Hello. Today I want to talk about how I made a cutting machine out of an angle grinder I didn’t need. I often have to cut pipes. Especially profile ones. Anyone who has done this knows that cutting a profile pipe straight with an angle grinder is quite difficult. This takes a lot of time - you have to use a square to draw each side at a right angle, then carefully cut one edge at a time. And yet, it happens that one side turns out to be half a millimeter shorter, and then, during welding, the thin metal of the wall in this place begins to burn due to a loose fit. Ideally, you can cut straight in just one cut. And for this you need a cutting machine.
I had an angle grinder "DWT ws-180s" that I didn't need. They gave it to me free of charge due to a malfunction - the rotor impeller came off and the angle grinder jammed. The owner wanted to throw it away and offered to give it to me for spare parts for free. I repaired the rotor, replaced the brushes and bearings.
But it turned out that I didn’t need such an angle grinder. It is very heavy and massive for the 180th lap. There is enough power there for the 230th (2200 W), but for some reason the manufacturer equipped it with protection specifically for the 180th circle. That's why it hung in my workshop for several years unclaimed - I have a lighter "180". I was going to remake the protection for the 230th circle (then it will be useful for working on concrete, for example), but I never got around to it!)))). After all, I also have a 230...
And so the idea came to me to buy a bed for it and make a stationary cutting machine. But having examined the purchased options, I discovered that they, for the most part, do not have sufficient rigidity, and therefore accuracy! Therefore, I came to the conclusion that I need to do it myself.
What I needed:
1. The actual angle grinder.
2. Steel angle 50 by 50 and 40 by 40.
3. Cutting a water pipe DN32-3.5
4. Cutting a water pipe DU-25
5. Bearing 6202 (2 pcs)
6. Support bearing.
7. M14 hairpin.
8. Profile pipes 15 by 15, 20 by 20, 25 by 25
9. Bolts and nuts M6, M8, M14.
10. Tin scraps.
So, to begin with, I decided to assemble the angle grinder mount. In purchased versions, designed for various angle grinders, fastening is carried out by three long bolts with lock nuts, which affects rigidity. In addition, having secured the angle grinder at three points, it has to be positioned vertically, which slightly “steals” the cutting depth - as a rule, the gearbox housing is slightly elongated in front. Therefore, I decided to fasten it horizontally, at two points, with a tight fit of the frame to the gearbox.. The disadvantage of this fastening is that it only fits one model of angle grinder. But I decided to ignore this, figuring that if I had to replace the angle grinder, I would simply weld a new mount.))))
I cut two pieces of 50 angle:
I drilled holes in them with a diameter of 14 mm:
And screwed it to the gearbox using the handle attachment points:
At the same time, I did not have M14 bolts, and I temporarily replaced them with trimmed studs with nuts. In order to tighten and hold them, I had to cut slots for a screwdriver:
After that, I welded the corners together directly on the grinder, then removed them and welded them tightly:
Next I started making the carriage. For this I needed a piece of thick-walled 32-gauge pipe. Since I needed to cut evenly, and I didn’t have a cutting machine at hand yet, I used wide masking tape as a marking:
After that, I cut out a piece of DU-25 pipe, 20 mm shorter than 32:
I put one inside the other:
I scored on both sides on the 202nd bearing:
And tightened it with an M14 stud, using washers and nuts:
Then I cut out a piece of the corner and grabbed it to the pipe. At the same time, I burned the outer pipe with an electrode so as to weld it with the inner one:
Now we need to make stands for attaching the carriage. I made them from the same corner 50. To make them the same, I tightened them with a clamp, and in this position I cut and drilled holes:
Next, I assembled and welded the entire mounting structure of the carriage:
I made the rods on which the angle grinder will be attached to the carriage from a thick-walled profile pipe 20 by 20. I calculated their optimal length experimentally, laying out a diagram of the future machine from pipes and bars:
All that remains is to cut and weld everything together:
At this stage I “tried on” the grinder:
Now it's the table's turn. I made it from a sheet of steel, 4 mm thick, measuring 60 by 60 cm:
I attached the entire structure to this sheet:
I made two square frames from a 15 by 15 profile pipe, measuring 50 by 50 cm. At the same time, in the pipe, at the bends, I cut only three walls, leaving the fourth.
After that, I welded vertical posts from the same pipe in the corners, and attached my structure to the resulting parallelepiped.
At this stage, it became necessary to set a right angle between the cutting wheel and the table. As I already said, I excluded all adjustments for the sake of rigidity (read: accuracy) of the design. My plans were to simply bend the rods and then strengthen them in the desired position by welding corners to them as reinforcement. But, when I tried to bend them first with two montages... (Oooh! What an optimist I am!)))). Then with a crowbar! (The result is the same)..... I realized that there is no need to strengthen the structure!! Two thick-walled profile pipes short in length, and, moreover, welded at the ends to the corners with seams 5 cm long on each side, they give incredible rigidity! ...
I was able to bend it only by inserting a two-meter (!) pipe between them, with a cross-section of 60 by 20. (Fortunately, there is just 60 mm between the rods.
So, the vertical is set! Now I cut through the table:
After that, I widened and lengthened the slot with a small grinder. (In case of installing, for example, a circle on wood.)
By the way...Initially I had the idea to make a “2 in 1”. That is, provide for the possibility of turning the table with the grinder down in order to obtain a circular saw! And I even started to implement it. For example, I boiled, melted and cleaned the heads of all the mounting bolts on the reverse side to get a smooth circular table:
For the same reason, I made symmetrical holes for the fastening bolts with which the table is attached to the “parallelepiped”... But the euphoria from the fact that “I came up with a cool idea” passed, and I realized that I was just “fallen” and was not chasing practicality , and for “it turned out great.”))))))
But in reality I WILL NOT USE THIS!!! After all, I have a circular. And, in any case, it is better than one made from an angle grinder! In addition, when working with wood with a circular saw, it is good to place this machine next to a wood circle for trimming. Instead of turning the table over for each board...
In general, I threw away this stupid idea....
..
Next I started building a support for the workpiece. I applied the square to the circle, drew a line at a right angle, and secured a 40 by 40 stop angle along it.
After that, I unscrewed the corner and, using its holes, this time applying a 45-degree square, drilled a hole in the table.
I forgot to take a photo, but I think it’s clear here... Now, to cut it at 45, you need to remove one bolt, turn the corner and secure it in another hole.
Next stage. I started assembling the tool vise. After all, you can accurately cut only a well-fixed workpiece. I cut out a piece of pipe 20 by 20.
I inserted a piece of M14 stud inside and tightened it with nuts. At the same time, I took one long connecting nut:
I welded it.
And I processed it with a grinder, giving it the outer dimensions of the pipe:
Then I cooked some more, where there was not enough and processed it further. (did not take photos).
Then I cut out a piece of the 25 pipe (the 20 fits into it easily and quite tightly) and welded a piece of strip across it so that I could drill holes and fix it to the table. This will be the guide:
I made a hole at the edge of the stud and made a handwheel there.
Next, I attached a corner with a hole to the edge of the table and assembled the vice. I screwed the stud into the pipe with a welded nut, put a guide on it, and passed it all through the stop angle, placing a support bearing, which is fixed with a cottered nut: In short, you’ll understand from the photo:
I made the handwheel handle from a furniture bolt and put a metal tube on it.
I made a wide stop at the end. And this is how the tool vise turned out:
When the handwheel rotates, the pipe with the welded nut comes out of the guide and tightly presses the workpiece against the stop. The only inconvenience is that you need to rotate to the left.))). But more reliable than an eccentric clamp.
Next, I started making the protective casing. As I already said, the casing on the angle grinder was for the 180th circle, and I decided to use the 230th. (There is enough power. The speed is also suitable.). In addition, since I need accuracy, I will cut with thick circles (2.6 or 3 mm). Because the thinner ones wobble a little when pressed. And therefore the number of sparks will be incredible!!! Therefore, I decided to make the most closed casing and attach it directly to the frame.
First I made a template out of cardboard.
You can make a very convenient manual belt sander from an angle grinder with your own hands. With the help of such a tool it is good to sharpen an ax, knives, etc. Treat the surface at any angle, giving it a flat plane. In general, anyone who works with iron or wood will appreciate this mini machine.
Sharpening the cutting edge of the ax:
With this sharpening, the corner will not float away.
How to make a belt sander from an angle grinder
The mount for the angle grinder will be made from a piece of thick steel, about 10 mm thick. We drill a hole for the neck of the angle grinder.
We cut a wide slot.
Using a grinder we cut off the fastening.
Next, we clean and polish so that everything looks beautiful and safe.
We drill a hole from the legs of the clamping device.
Then cut a thread on the wide side.
As a result, this mount can easily be put on the angle grinder and clamped so that everything is held tightly.
Let's try it on.
Now you need to make a roller that will rotate the sandpaper tape. We take chipboard and use large diameter bits to cut out round pieces. To obtain a wide roller, we glue the round pieces together.
Then use a feather drill to drill a hole in all of them at once.
Then we clamp it in a vice and use a triangular file to make an internal hole for the hexagon.
Like this.
We take a wide nut and make notches on the planes with a file.
They are needed to help the nut stay in the wood better.
We dilute two-component epoxy glue and glue the notched nut into the wooden roller.
After the glue has dried, clamp the roller into the lathe.
We sew under the ellipse. This is necessary so that the tape does not fly off. Then sand it with sandpaper until smooth.
It came to the second video. It is made of three bearings pressed onto the main line.
Let's make two such ears.
We put it on the edges of the protruding shaft.
Let's weld the plate. The result was a U-shaped part holding the roller.
To prevent the shaft from flying out, we fix it by welding
Now let's make the frame. It will take two steel pipes of different diameters so that one fits into the other.
A flat overlay is welded onto a larger diameter pipe. It is needed in order to press on the tape while sanding.
We weld a roller of bearings to a thin pipe.
We take a ring of sandpaper (sold in hardware stores), insert the pipe into the pipe and estimate the approximate size of the entire device.
We saw off the long ends of the pipes. We make a wide groove in a thin pipe, and a hole in a thick pipe.
We weld a nut to the hole.
The belt sander is a very useful machine in the workshop. It's actually an electric file. This item is very convenient for sanding various objects and materials. Such machines are especially popular in the manufacture of knives. The cost of such machines is still quite high, so it makes sense to think about assembling it yourself. This can be done easily and relatively cheaply, and the power of this machine is quite enough for various household works.
The author decided to use a small grinder as the main power element. They are relatively inexpensive, and almost everyone has them. All that is needed is to assemble the frame for the grinder, and also make and install wheels for the sanding belt. All these elements are assembled from practically waste materials. For example, driven wheels are made of bearings onto which a piece of hose or something similar is pulled. It's fast, simple, cheap and practical. As for the drive shaft, the author decided to use a bicycle stand; it is ideally suited for these purposes. So, let's look in more detail at how to make such a machine.
Materials and tools used
Step one. Making a bracket for an angle grinder
First of all, let's make a bracket for the angle grinder. In this regard, everything is individual, since all grinders are different in shape. The bracket is made of steel plates that bend in a vice in the shape of a “P” or another. Next, all these parts are securely welded to each other. The essence of the bracket is that it securely holds the angle grinder. Among other things, adjustment bolts are installed on the bracket. When they are tightened or unscrewed, the angle of the drive wheel changes, as a result you can center the belt. The bracket itself is hinged to the frame, and it is also spring-loaded so that the belt has the required tension.
Step two. Manufacturing of driven wheels
In total, the design provides two driven wheels. They are very simple to make; you will have the necessary bearings, as well as bolts of the appropriate length and diameter. We put several bearings on the bolt and secure this block with the bearing with a nut. Now just stretch a piece of hose or something similar over the bearings. That's it, we have a great grinder wheel!
Step three. Making a working plane
The working plane is the part of the structure on which you will rest the product when working. To make it you will need sheet steel. We make three parts and then weld them together. The outside welds must be cleaned, otherwise the belt will quickly fail.
We drill holes at the ends of the part, now you can install the driven wheels in their places!
Step four. We fasten all the components on the basis
Let's take a piece of square pipe as a base. We drill a through hole in it and hinge the bracket with the angle grinder using a bolt and nuts. After this, we attach the working plane; to attach it, you will need another piece of square pipe. We carefully measure everything and weld it well.
Step five. Drive wheel installation
The author decided to use a bicycle stand as the drive wheel. Such parts are installed on the axle of a bicycle to perform various tricks. We will need a footrest that has a rubber coating on top. It is possible that you will need to modify this part a little by cutting off the excess and drilling the hole. Finally, we attach the part to the angle grinder shaft using a standard nut. That's it, we have an excellent drive wheel.
Next, we install a spring between the base and the bracket; it will be needed in order to tension the belt. Once that's done, install the sanding belt. Now the machine can even be tested, although it is not yet completed. The author demonstrates the operation of the device by grinding a wrench on a machine; the sparks fly out quite thickly.
Step six. The final stage of assembly
Finally, weld a support to the base; this will be a leg that will not allow the machine to tip over during operation. A piece of square steel pipe is perfect for these purposes. If desired, you can glue rubber feet to it.
It will be mandatory to install a “working table” on the machine; you will rest against this element when grinding. For these purposes, it will be quite enough to weld a piece of steel plate in the right place.
That's all, the machine is ready! Finally, it is highly advisable to paint it so that the metal does not rust.
Nowadays, handmade work is gradually changing its meaning. If earlier a handmade product was considered to be a product made with a hand tool, now a truly “hand” tool is being replaced by an electric tool, although at the same time it is also “hand” (tamed:))). We will talk about a device that should relieve the master’s hands a little.
A lot of different tools have been invented, special, high-quality, well-thought-out. Of course, it is correct to use a tool specially made for a specific type of work. But not everyone can afford it, which is why “multi-tools” are held in high esteem. So, that's what we're talking about. To sand wood, I use a grinder with a Velcro disc on which various types of sandpaper are glued. Convenient for relatively large pieces of wood, and for small products I use a board with sandpaper glued on. But laziness is the engine of progress. I have long wanted to make some kind of attachment for an angle grinder to mechanize the processing of small parts. It took me a long time to get ready, but I finally got it together. Looking ahead, I’ll say that I spent about 40 minutes on all the work, including a smoke break.
For high-quality processing, a stop is required, otherwise it will not work smoothly. And as always, just when I was in the mood to do something, I remembered that I had given the welding machine to a friend for temporary use. But as they say, a bad dancer always lacks a welding machine, so I did everything the old fashioned way, without the use of welding. To make the console, I used ordinary scrap metal - a corner and a square pipe. And not waste - an M8 stud and, accordingly, nuts and washers.
We try on an existing piece of corner and mark the locations for the holes. One hole is for attaching the structure to the body of the angle grinder, the second is for attaching the thrust table. The entire structure will be attached through a pin screwed into the factory location for attaching the handle.
The second hole is oval in shape to allow adjustment of the gap between the grinding disc and the thrust table. I used a 30x30 square pipe as a support table. Any square or rectangular pipe will do. If then there was a welder at hand, I would take a piece of angle and weld a pin to it, but otherwise I would have to use a pipe, then it will be clear why it was a pipe.
Cut the pins to the required length. We estimate the length according to location. We stock up on M8 nuts and washers. The use of lock nuts is mandatory! Vibration and all that. That’s basically it, we’re putting the structure together. Everything is visible in the photo.
The machine is fastened in a vice. You don’t have to worry about the thread, in the place where it is clamped in a vice, it is not needed there. The photo below shows the gap between the disk and the table; the newer the Velcro disk, the smaller the gap can be set.
And now ATTENTION!
- For this design, use an angle grinder only with a speed controller, setting the speed to minimum!
- When operating the machine, do not be in the plane of the rotating disk!
- Use personal protective equipment!
- Do not use cutting abrasive or steel discs on metal or wood!
- Only use sanding discs at minimum rotation speed!
After testing, I slightly modified the design, adding another bolt for more secure clamping in a vice.
Well, a short video of work on this improvised machine.
I'm not applying for an Oscar!
There are difficult situations when you can’t do without a manual one. Unfortunately, such a device has a rather high price, and models in stores may not always have a convenient design and design. There is a way out - you can make a homemade grinder from a grinder.
Introduction
| Veneer grade of outer layers of plywood | Maximum number of allowed wood defects and processing defects |
| E |
No visible blemishes or processing defects |
| I | 3 |
| II | 6 |
| III | 9 |
| IV | Without limiting the number of defects and processing defects. |
Main structural elements
Our grinding machine consists of the following elements:
- Bulgarian herself;
- Base;
- Drive roller (on the gearbox shaft of the angle grinder);
- Two driven rollers - one on the base, the other on a movable bracket.
Preparation of the grinder
In our case, we didn’t take a new grinder, which means it needs to be cleaned. It is necessary to remove all excess grease and remove visible defects and debris with a brush. This stage does not carry a functional load, but thanks to cleaning, nothing will interfere during work, and performing certain stages of work will be more convenient and much more enjoyable.
Making a grinding machine
Base
We begin to manufacture the base on which the movable bracket and rollers are attached. The future workpiece should be marked for fastening the sanding machine belt as shown in the picture below. All dimensions of the part are adjusted exclusively to the dimensions of the grinder. It is important that the part fits exactly under the angle grinder and fits tightly to the body, since the sizes of angle grinders are different, the dimensions may also differ.
And then start cutting out the desired part. This work requires precision, especially when drilling a hole for the gearbox shaft.
Having cut out the part according to the indicated sketches, you need to proceed to drilling the hole through which the gearbox shaft will pass. Next it was the turn to drill holes to attach the entire structure of the future grinding machine directly to the angle grinder gear box. There is an easy way to make accurate markings within a few seconds.
To do this, you will need to put on the workpiece and tap it several times with a hammer. As a result, we get precise markings that need to be outlined with a pencil. This method is very accurate and saves time.
After the work done, the result will be something like this:
All marks should be outlined well with a pencil, and then holes for the bolts should be drilled. Two holes diagonally will be enough. Before drilling a larger hole for the bolt head, it is better to place the blank of the future grinder from an angle grinder on the mounting bolts, and make sure that all the work is done correctly.
Half the battle is done, the main part of the hand sander is done. The next stage will be the production of rollers for the grinder shaft, as well as rollers for the sanding belt.
Rollers
Blanks for rollers
There is a method that will help significantly simplify cutting out all the blanks for future videos, but for this you will need milling machine. In the photographs you can see the entire milling process.
Below is the first plate, which has one half cut out for the shaft, and two halves of the whole roller for the belt.
The photo below shows a diagram of milling the second half of the larger roller (for the gearbox shaft), and the roller for the belt (on the “whiskers” of the Y-structure).
Both schemes are quite practical and save material well. After milling is completed, the necessary parts for our homemade grinder can be cut out with a construction knife.
Gluing and sanding
After the blanks for the rollers are cut out, you need to glue them together using PVA glue or wood glue. It is advisable to leave the rollers to dry under pressure for about a day.
After gluing, you can start grinding the rollers. The easiest way is to use a grinding machine. All sharp edges should be ground off and given a rounded appearance. For ease of grinding, the rollers can be placed on several bearings and the structure can be tightened with a bolt and nut.
The same procedure is done with the drive roller for the future angle grinder. To speed up the work, you can turn on the grinder while stripping.
Bearing installation
Our work on making a homemade grinding machine from an angle grinder has come to the halfway point. An important part of the stage is pressing the bearings. You need to measure everything so that the two bearings on the small rollers are located exactly at the edges. To do this, you can use nuts that are installed between the bearings, as shown in the photo.
This results in the following construction:
- Hex bolt
- Bearing
- screw
- Washer
- screw
- Bearing
- screw
The final view of the roller with the bearing is shown in the picture below.
For better fastening of the clutch, it is better to coat the inside of the bearing holes with glue and coat everything with varnish.
We do the same work with a large video.
Completion of base fabrication
In the last stage, you need to glue the base for the second part of the fastening. For reliability, everything is bolted together. It is important to do everything efficiently so that during the work everything is held tightly and reliably, for safety purposes.
The glue needs to be given time to dry. While it is drying, you can start cutting out the movable bracket, as well as processing the ends and corners.
Assembling and installing the sanding belt
It is better to cut the sanding belt with a knife on a ruler, since it will not be possible to cut it straight with scissors. So, the width of the tape should not exceed the width of the roller. It should also have no visible defects.
The tension of the sanding belt is carried out by a special bolt, which moves the movable bracket to the side.
Adjust the bolt so that it does not interfere with the belt movement. It should be remembered that the grinder operates at high speeds, and if the belt gets caught on one of the elements, the operator may be injured.
Conclusion
Appearance
Our handmade grinder from an angle grinder is complete! If you follow the above instructions, you will get a universal grinder. Such a machine will definitely come in handy when working with various wooden workpieces. Here is the result of our work:
