So i've been researching belt grinders for a while now and decided to get started this past weekend. My dad has a mig welder so i bought some square tubing and welded up the frame. So far i have the frame, platen tooling arm, tension arm and tracking wheel assembled. Im planning to use a shaft mounted drive wheel which can be seen in the picture. The motor is 1hp AC rated @ 3450rpm. I'm waiting on platen idler wheels to come in the mail and i still need to order belts. Here are some pics of my progress so far. Thanks for looking.

Ive been gathering parts for a build myself........ Im curious to see how this motor works out for you, great job cant wait to see the final results.

Thanks Nathan. I'm curious about the motor speed as well. I'm going with the shaft mounted drive wheel for now but is i'm not satisfied with the speed and want more or less i may end up adding step pulley setup. If i calculated right, i should end up with around 2031 fpm on the belt. I'll post more pics when i get more done.

So here is my belt grinder. I have to build a platen attachment but here it is with the slack belt attachment. The belt tracks well but i'll probably be either investing in a new tracking wheel or replacing the current bearings as the wheel on it now was scavenged from an old wooden belt sander and it is a bit noisy. I bought 3 belts to start. I went with 100grit blaze plus ceramic, 220grit ceramic and 400grit silicon carbide. The motor seems to provide more than adequate speed. If my calcualtions are correct, i'm getting approx 3600fpm allowing for belt slippage. All together i have about $250 plus my time welding and fabricating the frame and such. Thanks for looking!

A very neatly constructed project. The castor wheel in the third picture of your first posting, is where in the final product? I fail to see it and was wondering what its function is. All in all a fine job. Well done!

Thanks Kevan... I plan to use the caster wheel as a contact wheel... if it holds up. We shall see!! It doesnt track well currently and i have to make a few adjustments before im able to put it to use. Thanks again!!