2" x 72" belt sanders two models pros and cons

Diez Knives

Diez Knives

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May 19, 2012
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I'm trying to decide which type of 2"x72" belt sander I would like to purchase but can't decide which style. Besides the price what are the pros and cons of the two types of models. Any suggestions on brands, I am looking at the coote grinder or a no weld type build your own. below are the two types. any Ideas or info would be great.

 
Use your google fu. There are dozens of posts about this. Jess
 
That first one looks homemade but based on the gib. If everything's does not align well you will have issues with tracking. It doesn't take much of a deviation to have problems. There are other options out there.
 
A three wheel setup offers you a lot more flexibility; you can always add tooling arms to accomplish specific tasks. The potential drawback is that, if you are intent on building your own, it will only be as good as you can make it.

While I have heard nothing but good things about the Coote, it is a little bit more limited. That said, it is supposed to be well designed and built rock solid. It also comes with a large contact wheel (quite expensive on their own), if you plan on doing any hollow grinding.

I recently, finished my own build of a 2x72 based on the Knife Dogs No-Weld Style a little while ago. I am quite happy by how it turned out, but if I had it to do over again, I would have chosen the GIB from Polar Bear Forge, http://www.polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html. You would still need to do some fairly precision work to put it together (just drilling and tapping really), but the price is right and the quality is there. I ended up ordering the platen mount from him and was pleased with it, so I feel confident in recommending the kit as a whole. Like your picture, my platen is setup with 3" and 4" contact wheels for profiling (another advantage of the 3 wheel setup).
 
The second sander you have pictured is the Grizzly. I have one of those. For me, a couple of problems I had with the Grizzly are the tension spring at the top is very small and not easily swapped out for something stronger. Because there is less than optimal tension the belt wants to walk to the side when you grind with sufficient pressure, particularly at the sides of the platen. Another problem is that it is only a two wheel design. More wheels gives you better and more stable tracking. Also, when grinding longer blades, grinding on the left side of the belt will have you running into the motor. A set up that has the contact wheel and/or platen out front would give you more room to work. While the one horse motor of the Grizzly does surprisingly well, it will bog down if you are a heavy grinder. And if you don't have a robust enough circuit to run the machine you will be tripping breakers. It is a decent machine for the money though.
 
ok so not sure how much the TW 90 Grinder is going for but I think thats the one I want...
 
I picked one up from Brett and I could not be happier. It is nice over built and smooth as glass. It would be worth it to email Brett and tell him what you are looking for in a grinder.
 
I purchased a Coote back in 2000 and still have it and use it along with my Hardcore products grinder I purchased through http://www.trugrit.com/knife-hardcore.htm The hardcore is a fine top of the line 3 wheel machine. about a $1000.00 less that the TW-90 which seems to be about the top dog on the market these days.

The Coote is the best of the two wheel grinders and with it and a Foredom flex shaft for doing finger notches you will be fine. www.cootebeltgrinder.com The other cool thing about my Coote is I can set it up in the back of my truck if I want to do a knife grinding demo or work mobile.
 
PT Doc said:
Kmg with platen for $750.

Check out diygrinder.com. This looks pretty stout.
Click to expand...

I like that one, this would be my first grinder, man so many choices, I gotta narrow it down... So diygrinder.com looks reasonable and the kmg looks like it would be a good all around multiple use type of sander with all those extra arms.

I'm getting tired of using my 4" right angle grinder and 1"x30" grizzly... I need a big boy grinder!
 
Me and you both. My order of desire goes Pheers, Mathews, KMG. I've never hear a complaint about any of em, but I've never worked on any of em either. Just grizzly, and that was at work for no e knife stuff.
 
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