Miter Gauge for Belt Grinder

[thr3squared]

I have a Kalamazoo S272 Belt Grinder and was looking for a miter gauge for the work table (its already slotted). I reached out to Kalamazoo and they do not make one for it.

Any suggestions on where I may source one? Are there standard sizes for the miter bars?

Or am I wasting my time- just measure my desired angle and clamp a bar of steel to the table as a guide when needed?

 

[LeeG]

The specs on that grinder show a 5/8" slot. Just google for a 5/8" miter gauge. I use one from an old band saw on my 6x48 sander.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

If you don't find one the right size, use something like a Grizzly one and a piece of cold rolled steel. I've had to do that a couple of times.

 

[exmaxima1]

Is it a straight slot or a T-slot? If it's a T-slot you can buy a Ryobi miter gauge for about $11.

 

[lis2323]

You just need a gauge for 5/8" Tee slot.

Got mine from Sears 20 years ago. LOL




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[thr3squared]

The specs on that grinder show a 5/8" slot. Just google for a 5/8" miter gauge. I use one from an old band saw on my 6x48 sander.

Where did you find that spec? I used a caliper to measure and it was close to 5/8

 

[thr3squared]

You just need a gauge for 5/8" Tee slot.

Got mine from Sears 20 years ago. LOL




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Nice machine!

 

[macgee]

You're going to want a solid one and suggest avoiding the cheap plastic (things get hot) and soft pot metal ones that you find new online, they're not worth it. Having said that, your table is tiny and can only fit so much. On eBay, they're selling lots of asian milled anodized miter gauge knock off's that look like Kreg and Incra miter gauges, they have a small foot prints and not too expensive. I had a spare Kreg laying around that I customized to fit my grinders but also use jigs a lot.

Also, you can usually find a good vintage delta table saw or bandsaw miter gauge for really cheap at garage sales, flea markets and then cut the bar way down that's more appropriate for you table and finish/clean up the gauge. The good ones might be too big. And, make sure to check if they're square in both axis, easy to tune them in.

Because you have a tall platen, you should make some sliding square and angle sleds and jigs that fit your table and slot. You'll be very happy with these and not hard to make and will be more accurate and cleaner grinds.

 

[tarbellb]

Make one.

Personally I have built 2 that are permanently welded at 45 and 90.

Plus a adjustable.

A great shop efficiency project.

 

[thr3squared]

Is it a straight slot or a T-slot? If it's a T-slot you can buy a Ryobi miter gauge for about $11.

This one is a square slot 5/8” x 1/4”


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[thr3squared]

You're going to want a solid one and suggest avoiding the cheap plastic (things get hot) and soft pot metal ones that you find new online, they're not worth it. Having said that, your table is tiny and can only fit so much. On eBay, they're selling lots of asian milled anodized miter gauge knock off's that look like Kreg and Incra miter gauges, they have a small foot prints and not too expensive. I had a spare Kreg laying around that I customized to fit my grinders but also use jigs a lot.

Also, you can usually find a good vintage delta table saw or bandsaw miter gauge for really cheap at garage sales, flea markets and then cut the bar way down that's more appropriate for you table and finish/clean up the gauge. The good ones might be too big. And, make sure to check if they're square in both axis, easy to tune them in.

Because you have a tall platen, you should make some sliding square and angle sleds and jigs that fit your table and slot. You'll be very happy with these and not hard to make and will be more accurate and cleaner grinds.

Thanks for all the info! I’ll search a bit on eBay and see what comes up.

Can you post pictures of the ones you made?

Yes the work table is small only 5” wide


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[thr3squared]

Make one.

Personally I have built 2 that are permanently welded at 45 and 90.

Plus a adjustable.

A great shop efficiency project.

When you make them are you starting with stock metal made for the slot (square or T) and then welding to that?

Can you post any photos?


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[tarbellb]

No photos available, but from the looks of your sig you got a welder and some fab skills so go for it!

If you can fashion some 5/8" out of anything, great. Or run two pieces parallel to achieve 5/8" width.

You could also use a plate that sits on top of the table with 5/8" cut offs as guides.

Then simply weld a 90 / 45 piece of angle or whatever is laying around.

Using a micro adjustment screw is always a good idea too, have a pivot point, a locking screwing, and a micro screw to adjust the angle.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Cold rolled steel is available at places like Metal Supermarket , 5/8' x 1/4" shouldn't be too hard to get. My bandsaw is an 1947 Callender Foundry Beaver and uses 3/4"x 3/16". The head is from a Lee Valley something or other mitre guage I had to drill three holes accurately, two had to be tapped. The one on the shaper took a standard 3/4" x 3/8 ". I picked up the odd ball mitre guage at the fleamarket, Gil-Blt,.I think it was off a table saw kit! This one took four holes, the two for the pointer had to be tapped this time. Be prepared to file and otherwise tune up. The shaper, a Powermatic clone, needed some as well.

 

[thr3squared]

I did some searching and apparently 5/8 x 1/4” miter gauges aren’t too common anymore. Everything is 3/4 x3/8”.

That said I found a older Craftsman 5/8” miter gauge online, and started to clean it up. This week I’ll cut the bar down to 8” and take 5/8” off each side of the fence.

As received...






After a bath in Evaporust...





I can’t decide if I want to strip the paint off the miter fence. Any recommendations on a relatively easy way to do that?


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[Plump]

Been looking to find a miter fence for my combo sander so great ideas here! Was impossible to find a replacement from Delta and it's less than a 1/2" wide slot (.470 cm) Might just end up using some hardwood that I can cut down and sand to fit.

 

[thr3squared]

Got the gauge cleaned up and fitted. Bar cut to 8” and 5/8” cut from each end. The fence had hollow sections but I don’t mind the profile versus a solid block of metal.

The bar cleaned up some more with a little WD40 and a green 3M stripping pad. Added a new stainless thumbscrew.







Did a little clearancing on the grinder table. A few passes with 320 and then 600 grit allowed the gauge just enough room to slide but remain somewhat snug.






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