Nathan Hall Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Hey, I am getting ready to start building a clone, would love any advice on parts sources, and potential problems I may run into. So if anyone has built one and don't mind sharing there exp. it would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s meyer Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Hay good luck with your bild I hope it goes well. I welded mine insted of bolting together to save time. I got the plans off Don fogs website. I bought my contact wheels frum usa knife supply they where the chepest I could find. I used a 10" contact wheel frum grizlee and had a machine shop put bearings in it. I alson converted the platten and tool arm like Ed Caffery. You can see his tool arm mods on his web site. I also made my own small wheel atachment. I used a 1 1/2 horse with a step pulley set up and it had plenty of power. I monted my motor underneath on a hinged platform that could be rased with a foot pedale on an ecsentric. I am curentley changing to a 2 hp with a vfd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Hall Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 Looks great. I will be welding mine as well, and I thank you very much for the info. The contact wheels seem to be about the most expense from what ive seen so far, but after seeing one of these at work durring a hammer-in this summer I beleive they are well worth the time and money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Hall Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 I scored an older treadmill motor today, which im thinking would be great for this as it has a speed control with it. Would that be a feature that is worth having or am I over thinking this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s meyer Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Yes speed control is very good to have if the motor has the hp you need. You will need 1 1/2 to 2 horse at least anything less will bog dawn real bad and over heat the motor. Varyable speed is best but a three speed step pully set up is ok. I just switched frum step pullys to a vfd infanet speed controler on a 2 hp motor and love it. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Hall Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 It is a two horse motor, I was kinda thinking of putting a step pulley system in play as well, the combo of the pulleys and the speed control should make for a pretty adjustable machine I think. I cant wait to start building it, but alas I have a few loose ends on other projects to tie up first and the annual spring cleaning and yearly equipment maint. knocking on the door so id say i have a few weeks to think on it before I get started. Thank you very much for the info its been very helpful, and great pics of yours as well. Ill get some pics of mine up as soon as I get started on it, well if the gallery deal is working by then anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fosterob Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Remember that when you slow a DC motor you loose power. Slow a 2 hp DC motor by 1/2 and you have 1 hp. VFD's keep full power. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironstein Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Fosterob, i have a 1- 1/2 dc motor with a dc speed control and it is supposedly constant torque. doesn't flinch at all when i'm doing heavy grinding. Of course i bought the dc motor new and the controller new. Nathan here is a link to a good source for parts and such: http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/ I started with a treadmill motor, i fried it, ordered a new motor (went with a dc motor because i had a dc speed control) got the new motor, hooked it up and realized it was the controller. since i already had the dc motor i had to buy a new dc controller. If i were to start from scratch i would buy a vfd with an ac motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Hall Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thank you for the advice, you are right in the long run its almost always better to just buy new parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Fosterrob, I believe you're thinking of one type of AC motor. DC motor torque curves are VERY vertical meaning they start with high torque at low revolutions. Locomotives are Diesel generators running a generator to power DC motors. DC motors have a few advantages and several disadvantages. The advantages are they have low rev torque, high power to weight, and precise speed control. AC motors are less expensive because with a few exceptions, they don't have commutators, brushes, or diodes to worry about. With the advent of Variable Frequency Drive, industry largely moved towards AC motors to save costs on applications previously dominated by DC motors. There is a hybrid design called a universal motor which is a combination of a DC and and AC motor. These are frequently in power tools and bench mixers. While limited in horsepower and torque, they make up for it in versatility and reasonable cost. The least expensive option is generally to use a simple AC motor of sufficient horsepower. One idea that hasn't been mentioned is to add a flywheel. This would tend to counteract bogging down without requiring greater horsepower.The down side is that it won't help you for a sustained hogging out operation. When it comes to grunt, regardless of speed, the AC motor must have higher horsepower ratings. With higher HP ratings come thicker winding's which can handle more heat. Heat breaks down the insulating varnish which leads to winding failure. If you can afford it get a TEFC which means Totally Enclosed Fan Cooled. These have sealed bodies that don't allow debris or dust to enter the housing and break down the bearings. They have cooling ribs on the exterior and a shaft mounted fan that blows along the exterior of the housing. Look for electric motor rewind shops. Often motors under 25HP are simply replaced because Chinese imports are less expensive than paying to rewind them. Since most folks don't know that, the shops end up knee deep in dead motors. Often they'll take quality motors like Baldor and rewind them for resale. Generally they price the re-winds on par with the new Chinese. Depending on the shop, they're a better deal if they've got new bearings in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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