I am replying as what might be called a 20 year beginner who changed, this summer, from a Coote 10" grinder to a Reeder. I bought all the accessories I thought I might want all at once because getting them shipped from the US to the UK was a big cost and I wanted to get as much in one go as possible. If I was earlier in my hobby and could get parts more easily as and when I wanted them, I think I might have bought a little less, and waited to see what jobs I did regularly that an accessory would help with.
I got the platen with 4" and 2" rubber wheels. Definitely good. Word of warning, the use of the 4" wheel means that the platen sits closer to the motor than with a pair of 2" wheels. We didn't account for this, and I had to cut off two inches from the rear of a tool arm so that it didn't clash with the motor and interfere with the idler tension tension arm.
I made my own pyroceram glass platen.
I got a small wheel attachment. I don't make slipjoints. The only thing I have used it for so far is horizontally for making accurate profile adjustments to the tang radius for the index finger. Can make the edge of the tang square to the sides. Was useful for the couple of knives I was making with screwed on handles, no glue, no post assembly finishing, but the jury is out on how much use it will have. But, it wasn't a very expensive accessory, nor takes up much space.
The Reeder Pigs Knuckle allows for a lot of adjustment to their tool rest, well worth it. Bought one, keep wondering if I should have bought two. If I lived in the US, I think I would have gone back and bought a second already.
I got a rotary platen because I like (really like) convex edges, but it is going to take a while for me to figure it out. The other uses that people put them to are grinding metal and softer handle materials flush, but I tend to file and hand shape my contoured handles, so may not see the advantage there. Arguably an expensive item for the niche job of convex grinding. I have done enough convexing on the Coote to know I wanted this though.
A 12" wheel is going to be a little big for hollowing tangs prior to tapering, and definitely too big for handle contouring, but will do nice high bevel grinds. 8" wheel will do the tangs and handles well.
Any plans on dust extraction, lighting, and grinding jigs? Might be good to hold a little budget back to put towards these.
