Anybody use the tw 90 Wuertz grinder

bigbcustom

bigbcustom

Joined
Dec 20, 2005
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Would like to hear your impressions/experiences as compared to your previous tool of choice. Particularly interested in comparison with the KMG.

Thanks in advance guys!
 
I looked it over pretty closely and saw it run at the Pasadena show.
Looks solid, well thought out and features some nice running gear. Probably considered more 'boutique' because of it's built-in tilt function. A tilt function on your 2x72 is very handy if you don't want a dedicated horizontal machine.
 
I saw a demo of it at Blade, and it looks great. The tilt feature is just an added bonus.

I have a KMG right now, but the TW90 will likely be the next grinder I buy.
 
I did two one hour grinding demos with one at the Boise Show. It is a dream. I have a BurrKing, I've used Baders and Wiltons as well as some home mades. I'd put the TW out in front.

Tracking is very positive, power is wonderful, simplicity of operation is great, belt tensioning doesn't need extra help. It's a well thought out machine, and the horizontal feature is a bonus.

Even with the horizontal pivot the machine is rock steady. And no, I am not affiliated with Travis or anyone who sells the machine.

I took profiled blades for orders I had with me to do the demo. The first blade I worked on was S30V. I cut almost to the centerline first pass. My BurrKing is 1.5 hp variable, the TW is 2 hp variable. He uses a VFD for the variable speed with a regular AC motor, so there is no DC motor or motor controller there. It makes life less expensive at replacement time.

If I had the money I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Gene
 
I have a KMG and got to use the TW90 at two hammer-ins and a knifemakers house. The other maker sold his other grinders and bought three TW90's. The machine is rock solid and extremely versatile. The tables are fully adjustable and there are so many cool things you can do with them. The small wheel attachment is proud of the arms the KMG is not. With this you can fuller a blade or flute a handle. There is also a surface grinding attachment coming soon. One of the things that bothers me about the KMG is the belt tracking, it jumps to the side when cleaning up around the choil and bottom of the ricasso. This can leave a nasty little grind line at the intersection of the ricasso and choil. The TW90 doesn't do this because of a better tracking design.

The TW90 is the ultimate grinder. It beats the KMG hands down IMO.
 
All good information. Thanks a bunch! I was thinking that the pivot mechanism would be a weak point, but apparently not. Any downsides, other than cost, to this machine? I know you get what you pay for, and I'm not opposed to paying for quality/utility.
 
Looks very nice but being a hobbyist (aka my wife would use one of my knives on me) I wish I could justify the leap in price from some of the other 2x72's.
 
Is it really a leap in price?

Remember, you're buying 2 fully loaded grinders, a vertical, and a horizontal.

With a full compliment of attachments for both...

I haven't actually done the math, but I bet you are in the 4k+ range to get a horizontal AND vertical grinder, similarly configured.

I personally spend as much, or more time on the horizontal as I do the vertical.

Hell, I have 2 horizontals.
 
A fully loaded 2x72 with variable speed will cost in the neiborhood of 2800 dollars, this means that you will get a fully loaded horizontal grinder for 400 and shipping.
 
I have two Weurtz grinders and the surface grinder attachment that Travis made for me. It is simply the best grinder on the market. It tracks, tensions and maintains the accuracy. You can surface grind 2" wide or more if you track the belt up an own a bit. It works well. I make slipjoints exclusively and keeping things parallel and flat are necesary. Plus....Travis is a nice guy. I also have KMGs and they are great grinders also...just different.
 
I dont own one, nor have I used one but have spoke with many that have...They all say the same, best grinder period...Most of them have KMG's and still say the tw-90 is hands down better..That right there is saying something ;)
 
John L may have the only one so far.

I've seen it in operation, and it's sweet.

No guarantee of the same accuracy as a real surface grinder, as it's operation is via plunging the full blade width.
So you are limited in parallelism by the wheel/belt/tables parallelism to each other, but I bet it can be tuned to hold sub .001" parallelism with a little care.

It's an ingenious little system Travis has come up with.
 
I saw his proof of concept at his hammer in for the surface grinder. It was one of the major selling points for me that a surface grinder attachment was coming out. Waiting to get my hands on one is worse than waiting for Christmas.

I have both the KMG and TW90. I hardly use the KMG anymore. Both are great machines, but the TW90 is so much more versatile and it's not limited on what the tool rest's can do.
 
Fellhoelter said:
Is it really a leap in price?

Remember, you're buying 2 fully loaded grinders, a vertical, and a horizontal.

With a full compliment of attachments for both...

I haven't actually done the math, but I bet you are in the 4k+ range to get a horizontal AND vertical grinder, similarly configured.

I personally spend as much, or more time on the horizontal as I do the vertical.

Hell, I have 2 horizontals.
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Oh don't get me wrong Im nto sayign it isnt worth it! I was more stating being a hobbyist I was thinking for my $ id prob just get a decent KMG setup. NOW if i can get the wife to go along with it somehow Id definetly set my budget and eyes on this one! Sorry if I looked like i was saying anything negative at all about this grinder. Im more wishing I could justify the increase in budget :D
 
cbr900son said:
Oh don't get me wrong I'm not saying it isnt worth it! I was more stating being a hobbyist I was thinking for my $ id prob just get a decent KMG setup. NOW if i can get the wife to go along with it somehow Id definitely set my budget and eyes on this one! Sorry if I looked like i was saying anything negative at all about this grinder. Im more wishing I could justify the increase in budget :D
Click to expand...
I get it.

I was just pointing out that it really isn't more money when you factor in the extras, that really are necessities, for me, but aren't included in other grinders.
When you start tallying everything up, that perceived price difference vanishes.
 
Thanks for all the input and discussion fellas! Im looking to get my first grinder and this one has definitely caught my eye. (especially with the up-coming surface grinder attachment)
The price is high but it seems you are getting your $'s worth plus great quality, US made, and Travis is supposed to be a good guy. He's promptly answered all my emails :)
What does suck is the fact that shipping to HI is like $600 :(

Anyways, looking forward to more reviews and pics from the guys that are rocking the TW90!
Cheers
 
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