Attention Grizzly Grinder Owners!

G

Guy Thomas

Joined
Feb 1, 2000
Messages
1,370
Are they worth it? Would you buy one again? Would you recomend one over saving to buy something else? One H.P., 2"x72" and a buffer is awful tempting especially now because Grizzly is running a Summer sale and they are only $275.00. I know a lot of you guy's have bought one and I've used one briefly and it worked well, but I want to hear from you guys who've lived with one for a while. So what do you think?

Guy Thomas
 
I have one, and I have made 15 or so knives with it, I think it is adequate, I have had no problems with it, I really wish it was variable speed, but other than that it seems to be a fine machine. I am just learning to hollow grind, and my last two hollow grinds looked real sharp and flawless, so if I can do it on a grizzly I think anybody could. I have only used one other 2x72 grinder, and I dont remember what kind it was, but it didn't seem any better or worse than a grizzly, and the maker who was using that is very well known, and has been making knives for several decades on it. IT was basically the same set up as a grizzly. It was mounted on a baldor buffer.
Kyle
 
The griz is a good grinder i made mine a V/S I mae some big pullies
that have thread on them so i can thread themon the place wear the buffer goes. I put a motor behind the pullies that are 6 7 and 8
inches I put he motor on a big hinge so I can tilt is back and forth
for the size of pullies I them put an I bolt in back of the motor
with a turn buckle to tighten up the slack,you can slow it down to were you can see the writing on your belts,just turn your motor on
the one you put behind the pullies and problem fixed 275 plus a little exra work and you have a hollow grind machine.
 
I've got one, and even though I have not made any knifes on it I think it is a great tool. Wished I'd got one sooner. It took alittel while to "tweek" in up so it tracked well. I'm using plate glass for a platen, as the canvas / graphite platen is just so much junk as is the tool rest. I found it fairly easy to redesign and build new tool rests, (one for the platen one for the wheel). I've done lots of things with it and am happy with the over all machine. One thing worth noting is that it heats up fairly quickly. ( I feel that this can be fixed when I get the time. ) If I were starting from scratch then I would not mount it to a board like is shown in the manuel but make the area benieth the contact wheel as small as possable to gain more access to the wheel. Last and not least, I have absolutly no experience with any other type of belt grinder. So have nothing to compare it to.

HTH

Regards

G2
 
I have had mine for about a year and a half. Love it. It does very well for me- I have made maybe three dozen knives on it.
The variable speed would be a HUGE plus, and also a small wheel attachment.
Otherwise 100%.
 
Does fine. I use a 5160 platen but still have trouble with the plunge cut??? Practice practice. It's a quick and cheap way to get a 2X72 grinder. I made my 1st one and it cost $400.00
Take care
TJ Smith
PS have had no Problems Knock on wood
 
Darn, I posted this in the wrong place the first time.
Just wanted to let you know that I was looking at grizzley's site the other day and they're reducing that grinder a good bit. Catch is it's not for very long. Look fast and good luck.
take care,
Robert
 
I have used a Grizzley for the last year and made close to 200 knives on it.It has some Tracking issues but for the price you can work that out with practice.
Brad
 
You know I love mine. All it needed was an alan wrench set and an hour or so to get it into trim, and it hasn't given me any tracking problems. I did shape the contact wheel a bit, and eventually glued glass onto the platen when I wanted to flat grind better. The downsides are the horrendous wait I had to go through to recieve it, and the crap shoot on their quality control.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
 
I've got one to. Got it bolted firmly down and only has just a smidgen of vibration to it but just enough vibes to prevent a perfect grind. I've seen a few people here with mods that took all the vibes out of it though. For the money, you cannot beat it with a crowbar. I use it only for profiling and other knife building chores as I have and use a variable speed Wilton Square Wheel for all my grinding. The Griz is an awesome work horse for about $300, I couldn't live in my shop without it. I ordered mine over the phone and was putting it together exactly 4 days later in my shop...... came on a semi truck.
 
I Know This Post Belongs Else Where But The Contact Info On Gary Is Incorrect, Anybody Know How I Can Get In Touch With Him?
Thank You Very Much.
Jeffrey
 
Guy T...

If you do get the Grizzly I have set up a page on my website that shows about how to set it up.

http://eastof29.tripod.com/daqotahforge2/id7.html

The one thing I did wrong was to have the contact wheel over the table. This limits what i can do with the grinder, ..If I had it to do all over again I would bolt the grinder to the table so that the wheel spins over the edge in the air.
 
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