovate. You're off to a great start!

JD,

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