This is a picture of my updated belt grinder. Before this weekend, it had a 3450 RPM, 1 HP pool pump motor. When I'd flip it on the, lights would dim and the belt speed, at almost 5,000 SFPM was downright scary. It also had a substantial amount of vibration.
Yesterday and today, I swapped out the motor for a 2500 RPM, DC permanent magnet motor. Now, top speed is around 3200 SFPM and, since it's plugged into a variac, any speed from 0 up to the maximum. It's also reversible, but I haven't figured out any practical need for that. I trued up the 4.5" drive pulley on my lathe and that helped the vibration a lot. Probably should true up the top pulley as well. At any rate, it's now much tamer but still removes metal at a respectable rate.

Don't know how many of you know about this, but several of the knife making supply houses sell ceramic glass platen liners for the platen or backer plate of your belt sander. Here's a link:
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/ceramic-glass-liner-for-flat-platen-2x9x-0192-p-1181.htmlI also just ordered the 2" x 9" x .192" piece which I'll JB weld onto the platen. That should greatly reduce the wear on the platen and provide a slicker, cooler running backing for the belt.
Chuck