My NWG completed

dmackey

Active Member
Other than having to replace a pulley that was bad I'm all done.


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I did have one question. As can bee seen in the second photo. Is the plate for the Platen to far out.
I've followed the plan, but it looks like it sticks out to far. Tracy am I correct or just seeing things.
Again great plans

Thanks David
 
Nice build.
It will run that way OK but it tends to heat up the belt. I usually run a 2" on the top and 3" diameter wheel on the bottom and then slant the platen to match. If you add fireplace glass to the platen, (highly recommended - way less friction/heat, it's flatter and wears longer) that will push it out a bit further. You can notch back to push the platen further back to even it out.
Generally, I leave the platen out a 1/4" from the plane between the top and bottom wheel on purpose. You will get less belt pucker in use that way.

Other than having to replace a pulley that was bad I'm all done.


View attachment 57967View attachment 57968

I did have one question. As can bee seen in the second photo. Is the plate for the Platen to far out.
I've followed the plan, but it looks like it sticks out to far. Tracy am I correct or just seeing things.
Again great plans

Thanks David
 
Nice build.
It will run that way OK but it tends to heat up the belt. I usually run a 2" on the top and 3" diameter wheel on the bottom and then slant the platen to match. If you add fireplace glass to the platen, (highly recommended - way less friction/heat, it's flatter and wears longer) that will push it out a bit further. You can notch back to push the platen further back to even it out.
Generally, I leave the platen out a 1/4" from the plane between the top and bottom wheel on purpose. You will get less belt pucker in use that way.

Thanks Tracy
 
Ran it for the first time yesterday. I think I might have a tension problem.
The belt wants to wonder when I apply pressure to it. I can get it lined up but still have to adjust the upper platen wheel its a little off.
Let me know if I'm off in the wrong direction with the tracking.
 
Ran it for the first time yesterday. I think I might have a tension problem.
The belt wants to wonder when I apply pressure to it. I can get it lined up but still have to adjust the upper platen wheel its a little off.
Let me know if I'm off in the wrong direction with the tracking.

It seems like the belt needs more tension. We have to double over the springs routinely.
The belt should be tight enough to strum and sound like a guitar string.
 
Picked up a stronger spring. Solved the problem. Now ittracks beautifully.
Will start getting a handle on grinding with it this weekend.
Again thanks to all who helped me out. Especially Tracy.

David

 
Same here about the spring and tracking, but after about 30 min of use the pillow block bearing closest to the drive wheel burned into a molten blob (with smoke and everything). replaced it, got a weaker spring, and now all is beautiful except the tracking under pressure ain't worth a flip.

Ideas?
 
Same here about the spring and tracking, but after about 30 min of use the pillow block bearing closest to the drive wheel burned into a molten blob (with smoke and everything). replaced it, got a weaker spring, and now all is beautiful except the tracking under pressure ain't worth a flip.

Ideas?

You should be able to get a pretty significant amount of belt tension without worrying about the PB bearings. My guess is you had a bad bearing, or they weren't quite aligned. Things should turn pretty freely when everything is tightened down.

I built a NWGS years ago, and it's been my main grinder until just a couple of weeks or so ago when I built one of my own design. It's a great machine, but I did make several modifications to it over the years. One was to mount the bearings a fair bit wider than the plans (and 4" tube) allow for. IMO, there's too much shaft hanging out, and if you want any kind of belt tension, this is a necessity. I broke several shafts before I did this, as the tension would eventually put a slight bend in the overhanging shaft, which would just get worse and worse as the grinder ran.

I cover the improvement to some extent in this vid: [video=youtube;1elCYswggH0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1elCYswggH0[/video]
 
Well bro, you are probably correct on all points. thank you for the video - I saw at least 3 things to change up asap. :)

one other question: do you find that using that type of drive belt really cuts down significantly on the noise?
 
Well bro, you are probably correct on all points. thank you for the video - I saw at least 3 things to change up asap. :)

one other question: do you find that using that type of drive belt really cuts down significantly on the noise?

I do personally think that the link drive belts are worth the extra cost from a standard belt. I've swapped out belts on things like tablesaws and band saws, and noticed a fairly substantial difference in noise/vibration. I haven't had a standard belt on the NWGS to compare, but I've been very happy with the Fenner drive belts on the NWGS and other tools.
 
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