Beaumont KMG

S

sdemars

Joined
Dec 22, 2009
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156
Hello to all:

Looking for advice on tweaking my newly acquired Beaumont KMG.:)

Anyone have any input as to going with a pneumatic cylinder vs. the stock spring, or does the horizontal operating position suggested by Bob work well for tracking?

I realize that a lot of the time I will be using it as a deburring machine for my shop and not changing belts as often as some of you would when making knives. My initial knife making will probably be limited to simple edged tools for my other hobbies.

Suggestions also sought for protection of the metal surfaces on the grinder. I am thinking paint or powder coat is overkill, but then a oil based product would attract and hold grinder dust?

When assembling the grinder is there any particular order that should be followed, or just bolt it up? I am assuming just start at the bottom and go up.

Also looking for any tweaks you guys have found added value to the grinder.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions . . .
Steve
 
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If rust is going to be a problem you should prime and paint your grinder. I have seen KMG that are covered in rust.

There are some great paints out there that are very tough. Probably a good choice.
 
That thread posted above is great one. I used the 20 lb spring from mcmaster carr. It has worked great so far. I hear others talk about using 30 and 40 lb springs too. I wonder what if any effect higher tension has on belt life? I did not paint mine and there is surface rust. Doesnt bother me. I just spray the slide area with wd-40. IT is a fun machine, good luck with it.
 
I been running a KMG for almost 2 years . I never painted it . It will rust. I just spray it every now and then with some silicone spray . It is a very solid machine with no wobble and it tracks perfect. I have had other grinders that didn't track well so I have a little experience with bad tracking. As far as setting up the VFD you have to put in the on off switch . I don't know if you have 220 but if you are running it on regular power you will have to flip the switch in the VFD . I looked for my directions on set up but could not find then. As far as the bearings are concerned . Why waste your time switching them out. I run my grinder everyday for long stretches and have never felt the need to replace them.

You should invest in another tooling arm or make one for the small wheel attachment . You may also want to change out one of the aluminum wheels with a rubber one. small wheels are critical get several sizes if you have the money.
 
Have another tooling arm, steel . . . . have a 2" rubber contact wheel I plan to mount at the bottom of the platen attachment.

Thank you . . .
Steve
 
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Thank you . . . thank you . . .

After doing my home work & speaking to purchasing agent buddy of mine I have learned that the bearings used by Beaumont, even though off shore in origin, meet or exceed Exxon requirements for service intended. So I guess I'll keep them . . . Besides equal USA Made bearings are $45.00 each and have lower rated weight capacities.
 
PT Doc said:
Sounds like the KMG is not so bad after all? ;)
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No, just came in from shop after working on my KMG. :-) My original thread went downhill faster than a runaway roller coaster . . . never met for it to go that way . .

My neighbor who runs a rather large machine shop came over this afternoon and listened to my "wine & cheese" story, looked at my grinder and informed me that expecting a machine shop to act like a factory was not realistic. He said if you want finished parts from a utility standpoint, thats one thing but expecting a machine shop to deliver "pretty" and assembled ready for use was asking much. Ballpark figure he gave me for cutting, machining, drilling and tapping was $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 + material and that the parts would be flat stacked, not assembled.

I have requested the original KMG thread I started be removed.

Steve
 
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Several people have suggested using a gas piston in place of the stock spring on the KMG and they suggest 20lb or 40lb gas pistons sold by Mcmaster Carr. I concur but after having tried the 20 and the 40 lb piston I have settled on the 30lb pressure. Another mod not mentioned but important to me was switching the 1 inch tracking knob to a 1 1/2 inch zinc plated knob from McMaster Carr. much easier to adjust and use a spring on it that will keep it from moving. Lastly, I am absolutely sold on making my own tool arms from aircraft aluminum. They hold up great and instead of weighing 13.5 lbs they weigh about 3 lbs. I wore out the tracking wheel on my KMG so I bought a custom made 4 inch crowned tracking wheel of Ebay made by a man in Utah who lists his Ebay name as Jackstraw. I was so impressed with the wheel that I ordered a second on to put on the shelf for the next couple years wear and tear. All of my wheels are secured by stainless steel allthread with "Nylock' nuts on the outside and 1/2-13 threaded hole in the toolbar. I also paid a local machinist to make a 4 3/8 lightly crowned drive wheel with (6) inch holes drilled in it to lighten it. My KMG will run at a maximum of 3950 SFM. The only other grindr I might use is a horizontal one and I am thinking it would be fun to build a Polar Bear forge grinder kit and mount it to tip horizontal . I have just about every optional attachment that Beaumont makes and I use them all except the slack belt attachment for some reason. I love the KMG grinder and do not want anything else at this point.
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The KMG is a great grinder. Are there better machines out there, yes. I bought a Burr King at Blade Show and it is a Cadillac for sure, but it doesn't get used much. Its too finikey to change the accessories. I do love the small wheel feature on it better than the KMG. But they don't even sell a rotary platen, which is where I do most of my work. If I ever set up a home shop, it'll go there.

Here is where the KMG is a standout. You paid $2500 for this one. But if you wanted to add a 2nd you can do that for under a grand. Once you get used to running two machines simultaneously, its hard to beat. I have 4 KMG's on a bench, and I'm usually using two. Two more are being used by other folks. The Burr King generally sits unused. My total expenditure for all 4 KMG's was well under 6 grand. That is a lot of machine for the $. In addition, these machines get run ALL day. The only thing I've had to replace was the aluminum wheels and ocassionally, bearings.
 
my KMG is "rust browned" and i think it looks great i too think i will be adding another chassis to my bench since i have 4 tooling arms and a spare motor it will not cost much. gret grinder for those that need it for work
 
Couple of things I learned on mine in the pat 5.5 years. Steel tubing works perfectly fine for tooling arms. It is cheap and you can have one for each accessory you will purchase. I have had zero issues with the tubing arms in 5 years.

The pulley belt will stretch, slowly. I thought my KMG was less powerful than I had remembered but attributed it to just using more force to grind than when I was new. Turns out pulling the motor back about a half inch after 4 years returned all that power I had remembered. Kind of embarrassing actually.

I did not bother to paint it and am fine with the slight oxidation. If that changed for some reason, it would take only a few minutes to blow it off with the compressor and rattle can it.
 
Painted mine with green hammer tone Rust-O-leum. looks great. I've had mine for 8-9
years, make knives and do commercial sharpening. The KMG is bulletproof. It's also
easy to modify to suit your particular needs. The one change I contemplate is to convert
it to direct drive. The 3 ph variable speed is wonderful, but I hate the pulleys in-between.

Bearings still good, but the idler wheel has lost some of its crown. Other than that, no
problems.

Bill
 
AVigil said:
If rust is going to be a problem you should prime and paint your grinder. I have seen KMG that are covered in rust.

There are some great paints out there that are very tough. Probably a good choice.
Click to expand...

I wish I had done this before I assembled mine. All top surfaces are covered in a thick, dusty layer of rust. It gets everywhere.
 
xx fine steel wool and a bit of Wd40 cleans mine up with ought stripping the browning thn leave it dry an vac it off monthly
 
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