Belt grinders for knife making

J

johnggrg

Joined
Jan 17, 2010
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157
I was wondering who sells an affordable belt grinder that can be used for knife making. From what I read the regular belt sanders are not a good choice for the job. Any suggestions? John
 
Although it can be done with a regular belt sander I agree. At the moment I'm still on the lookout for a better grinder. I've heard there's quite a few that will do decently.
 
The 2X42 grinder from Sear's is a good entry level grinder for about 120 bucks.Is it the best,No but it will let you know if your gonna stay with the hobby or not.I made quite a few knives on one of them and it bought me my KMG.
Stan
 
Thank you for the replies. What about the 4x36 from Harbor Frieght? It looks like they offer 2 differant ones at 89.00. Now I know that is a low ball price but seems almost the same as the sears one. The Grizzly one is a little high in price for me right now. Although it does look nice and is more then likely worth it. Any thoughts? John
 
The Harbor Freight 4x36 is severely under-powered. You can pick up a Craftsman or Delta for not much more. They aren't exactly powerhouses themselves but the HF is so weak as to be useless for grinding metal.
The 2x42 is a better option IMO, it will teach you the basics of grinding on a machine similar to a real knifemaking grinder.
 
I have the 2x42 and its a good little machine. Runs fast as most will tell you but it gets the job done with a light and cautious touch.
 
I wouldn't worry about the 2x42 running fast...you'll get used to it. My 2x48 Multitool runs at 5200sfpm which is fast, but I like it alot and wouldn't want to change anything. These are actually pretty good little grinding machines. Considering I am getting into forging my own blades, I decided to save my money and got myself a real nice anvil instead of a 2x72 grinder. The Multitool was a less expensive machine, but it does everything I need it to do.
 
So the Sears 2x42 would be a good machine to get then? Are the belts easy to aquire in differant grits? John
 
For entry level the 2x42 is not a bad machine. I'm new to the game too but I went through the same process you are with similar questions :). The one thing I would suggest is to put something on the platen before you use it. I used this which was recommended by a few people here. The glass is longer than the platen on it so you'll have to cut it. It can be done with a standard glass cutter or a decent wet tile saw (which is what I used). You can get a decent selection of belts at trugrit.com if you want to check them out. Also there is a sticky that has a rather comprehensive list of basically anything you'll need for supplies with the websites listed. There are a few different abrasive suppliers in there you can check out.
 
You could do the "No weld grinder" I welded mine here are pics it is hard to beat.
 
Also if you wanted to spend a bit more you can consider getting this one made by one of our members http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=675343&page=20. Requires a bit of work on your end you have to do some threading of a few parts I believe. And you also have to get a motor but if you want to read u p on it there are enough pages to get all the info about it. The first 10+ pages or so are about a guy who basically ripped a few guys on here off.
 
Fletch thanks for the reply and information. I went to the link you posted and read the page. I have worked making glass for the past 12 years. 2 things make glass break from heat. 1. it cooled down to fast which is called the anealing process. I have seen large ribbons of glass pop and shatter 2.If there is ANY chip on the edge of the glass it will break when heated(I learned these from running the tempering department) Also it said when grinding glass wear eye protection and gloves but no mention of a dust mask. Inhaling glass dust can cause silicosis or silitosis? It's a form of lung cancer so be carefull. One inprovement you could do is super glue some plastic window screen to the back side of the glass and let dry before JB welding it. This should make it stick to the JB weld better. So if it breaks it will just splinter and stay together long enough to stop the machine and replace it. Even a scratch in glass makes it weak and can break from it under the right circumstances. I would use an emery belt to sand all edges off both sides to this is called seaming the glass. It's what you have to do before tempering any glass. A raw edge will make it shatter when heated. But thank you for the information hope I didn't ramble on to much. I just seen a few safety concerns and some reasons the glass would shatter other then wearing out and thought I would share them. John
 
I have the 2x42 with a ceramic platen attached for over a year and it is still suck on there very well. Others have had them on for way more than that. It is scary to think of it coming loose though..
 
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