KMG Upgrade

So I finally went ahead and ordered a pair of 3-step pulleys from McMaster-Carr for my KMG grinder.  It has been something on my mind for at least three years. 

The reason for it is to be able to control the speed a little bit.  Now I could have gone with a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) and new DC motor to make it infinitely adjustable, but I did not want to spend $900 to do so.  Instead I purchased a 6213K73 with 5/8" bore and a 6213K73 with a 3/4" bore to fit my motor and KMG drive wheel, respectively.  The pulleys have 2", 3" and 4" wheels so I can get 3 speeds from a one speed motor by moving the belt from one tier to the next.  They set me back a whopping $45 including shipping

There are many times when I want to slow the machine down.  When working with materials like purpleheart and a few others, the fast speed burns the oils in the wood.  Then it has to be sanded again, usually by hand, to get the dark coloration off.  I'm sure this upgrade will pay for itself rather quickly.  All totalled I have about $65 in this upgrade.  Not bad when compared to $900.

First thing I did after ordering the 3-step pulleys was to clean off my grinding table.  Dang there was stuff on that table that I haven't seen in years.  Luckily the layer of dust was protecting everything. 

Next was to take the motor off the bench and measure it all up and drill holes for the motor.  My plan is to mount the motor to a piece of 3/4" plywood.  Hinges will be attached to one side so the weight of the motor will keep a constant tension on the link belt. 

The old pulleys were taken off of the motor and drive wheel with a gear puller.  New pulley is attached to the motor in this picture.  The other pulley was put on the KMG drive shaft.

From that point I had to attach the plywood base to the grinding table and remount the motor square to the grinder.  I ordered 3 feet of link belt to replace the v-belt that was transferring the power from the motor to the grinder.  The new link belt really makes a significant difference in the way the machine runs.  V-belts will retain humps in the belt which makes things run bumpy.  The link belt can be made any size by adding or subtracting the small links.  So it was easy to make it the right size.  With regular v-belts if you don't have the right size you end up going back and forth to the supply store to get the right one.  This takes the guesswork out of the equation.

This upgrade was way easier than I thought it would be.  It's something I should have done a long time ago and will make life a little easier at the old grindstone.  Everything runs so smoothly now that I can't wait to grind some blades on it.  I'll let y'all know how it works.