6 x 72 belt sander for making pipe saddles

[Frank S]

Not long before i was getting ready to leave kuwait I decided I wanted belt sander
for a project we were doing Inly I didn't want to build just any belt sander I wanted 1 that I could change the size of the idler roller and saddle pipes as well
The motor is a 3400 RPM 4500 watt
the gymble gear shift looking thing is for moving the pipe in or out or from side to side



the vice can be set at an angle up to 45°

made perfect saddles

[Radioman]

I like it———Nice!

[Toolmaker51]

Changeable diameter rollers...tada! It occurs to me with sufficient belt length adjustment that could be quite broad in variety and only stock 1 belt size. Great justification for such grinders designed with longer belts. Smaller diameters wouldn't be preferred full time as they stress the backing more. But for a few pipe saddles, why not. Any fabricator should see merit in this.

[Frank S]

Changeable diameter rollers...tada! It occurs to me with sufficient belt length adjustment that could be quite broad in variety and only stock 1 belt size. Great justification for such grinders designed with longer belts. Smaller diameters wouldn't be preferred full time as they stress the backing more. But for a few pipe saddles, why not. Any fabricator should see merit in this.

Yes it takes surprisingly little adjustment to change from a 1.5" OD roller to a 4" OD roller. TO make mine easy to change only the nut had to be removed from the idler roller slip 1 off slip the other on. At the motor end the motor was mounted on a 2 rail slide just like the movable vice jaw there was a compression spring on the screw a few turns to loosen or tighten the belt a few more to facilitate a roller diameter change.
The single round ball gear shift looking thing moved the vice in and out and from side to side allowing for even belt wear
and adjustable plate under the belt allowed for flat plane sanding or a fence could be added for sanding things perpendicular to the belt or at angles.
As much as I dislike having to built something twice since my tools never made it back from over there this is 1 that I will be making again.

[Frank S]

One other thing in pic #1 if you expand it you can see a bolt head near the end that bolt is for height adjustment as well as the pivot for the roller tracking adjustment.. the roller can be set to center line of the pipe diameter or above and below the center line which is really handy when needing to offset grind the saddles for dissimilar pipe diameters.
Say you want a 1.5" pipe to fit up to a 4" pipe but it must be co-planer with one side of the larger pipe set the roller to either high or low adjust the vice to square or a left or right angle and grind away the saddles will be perfect every time.

[Frank S]

If I build another one there are some enhancements I plan to do to it the roller height adjustment being 1 of them I plan on making a quick change height adjusting cam and use a cam lock for the motor adjustment for changing the belt or roller sizes and a better vice is also in order.

[Toolmaker51]

Belt sanders out perform disc sanders, especially in that a belt offers full width use at same FPM. Prior shop had a big Porter Cable 6" x maybe 80". Best offhand grinder ever for sharpening large drill bits. Another they had, a Hammond was dual belts. Very aggressive but having only the roller at work height limited it tremendously.
Per Frank S: A flat vertical platen is very worthwhile, such as chamfering, mitering, and breaking edges. An adjacent horizontal table is key. Sometimes an unsupported area is just the ticket for blending and easing corners. An attachable fence plate to sand perpendicular might help with an unusual part, I'm betting angular adjustment more useful.

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Belt Sander to our Metalworking category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Belt Sander by Frank S

tags: belt sander, tube notcher