Where can I find contact wheels?

J S Machine

J S Machine

Well-Known Member
Looking to buy a contact wheel or two. I'm not sure what diameter I need yet, but I plan to build a grinder. I'm using a grinder right now with an 8 inch rock. it turns about 100 rpm and takes forever :eek:

I guess a small 2 inch or so would be ok as well because I want to be able to do smaller blades as well, but 8 " to begin with.

Any suggestions on where I can find one of these?
 
Tracy runs this board, so he gets a lot of recommendations, but rightly so.

The website works well and I received my orders very smoothly.
-fair warning-one little "hitch" is that if he has no inventory of an item, it disappears from the website. It has driven me mad trying to find something that I believed I saw previously...

-lets point you right to the goodies shall we?

The "proper" rubber contact wheel is available
8" contact wheel WITH SERRATIONS
8" Contact Wheel 1/2" bore SERRATED WHEEL
$290.16
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/8-contact-wheel-12-bore-serrated-wheel-p-1129.html

He also carries a cheaper wheel that is an excellent substitute at a huge price difference.

Polyurethane Contact Wheel
8"x2" Poly Contact Wheel 70duro
$104.35
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/8x2-poly-contact-wheel-70duro-p-1354.html

Buy the poly wheel and it will leave you $ to get the other wheels at the same time..
I like the 2 different small wheels on the top and bottom of my flat platen. 1.5 and 3 ? or something like that.
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/...nds-grinder-parts-contact-wheels-c-99_60.html

Have a look at the small wheel attachment too
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/small-wheel-attachment-fixture-holds-small-wheels-p-744.html
 
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This may sound a little stupid and arrogant at the same time, but why the heck are contact wheels so expensive? This drives me crazy because it one of the few things I can't make. Seriously, I mean all it is really is a piece of cast aluminum with a rubber pad molded or cast around it.. Oh and I'm sure it has a bearing in it.

Seriously, I can build the rest of the grinder with tools and stuff I have, but the contact wheels are crazy expensive.

I guess it beats buying the entire grinder for a couple thousand dollars though..
 
J S Machine said:
This may sound a little stupid and arrogant at the same time, but why the heck are contact wheels so expensive? This drives me crazy because it one of the few things I can't make. Seriously, I mean all it is really is a piece of cast aluminum with a rubber pad molded or cast around it.. Oh and I'm sure it has a bearing in it.

Seriously, I can build the rest of the grinder with tools and stuff I have, but the contact wheels are crazy expensive.

I guess it beats buying the entire grinder for a couple thousand dollars though..
Click to expand...

If you are setup to cast and vulcanize rubber contact wheel, great.
I have a list of wheels you can make for me.

Besides that, the poly wheels are a better price.
You can find some businesses that will re-tire your aluminum hub with vulcanized rubber, but it costs as much as the poly wheels.
 
good question..
from what I understand, the process requires it's own mold for each size. There are a half dozen major rubber and poly wheel suppliers out there so the price is as competitive as it can get with out companies going out of business. supply and demand and all that has the price as low as it is going to go until there is some kind of productivity/technology break through. At some point, some one in a garage is going to figure out how mold some poly wheels, at the selected duro, on the cheap and they are going to be very popular when they do.

J S Machine said:
This may sound a little stupid and arrogant at the same time, but why the heck are contact wheels so expensive? This drives me crazy because it one of the few things I can't make. Seriously, I mean all it is really is a piece of cast aluminum with a rubber pad molded or cast around it.. Oh and I'm sure it has a bearing in it.

Seriously, I can build the rest of the grinder with tools and stuff I have, but the contact wheels are crazy expensive.

I guess it beats buying the entire grinder for a couple thousand dollars though..
Click to expand...
 
murphda2 said:
Hmmmmmmmmmm, wish I knew something about rubber.
Click to expand...


not rubber.. you have to vulcanize that. Think poly and if you ever get interested, let me know. The poly part is easy. Getting the hubs machined is easy. The mold wouldn't be easy but even be that wouldn't be that hard. Getting a good bond between the poly and the hub is the hard part. Getting a wheel to run true is tough.
 
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