Can I build a cabbing machine for less than $350?
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2021
- Can you build a cabbing machine for less than $350?
I say you can!!! And I did!! And it's not some bit of crappy home made parts stuff either....well most of it isn't anyhow. This machine turned out to be sturdy and extremely quiet and I have been using it all morning as this video rendered, so my hands are soggy but still able to type out how well this thing works.
I would like to say I am not advertising for any company and was not encouraged by any company to promote their products or any of their stuff.
The machine in the video has THESE parts...
8'' Rikon low speed bench grinder $123
6'' Kingsley North 600 grit diamond resin wheel $52
6'' Kingsley North 325 grit diamond sintered wheel $176
tubing, valves and connectors from Lowes $60
misc. screws and washers etc. from Lowes $13
Cutting boards from The Dollar Tree $10
Cake pans from WalMart $7
.....for a total of....... $441
BUT WAIT!!! I said under $350!! DID I LIE??
NO...I didn't.
I got an expensive sintered wheel because I wanted something that would last a long long LONG time.
If you build this and get a standard hard diamond wheel, then it would only cost around $80..... SO that would put you at
$345
So you CAN build a good cabbing machine for less than $350.
Try it yourself...you'll love it.
#cabbingmachine #homemade #cheepo
it's all uphill after 40, and money can be very hard to come by. Putting together a cabbing machine for $350 is a GREAT IDEA-trust me, no matter how all-thumbs you think you are, putting together a proper grinder/polisher for lapidary craftwork that is efficient, looks semi-professional, and is quiet as well? Good job by you!!!
Thank you much! It is serving me well so far and has cut a lot of stones.
I've been ill recently and havent cut any or responded to many comments, but I'm better now and back at it again. Thanks for watching.
I got the biggest cheapest bench grinder variable speed for 150 on amazon. Bought two cabbing wheels like yours but for the other grits decided to save even more money and bought 3 flat lapidary blades 5/8 arbor that are a fraction of the cost of the cabbing wheel. I also have a cutting blade for straight cutting all on one machine with all the blades, the wheels, the motor, the washers has me at 280 now i just need to make a shroud and watering system what a fun project thanks for the inspiration!
That sounds awesome!
The watering system can be pretty simple. Mine is from a drip irrigation kit, comes with tubing and connections and basically all you need except for a pump and some gromets. Harbor freight sells an inexpensive pond pump that I use for mine. That should be all you need.
I'm curious to see how it works!
Thanks for watching!
@@sandandshoreshoppe hey have you thought about an expansion rod? I think Im going to look for one tomorrow it just needs a threaded hole and a threaded end. Ooh this is getting exciting lol
@@LesNToomy If you mean to put on the shaft so you can attach maybe two wheels per side, yes I have.
I talked with a machinist about making an extension rod for mine, but then decided it was not worth the risk.
Not saying it can't be done, but having the piece made to fit my grinder would have cost around $150 each because it was more complex that it looked and he could not guarantee that it would not wobble due to having set screws to hold it on.
At that cost it was better to just buy a second grinder and make another.
@@sandandshoreshoppe yep I noticed some people were saying use a shop like Covington engineering I’m hoping to find a coupler 5/8 to 1” and a stock threaded metal rod if there is a cheap way but other than that this two wheel setup can be just as effective as anything else just a little more changing in and out and for home fun, it’s not a necessity at all I think Ill just focus on the shroud and water now thanks for those tips
Thank you for sharing,
Love your work.
I hope this helps you out in some way. Thanks for watching!
I did it, I made the purchases and I’m so excited! I was able to get the slow grinder, 80, 600, 1200 & 3000 grit wheels, & a brass water spitter, along with 3LB altogether of moonstone, lace agate A+, and geodes @ 1LB each. The water spitter will eliminate the need for screwing around with a drip system. I’m also going to build a sort of pan for the whole thing to sit in to Keep the plastic hood from moving around dangerously.
Wow...that is awesome! I'm sure you'll have a blast building your machine. I know I enjoy building the things possibly more than I like cutting rocks on them...lol.
If you look at the video ''New improved cabbing machines'' it may give you some inspiration on design.
hey ive just bought a grinder for £ 20, got to buy some wheels tho, there's an 80 grit on it, good to watch you video to see how you mod things, enjoyed the watch, take care Clayton
Thank's Cap. I can't wait to see how yours turns out.
That’s awesome! The first machine I had was a Cabking. I didn’t like it and ended up with a genie, they are great machines but they don’t come cheap. It would be so cool to build your own!
I know what you mean, they aint cheep. This one seems to be a good alternative to buying a huge one, though it does have its drawbacks. The price is great but you just get two wheels. I tried to get an shaft extender made so I could put two wheels on each side, but having it machined would have cost nearly as much as making a whole new machine...plus there was the problem of it not being precisely balanced due to the tolerance with the shaft motor bla bla bla etc etc, so just making a new machine is the best option. But even with that route I will have 4 wheels at about half the price of a Cabking. (...though I would still LOVE one)
Honestly building my own tools is more satisfying than using them! I think its the design and creating part I love.
Depending on how I do at the next show I'll be making another machine and showing the process in more detail this time.
Thanks for watching!
@@sandandshoreshoppe that’s awesome!
Looks pretty awesome good job couple things I would have changed are I would have used pop rivets on the plastic and I may have created an extension for the shaft so you can do bigger rocks, but other than that nice job
I actually thought about rivets, but then decided on screws so it would be easier to replace the wood that I ended up using because I ran out of the decking material....and if I decided to change the size.
Doing larger stones is not really an issue because the wheels come out past the motor housing. I actually did design an extension that could hold two wheels on each side, but getting them milled cost $75 each...not a bad price at all, but for $150 I could just get another grinder and have more room, so I chose not to get that extension made.
Check out the other video where I made the design even better with the original guards. It works WAY better now.
Thanks for watching!
Great idea
It has worked out well so far, and even better with the different shrouds and table setup. Those are in a newer video.
Thanks for watching.
Refurbishing an old machine I picked up cheap. Thanks for the ideas for the hoods. I've been trying to figure out how to manufacture, or purchase. Love, love your idea of the cutting boards. I'm going to replicate. Many thanks for sharing your ideas
I'm glad the video helped you out in some way. If you look at a later video I used the hoods from the machine to make the inclosures for the wheels and it worked out a lot better, so you may want to consider doing that if you have the wheel enclosures for your machine.
Let me know how things turn out...and thanks for watching!
Where? I subscribed and scanned your videos. Couldn't find. I've ordered the cutting boards and made my pattern, so I'm ready to make my hoods; but curious if there is another idea. Glad I found you, as I enjoyed your common stone work!
Very thank so much
Hope you fins inspiration to build one for yourself.
Thanks for watching.
That nut at 2:54 seems to have a lot of extra threads hanging out.
It's fine thread, so I'm sure it has enough threads engaged. Just leery about it backing off, especially without the full guards on it.
I've had a wheel come off a bench grinder before, and it took most of the grinder into the scrap bin with it.
Yeah, that was pretty much a disaster waiting to happen. I realized afterward that those cupped washers were not holding the wheel properly...the shape was such that they were only touching the edge of the inner raised part of the wheel... so I got some thinner washers that were making proper contact and those with the wheel itself and allowed all the threads to be covered as well.
The sintered wheel is a bit thicker though, and there is about 1/6 of threads showing with the thin washers, but with the grinder being half the speed of a normal metal grinder I don't see that little bit being an issue.
My initial idea was to have an extender piece machined to slip over the entire shaft to allow for two wheels on each side, that is why the shroud is made so wide. Unfortunately the machined pieces were not cost effective at all.
Actually I just finished redoing the entire setup with the original guards installed. It is much slimmer and much more safe as well. That video should be coming up soon.
J'adore! 😍🥰
Thanks for watching!
good job,just put an o ring on the shaft because the berings are not waterproof and if water goes in they will rust.
I actually shot some silicone around the shaft where it comes out of the housing and left it dry before turning the shaft free of it grip. I thought that may work better than trying to find a well fitting O ring.
Waterproofing the entire thing was foremost on my mind.
Thanks I just had to mess with it and got it to fit right
Thats what you need to do sometimes. Just keep fiddling around with things and often the solution presents itself.
Thanks for watching!
I would move the water spout to the front of the wheel so that gravity will help it adhere and stop shooting off of the top. That should keep the wheel wetter and place the water closer to where it is needed. I am planning on trying the same with an 8" low speed buffer with 6" wheels on 5/8 arbors -- it has longer shafts.
When I did the second version of the shroud I did put the water right down against the wheel using a small section of tubing. It works out great. Though I did place it a bit more toward the top of the wheel. I could adjust the tubing to be more toward the front and see how that works though, sounds like a plan to me.
Would love to know how the buffer conversion works out too.
Thanks for watching!
@@sandandshoreshoppe Even with water hitting the top of the wheel -- you should have much better adherence of water to the wheel. The problem with placing the tube behind the wheel is that it runs up hill & then has too much momentum to follow the wheel down & most of it flies off when the wheel starts down hill (cars have the same problem cresting a hill at high speed). The more I look at how the grinders & buffers are threaded, the more I realize that it's a pipe dream to find some extension that will fit securely & true enough. I'm probably going to go the route of a belt drive (could use a cheap grinder for power) and mount the wheels and a 1" shaft mounted in pillow bearings. That way I can have a single piece shaft rotating at 1725rpm from a 3400rpm grinder.
@@geeder9086 The pillow bearings and belt way is a sure thing. That is your classic cabbing setup and has been proven through time, and different size pullies will get you the speed you want no problem. I had a machinest work out an extension for these and the cost for each was more than the grinders cost...not that the guy was overcharging it was just the price for the precision millwork that was needed to make it work. So yeah, the pillow bearings and shaft is probably the best rout.
If you have any welding skills you could whip up a really nice machine I'm sure...I thought of that too and may do one up eventually...just because I can! lol.
I thought of another question. I read somewhere that you need to put a pad between the wheel and washer to protect the wheels, and that otherwise the pressure can harm the wheels. What did you use if anything?
I personally have never heard anything like that for the type of diamond wheels I use..BUT I have heard that for grinding wheels made of stone or carborundum. Usually a leather pad or something similar to keep the washers from applying sharp pressure to the wheel and possibly snapping it.
You might find your standard shaft size might have a standard size seal at an auto parts or marine outboard shop.
Hmm..never thought of that. I may have to check that out..thanks for the adivice.
Hi Clayton, how did you waterproof the Bench grinder, I would love to try this but the water/electricity scares me a bit.
I posted what I did to make it a bit safer on your other comment, so I wont redo it on here.
I do understand your concerns with the water and electricity though....the last thing any of us need is getting our fingers burned off with 110volts while polishing stones.
Putting a shroud of some sort around the bottom of the grinder body will be my next addition to the thing.
@@sandandshoreshoppe -There's a reason why the pro's don't do it that way,Clayton,be carefull!
@@larrymoremckenzie3029 yeah it‘s because they don’t care about the price
I recommend that you ensure that the grinder is plugged into a circuit that is GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) protected. Anytime you have electricity near water, like in your kitchen or a bathroom, GFIs are a must (code too these days, I believe, also code in garages, I think?). Nice DIY unit, Sand and Shore Shoppe!
At 5:50, you are talking about the minor wobble on the left side wheel. You can also physically see the problem, which is your washers. Look at the washer's wobble, that is enough to create the wobble in the wheel.
Yeah, the washers weren't very true or well fitted on the shaft.
I got some that were thinner and adjusted the spacing a bit and it took care of that wobble.
They all run very true now.
Thanks for watching!
So, do you shine your stones just with the 600 grit? Do you get a high shine?
The 600 is basically the first polishing/shaping stage, to remove the small edges left by the hard wheel. Next I go to 1200 then usually to cerrium oxide final polish.
Depending on the stone sometimes I stop at 1200, or go from there to 2000 then 5000 and 7000 grit sandpaper.
It all depends on how the stone speaks to me.....lol
Hi-
This is a great setup you have put together! I am interested in trying to do the same thing--- this may seem naive but how did you make sure the holes in the grinding wheels would fit the arbor on the grinder? is the 5/8" arbor the thing you have to make sure matches up? that's referring to the hole in the wheels right?
Usually the wheels come with spacers down to around 1/2 inch. The ones I buy all have them. The starting hole size is 1'. Whoever you buy your wheels from ask if they provide spacers and you should be ok.
Thanks for watching.
So much less shaky than any of the expensive 6 wheeled units...
They are very sturdy and have almost no vibration at all. I have never used a professional machine so I can't really compare these with those.
Though my refurbished 6 inch combination machine may be close. It has a bit of vibration to it, but then it is almost as old as me...and we BOTH need refurbished.
Thanks for watching!
Good job.. I'm looking to build me one. I think i just found one, i do have a question about the spacers,do they come with the machine ?
If you are talking about the spacers for the wheels to fit on the shaft, then those usually come with the wheels when you buty them. these came with ones to fit down to a 1/2 inch shaft.
Thanks for watching.
Good job. Can you tell me what kind of valves you used. They look like something I’d be interested in. Thanks
They are just a regular brass ball valve from Lowes, but if you are gong to make a water system for a cabbing machine, or anything really, I would use a fish tank air valve. The tubes and valves are actually too big for the pump I'm using...I mean it ''works'' but not near to optimal. One quarter inch tubing and air flow valves for fish tanks do a SUPERB job and are about one tenth the price of the brass valves ant tubing here.
@@sandandshoreshoppe thank you. Problem I’m having is I have to where a raincoat. To much water on wheels. No matter how much I adjust them. Either they don’t water whole wheel or to much water.
Would the wheels fit on a 6” bench grinder?
These are 6 inch wheels, so they would fit a 6 inch grinder. Depending on the size of the shaft you would need spacers to make centered. These are 8 inch grinders so the guards have some extra space for the smaller wheels.
Now that being said, depending on the speed of the grinder and how powerful the motor is will determine if it is usable or not. Often times a 6 inch grinder has a not so powerful motor that may just bog down and not do well, if at all.
Just get a long arbour bench polisher . King makes a 10" and a 8" models. cost about the same as a grinder should be able to put two wheels on each side maybe three..
Nice idea! Post the links to that I may just pick one up.
You could hang your bucket and make it gravity fed with a spigot
I originally thought about that, but the pump system was more practical. For about $12 I got a pump that works great, and I would have had close to that much in a sturdy shelf to hold the water bucket along with a brass fitting....so I went with the pump!
Thanks for watching!
nice hows it holding up ? ive thlught about building one just like this but i dont know shit about electricity and was worried about the water
They are working extremely well. I made another one shortly after doing this video and redid the shrouds making them a lot more streamlined and efficient. I have cut a lot of stones on them since and have not had any issues with water getting into the housing.
Actually once they warm up slightly any spashed water dries right away, so even after half an hour of constant cutting the body is totally dry. And I have never had any issuse with water building up on the tray to get underneath the unit.
Thanks for watching!
Did you have to cut down the adapter bushings
No, they were made to fit the width of the wheels so I had no messing about with those thankfully.
If RPM 3000 than its still can be make a cab.like you did ?
That would depend on what speed the wheels you get are rated at. The wheels I have are made to run at the slow RPM, but perhaps there are wheels out there that are made for a higher RPM.
I have used diamond flat laps at over 3000 RPM but they seem to wear quickly, and I would not recommend doing it for safety reasons.
I would contact the manufacturer of the wheels you plan to use and ask them if it is safe at the RPM of your machine, that would be the best thing to do.
Please where you buy this. Thanks
The grinders you can get on Amazon, and the wheels are from Kingsley North. But any low speed grinder and wheels will work...just be creative!!
Thanks for watching.
for 350$ just buy a used cabking... but i like the video great job.
If I find a used cabking for that price I''ll buy two of em!
I would of ordered clear plastic vinyl materials from Amazon and use pop rivet to attach
That would have worked well for sure, but I was more interested in building it with materials that were inexpensive and readily available as much as possible. And I am glad I didnt put the extra money into it as the shrouds ended up being scrapped for a better setup.
Still, clear vinyl would have made for very nice shrouds to be sure. Thanks for watching!
Can it handle a wet environment?
So far I have had no issues at all with moisture. I sealed the joints on the machine with silicone and also underneath where the majority of the wiring is housed, and I have checked and I can find no signs of wetness in there at all.
The tray it sits on is also angled about five degrees or more and the water drains away very quickly.
If you notice the tray has texturing on it....I wanted a smooth tray but could not find one....and by accident those designs keep the water from moving side to side and channels it downward. If I could actually design a tray, I would put groves in it for the water to channel away from the motor.
I have cut a lot of cabs on these so far and if anything goes wonkey I will let everyone know.
Thanks for watching...and for asking.
Did you try 8 inch wheels on the Rikon?
No I didnt. When I built this I was concerned about cost as I was on a very limited budget, so the 6 inch wheels were more in my price range. Also I wasnt certain about the weight for the wheels and figured that the 6 inch would be lighter. I had no clue how powerful the Rikon was so I went on the cautious side.
After using it a while I dont believe there would be an issue with the 8 inch wheels with the plastic hubs. Having two sintered 8 inch might possibly give the motor a good workout, but the stone wheels that came on the grinder are close to that weight so its possible it may not make a difference.
Thanks for input. If I can’t swing a Cabking I think I’m going to try your idea.
The key is buying quality wheels.
Absolutely! That is why I got the sintered wheels for the roughing in part. Some cheep wheels just are not worth the money you save.
We’re you able to find a low speed bench grinder or did you just use a regular grinder @ 3000rpms? I’ve noticed that the max rated rpm’s for most cabbing wheels is 1750. Did you find higher rated wheels o do you find the weight of the wheels slows it down enough?
It is a low speed grinder. They are out there and not too difficult to find, mostly made for sharpening knives and more delicate sharpening things. The cost varies greatly though. I believe the Rikon that I got a few months ago is now up to around $180. Honestly I would be afraid to try out a wheel on the high speed ones. Even my old modified flat lap of noisyness was 1750 rpm.
If you can get an electric motor for a reasonable amount OR off another piece of equipment, with a pullies you can reduce or increase the speed. Then get some pillow bearings and a steel shaft to fit and build a machine for actually very little.
I honestly would have built an entire cabbing machine instead of modifying the grinders but I was lacking on space and this seemed to be the way to go for space saving.
Email me if want to talk about making an entire machine.
Yeah, sure it's not vodka 😊
It probably maybe is sorty likely that it's not vodka.
hehehe
Thanks for watching!
Them half on nuts No way on earth is that safe
I agree, its not. I was able to get some much thinner fender washers that allow all the threads to be covered.
if you flip the wheel so it goes the other direction the water will spin the other direction
Hmm...If I would turn the machine upside down it may not shoot out on me at all. I may have to work on that....
That is seriously dangerous, your using a grinder that is designed for dry operation only , the unit is not sealed against water ingress and the switch on the front is also not waterproof, chances are youre in america and on 110Volts so youre at least not likely to kill yourself should you end up getting a shock, do this with 240 volts and you would.
the second is that Cabbing machines are built not like this at all, the wheel placement on a proper cabbing machine allows the individual disks to rotate freely in relation to the spindle that drives them, the spacers that you see between the individual wheels are placed there to hold the wheels . the centre of the wheel, bushing if you like is normally made of plastic and you would use the same diameter shaft as the hole or use a bushing that is supplied with the wheel, they are then not held in place with a grub screw, you then put on a spacer, another wheel , spacer and so on , at the end of the line you screw on a ring clamp that will add some sideways compression to all the wheels and spacers.
The idea is that as you apply pressure to the wheel with your stone the wheel cna actually freely rotate on the spinning shaft, the main reason for this is safety, because you are using your hands you can end up having your hand dragged into the machine and basically ripped off from your wrist, however because the wheels rotate independently this can not happen with a proper cabbing machine.
With your machine the risk of the wheel grabbing a piece of clothing, hair or your actual hand is very high and when it does it will drag your body part in with disastrous results.
I would not advise anyone to make this machine , it has two serious faults, water and personal injury.
I'm a design and mechanical engineer and this is bloody dangerous.
If you want to make a machine for cabbing the best way is to get a 20 mm shaft say 800 mms long, use two 20 mm block bearings, and in the middle of the shaft use a V pulley that clamps on to the shaft, make a frame for the bearing blocks to sit on and clamp them down, use a collar ring to lock the spacers and wheels tightly together but not so tight that you can not freely rotate them by trying to do so with hard twisting pressure. they should rotate a little , they will spin just fine but will freewheel in the event of an accident.
The centre V belt pulley should then go to a motor which is behind the shaft about 40 cms distant, Fit another V belt pulley to the motor shaft, make a cover for the motor but allow ventilation. Find an appropriate V belt and use that. Fabricate a belt guard to cover the V belt and front pulley for safety reasons and then make a water cover and tray system, for the cover use 200 or 250 mm drainage tubing and cut out a section along the length so you can get your hands in and apply whatever pressure you need to the stone your working on. For the trays use plastic garden trays or even metal baking trays . Just make sure when you wire it up that you do have an earth and a residual earth leakage circuit breaker on it as this system is not double insulated.
Ideally a old washing machine motor will work well as a motor and you should try and find a foot pedal switch to operate it with , a momentary one meaning that if you take your foot off the motor will stop. For the water system just get a small submersible pump off Amazon and use water drip irrigation units and hose , they work very well and are easy to regulate.
There are plenty of safe YT videos out there on Cabbing machines so please dont make the one from this video. ITS DANGEROUS and literally could kill you or severely injure you
Sorry to be a Naysayer but this video shocked me.
I appreciate the comments. I will take what you said under advisement.
Thanks for watching!
Most of your video is friggin around with the water system. No need to buy $50 worth of water system and spend all that time rigging it up; just fill the pan with an inch of water or so and shove a square sponge under the wheel! The spin of the wheel keeps the sponge in place and the sponge does 2 things; wicks grindings away and provides a very even coat of water to the wheel. And, apparently, you failed to closely observe the design of water shrouds around manufactured cab machines. I have built, and am now building, my own machine much quicker and cheaper than you; good luck!
Wow..its great that you can build one that is less expensive. I learned a lot building this setup, and that is really what it's all about, learning. This machine is basically the beta version...in a later video I have the 2.0 version that is much more efficient AND simple without the $50 worth of fittings.
I honestly thought about just putting a fountain sprayer under the wheel but I do not like to reuse the mucky water. I did with my very first machine and it was not to my liking. I did actually use a sponge for a bit on this version on top of the wheel for spreading out the water but it seemed to get mucky rather quickly and I wasnt impressed.
As for the shroud, well I just used what was inexpensive just to see how it worked out. Like I said, the new version is much more efficient all around.
Thanks for watching!