ThomasPowers Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Did you paint her name on a local water tower? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 3 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Did you paint her name on a local water tower? Nope never did that even as a teenager. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Day's still young out your way...of course doing it on the side of the shop is less likely to rile the enforcers of statutes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 Started to do the final assambley. Here are some photos. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 I spent this aftrenoon trying to get the pillow blocks mounted. When I tightened the bolts the drive shaft would lock up. First I found the top of the mounting point did not have flats on them bottem was ok. I used my little sander to remove the step. It helped some but the drive shaft is still to tight. I think the base tube is not flat on top i will look at it some more tomorrow. May have to make a mounting plate to hold the pillow blocks. Thanks for looking! Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 Scrambler82 The bolts just go through the top of the big tube. I think it is arched as when I squeezed the top of the pillow blocks together the shaft would free up some. I am thinking of adding a plate under the pillow blocks. I will check that today by clamping the pillow blocks to a piece of flat stock i have left over from the tool arm you saw in the unpainted photos. If that works i will have to think of a mounting that won't deflect. Well let the board know how it turns out. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 3 minutes ago, Scrambler82 said: I was thinking the up right tube bolts were squeezing the large tube, if so sleeves would help there ! That could cause the high center on the rear. Good point. I will look at that too. The plans did not call for any. I did not crank down on the up rights mounting bolts just enough to flatten the lock washers. Still good idea to check. The pillow blocks may be the problem as well thay are some cheap ones I got off eBay. Thanks for the idea's. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 46 minutes ago, Scrambler82 said: I'm not criticizing, I wouldn't take on a project like this, good work. My experience shows on large tubing, in the range you are using, the wall thickness needs to be thicker if no sleeving is used on through bolts... and if sides, top and bottom flatness is an issue. What is the wall on the large tube, looks like 3/16" ! Is the main tube the datum for all positioning of holes and referencing holes in other parts ? I did not think you were criticizing. Just brain storming. Good points too. The walls on the 4" tube are 1/8". That is what the plans called for. As for the datum not really. the plans have the holes on almost all the parts measured from a squared end of the tube. Worked ok when I did my part. Most of the holes that needed to match up did. The ones that did not match I can say were because I missed when center punching or one other time i let the tap go in at a angle. That was on the tracking adjust bolt. I had to make the hole on the other side larger to let it pass through. First thing is to clamp the bearings to a known flat to see if they are ok. I will go on from there. Thanks! Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 14, 2017 Author Share Posted August 14, 2017 Well that tears it. I clamped the pillow blocks to a piece of flat stock and one looks to be out. When it is clamped lots of drag on the shaft. Unclamp and it turns free. Clamp the other one and the shaft turns ok. If only I clamp just the one free turning. Clamped separate they are ok but togther jam city. Oh well I have to shop for more pillow blocks. Darn. That brings me to a stop for now. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 16, 2017 Author Share Posted August 16, 2017 Ok i put a square across the pillow block that is out. I found a gap on the inside of the feet. So with nothing to lose i put some wax paper on a flat aluminum pate. Cleaned the paint off the bottom and mixed up some JB weld. Put it on the feet of the offending pillow block set it on the wax paper and set a weight on top. Just got done triming off the exess JB weld. Dang that stufff sticks to wax paper. When it is hard i will try to mount them on the grinder again. Will post the results then. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 19, 2017 Author Share Posted August 19, 2017 Sorry no pic today. Did not work on it. I did try clamping down the pillow blocks. Same problem. I guess I will jus have to brake down and get some better ones. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 19, 2017 Author Share Posted August 19, 2017 No need to apologize. I used my machinist square on the tube and it is pretty flat. Held the straight edge on the bottem of the pillow blocks and they are not flat. The pice of metal i have been testing them on is 3/8" thick. I do not pu much pressure on them before the shaft gets tight. I bought these bearings from a eBay seller. Very cheep. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 My wife ordered me the step pulleys and i have ordered new pillow blocks. The new one are self aligning Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 23 hours ago, Scrambler82 said: Self aligning Pillow Blocks... ($$$), nice ! Just a quick thought, why not cut a plate, 1/4"thick, and use it to reinforce the tube wall, mounting platform, under the pillow blocks; you could mount it inside of the tube. I can't believe the thin wall of the tube will hold up, just me so of course I over build everything, just thinking out loud, not meant to tell you what to do or go against anyone plans. Good Luck with the new parts. I might add a plate to the top. I would like the bearings to be further apart. They seem to be to close. I have heard of one guy that said he was breaking drive shafts. I think he might have had too much spring on the tension arm. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 The new pillow blocks arrived today. I will be clamping them down to see if they have the same problem. I will post how it go's later. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Scrambler: If you have access to a welder it's MUCH easier to weld the grinder together. There is always movement with bolt together equipment. Getting several shafts to run parallel is tricky on a structure that can't move. Not saying no weld machinery can't be done but it's harder. If you do give it a try see if you can find a piece of say 10" x 15lb. channel iron for the base. It can be drilled and tapped directly for the pillow blocks. Mount them to the shaft, align and position the shaft and use a transfer punch to mark the channel. Drill and tap. Repeat the process with each component and it's aligned as you build. Bolting sq. tubing together without buying the bolt connectors is always problematic. It can be pretty sketchy even for a trained fabricator. It's why most of us own welders. (tinted safety glasses you know, I'm winking in there) Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Sawicki Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I welded mine up and it runs great. So mine is a WGS Welded Grinder Sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 I just tried the new bearings. Clamped them down and with a wack on the shaft they lined up ant turned free. Looking good now. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 2 hours ago, Dylan Sawicki said: I welded mine up and it runs great. So mine is a WGS Welded Grinder Sander. Mine is half and half. Even after using it for a couple years and only a couple minor adjustments I like the option to quickly and easily move a couple of the pieces up or down. There are some spots which are definitely better to weld in my opinion. One place for me was the bolts for the wheels on the flat platen. I ended up putting the bolts through the holes with the heads on the left side as you face it, getting them squared up, and then welding the bolt heads to the plate. Before that I had recurring alignment problems with the top and bottom platen wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Sawicki Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 53 minutes ago, Buzzkill said: . One place for me was the bolts for the wheels on the flat platen. I ended up putting the bolts through the holes with the heads on the left side as you face it, getting them squared up, and then welding the bolt heads to the plate. Before that I had recurring alignment problems with the top and bottom platen wheels. I didn't weld mine there, but I haven't had tracking problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 26, 2017 Author Share Posted August 26, 2017 Look at this photo. The red arrow is the tracking adjustment. The yellow arrow is the arm that tightens the belt. There is a spring that goes just about where the arrow is pointing. I have not instaled it yet. I wont be welding this unless there is a problem with it staying together. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 I got this in the mail today. Just need to get vbelts and sanding belts. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 I did the same thing Buzz. The platen is slotted so I can slide it to or away from the belt and it was too hard to get it square with the rest using two wrenches so I cut the heads off the bolts, welded them in the holes and ground them flush. The grinder has it's quirks but I'm getting used to it and may do a little more tweaking. It's almost ready for the shop colors. Here's a quirk you may find useful to know about. When I left a belt on over night it developed a nasty wobble. I started taking them off when not in use and no more wobble, the ones that were unusable cured themselves in a day. The belts were getting stretched out of . . . round, straight, (?) I LOVE it, under powered? Sure, so what I LOVE the thing. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melw45 Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 Frosty How about some photos of yours? Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 I don't have too many, this one shows most everything. I can't find one with the most recent tweaks. I raised the platen and made a more solid rest. It's late I'll find or take better tomorrow. Spring tension is via the telescoping vertical member in the back with the tracking roller on top. The lever is to compress it to change belts. To adjust tension you loosen the set screw on the platen and rollers and move it to suit. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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