Home made sharpening station

[DIYGUY]

This project started out when I found a beautiful 1/3 HP NOS Baldor motor on CL for pocket change. I had it in the shop for over a year with nary an idea of what I would ever use it for when the seed of an idea started germinating in my noodle.

This was the outcome:
http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=1370

I cobbled the whole thing together out of a collection of parts scavenged and saved over the years, with the exception of the reversing drum switch which I found for short $$ on FleaBay. But in the end the dang thing wound up being pricey due to the Oneway Wolverine, the wheels, the pulleys and the mandrel. I think when I totaled it all up I could probably have bought a manufactured one of similar function for the same money, maybe even less! But heck, I would not have had as much fun, now would I?

 

[froglips]

Darn slick! I tip my hat to ya.

Is that grey/red thing the drum switch?

Jim

 

[Robert Arrowood]

Man that thing is cool.Like you said though you wouldn't have had as much fun just paying for it.And you get the NCWWER warranty.

IF IT BREAKS IN TWO YOU GET TO KEEP BOTH PIECE'S:rotflm:.
All jokes aside that is a neat setup.Wonder if I could get one of those reverse switches to work on my lathe???

 

[DIYGUY]

Jim,
Yes - the gray thing with the red handle is the drum switch. I needed that because I wanted to be able to try sharpening things with the wheels turning away from me. As it "turns out" gar-Bi) this is a very nice feature to have!

Robert,
Yes - a drum switch can be installed on a lathe to make it spin backwards, But watch out - your face plate/chuck might spin off with too much pressure on your work,

I forgot to mention that my little toy is 3-spd, which might show up to the eye of a careful observer in the pics of the bottom pulley. Basically I can spin it at 837, 1725 and 3450 rpm. The latter speed is handy for buffing wheel operations, while the slower speed is what I almost always use when sharpening my turning tools.

Did you pick up on the motor mount? It is a hinged panel and gravity supplies the belt tension. I used the link-belt because I could "tune" the exact length of belt I needed. To change the pulley I just wedge up the panel and slide the belt to the desired speed. So simple even I can do it!

 

[Glennbear]

This project started out when I found a beautiful 1/3 HP NOS Baldor motor on CL for pocket change. I had it in the shop for over a year with nary an idea of what I would ever use it for when the seed of an idea started germinating in my noodle.

This was the outcome:
http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=1370

I cobbled the whole thing together out of a collection of parts scavenged and saved over the years, with the exception of the reversing drum switch which I found for short $$ on FleaBay. But in the end the dang thing wound up being pricey due to the Oneway Wolverine, the wheels, the pulleys and the mandrel. I think when I totaled it all up I could probably have bought a manufactured one of similar function for the same money, maybe even less! But heck, I would not have had as much fun, now would I?

Very cool setup and I daresay higher powered than the commercial setups. I really like the reversing and multiple speed capabilities. :wsmile:

Man that thing is cool.Like you said though you wouldn't have had as much fun just paying for it.And you get the NCWWER warranty.

IF IT BREAKS IN TWO YOU GET TO KEEP BOTH PIECE'S:rotflm:.
All jokes aside that is a neat setup.Wonder if I could get one of those reverse switches to work on my lathe???

Thanks Robert, now I know that when I reuse components from my failed/broken shop built projects I am just exercising the terms of the NCWWER warranty. :rotflm: