Another 2x42 thread...

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DustinHall

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Dec 31, 2008
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I'm looking into getting the Craftsman 2x42 for the simple fact that I am only a hobbyist knifemaker right now and there are other expenses higher on my priority list. If you know of a better grinder for >$150-300 max, I'd definately like to hear about it. My plan is to make some nice knives with the 2x42 and hopefully sell enough of them to upgrade the grinder later on. I know the Craftsman will need the platen replaced but, I'm not totally clear on how to do this. Just glue the ceramic or glass to the existing one? Are there any other modifications I can do to make it better suited for grinding knives? I've read that it runs fast. Is there a way to slow it down at all? Lastly, if any of you 2x42 owners could post pictures of the mods you've made, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

Edited to add one more question... Where can I find quality belts in various grits for the 2x42?
 
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I'll post a pic of what I just did to the platen on mine a little later tonight. Tracy has a description of how to attach the glass to the platen here. I roughed up the metal platen fairly well with a combination of 80 grit sand paper and a file. I also used self drilling metal screws to make the ledge after a put a small pilot hole in the platen and used a lock washer on each one.

If you go that route you're going to have to cut the glass as he's only showing 9" pieces now (I bought an 8" one) and the platen on the Craftsman is around 7 3/4". I cut mine at 7 1/4" to leave a little wiggle room when I was attaching it. I used a good wet tile saw with a good blade, went slow and it cut it fine with minimal chipping at the edge. Which you have to round off a bit anyway. According to Tracy it can be cut with a standard glass cutter but I didn't trust myself in not screwing it up using one.

I think the only way you can slow it down is to push harder against it :D. It runs at either 42 or 4400 SFPM which I've seen some people on here say the grind at over 5000 but I'm sure there is a difference between it being on a 2x42 vs a 2x72 somehow. I still have to get it bolted down and I'll probably begin playing around with it after that.

One of the members on here Panch0 used one for a while and maybe will hop on here with more hands on advice that I can offer.
 
Its not the greatest grinder not even close. I don't know if you have seen any of the knives I have made, but I think some of them turned out ok with the 2x42. I think I made more than 30 on it. It will still be used for profiling and handle work. All themods I did were to take off the guard, jb weld the new platen, and it was good to go. For the finger choils I removed what I could with the 2x 42 and ground off the rest on my drill press with a small grinding wheel from sears. It was worth the 140 bucks for sure and earned them back quickly. Good luck and post pics.
 
its really a great machiene I just got one so I'm a little biased, but for the money, and considering it will be years befor I end up with 30 knives it works for me. I didnt modify it though, not yet at least. turned horizontle it seems to work pretty good!
 
I just went out and took these pics. It has been beaten on and it still has alot of life in it. Some guys cut the top right half of the guard half off. The left side has a tracking screw that you could weld something to grip it better when adjusting the tracking. On the first pic you can see two little shadows under the platen. Those are metal tapping screws I put there in hopes it would stop the platen from falling all the way down to the drive wheel. The theory is to give you enough time to shut down should the platen come loose.

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Fletch - Thanks for the link and describing to me how you modded yours. I do not have anything to cut glass with but, I was thinking of bringing it into lowes and having them cut an inch or two off with their saw. I'll be watching for the pics!

Pancho - Obviously a KMG or a no-weld grinder, coote, bader, etc. is much more desirable but, unfortunately I can't cough up that kinda money yet. The only things I've used to make knives is a belt sander locked upside down in a vise (which worked suprisingly well I thought), a bench grinder, and files.. soo the 2x42 should be a real step up from what I'm used to.
I've seen your work and I think your knives look really nice. Thanks for your input and big thanks for the pics, Frank. I shall post pics of my own in a couple of weeks.
 
Here is mine, not much different from Frank's only this was taken with it horizontal since that's the way I left it to cure up. If you look at the bottom of it (left side) you can see the screws I set in it as Frank described it's purpose. I ran the screws in from the back and used a lock washer on them. They were a bit off so I just used a file to shave the one down to make sure the glass sat flat. Then just ground them with an angle grinder so they were about half the thickness of the glass. The worst part about the machine itself is when you need to change the discs on the sander. It's probably one of the most user unfriendly things out there. I changed mine already and have yet to put the dust collector part back on.

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Cool, Fletch. Thanks for the photo. I'm looking forward to getting this grinder set up so I can start making some knives! Is your first WIP done yet, man?
 
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If you have a bench grinder, you may want to consider a Multi-tool attachment. I got one of them myself and it works great for grinding out blades. You can even get one that has an 8" contact wheel to do hollow grinding. For the price, these are very good grinders. Also, it might be easier to get 2x48 belts versus trying to get 2x42's, but it might be different where you live. In fact, I just bought some 6x48 belts and cut them into 3 strips. They work really well and it's like 3 belts for the price of one. My next option if I was looking for a grinder would be a Grizzly.
 
DustinHall said:
Cool, Fletch. Thanks for the photo. I'm looking forward to getting this grinder set up so I can start making some knives! Is your first WIP done yet, man?
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I'm waiting to get the blade back from Stacy who's doing the HT on it. I sent it to him a few days before Christmas so whenever he gets that done I'll get that thread going again.

The other one I started (my solo knife build) after I was waiting to get my blank from Stacy is just about ready for HT also. I'm going to see if I can get the HT done on that very soon. Just a bit more sanding should do it, with a little luck I'll see if I can get to Aldo's shop to get that done.
 
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