Buying a custom Grinder, anything I should add ?Visited a true Bladesmith (pics)

duffy99

duffy99

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Apr 2, 2011
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I've already got a bunch of interest in my knives just from that first one I finished , the maker is away for 2 weeks but I'm seriously considering getting him to build me one . I could probably get him to throw in some extra attachments and hopefully a 8 or 10" contact wheel. I'll have $1400 by then and it probably takes awhile for him to build it. I'm going to get a 2x72 sooner or later and sooner means faster , longer belt life and full selection , the ability to do all kinds of grinds. Is this grinder worth it ?

So I went and visited a man by the name of Clare Broeksma who was nice enough to show me his shop and the grinder he builds . It's $1400 and the specs are :
1 1/2 HP baldor motor , 2x72 , variable speed(4) with infinite tracking . He's been making knives for over 20 years and showed me some of his damascus bowie's and some folders he has made . The guy makes everything and pretty much has everything in his garage a knifemaker could want . power hammer ,forge , 2 grinders , presses , disc grinder , heat treat oven , the list goes on and on . He was nice enough to give me a bunch of fittings and tubing for my mini- forge to run off bbq size propane tanks . That first blade I made is turning into my signal to show to get free stuff. Here is some pics of the grinder and shop I took.





















It was pretty cool to talk knives and see all his toys I mean tools .
 
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awesome! i would love to go spend some time with an experienced maker like that!

jake
 
Cool post with some great pics. The guy is definitely a rigger. I really like the KMG clone with what loks like 4" square tube and some other great problem solving. Thanks for posting!
 
BMK said:
Cool post with some great pics. The guy is definitely a rigger. I really like the KMG clone with what loks like 4" square tube and some other great problem solving. Thanks for posting!
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Ya he had all kinds of jigs and a 10" contact wheel for the grinder to and other self made tools and presses , he does his own damascus, stabilizes burl and everything else .
 
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Being in Canada kinda limits my options for grinders and this is locally made . If there is anything it should really have I could probably get him to make it in the build. Open for thoughts on buying and extra's to ask for ?
 
I would buy it in a heartbeat..... great price for what looks like a good machine. I want that little power hammer!
 
Like you said, whether its now or later you'll buy one.. so why not give a local the business.. I'd do it in a heartbeat....

besides the obvious, this guy could school you along the way and that alone is worth buying the grinder or whatever else he makes :D

the only thing you left out of this thread are picture of his knives !!!!! :)
 
Well I've pretty much made up my mind to get it when he gets back, just needed is some positive reinforcement to spend $1400 and then another $300 on belts
 
Buy it! The motor with VFD is well over half the cost and a 10" wheel to boot is just icing on the cake.
 
Looks good to me, and the chance to have someone mentor you is priceless: thinking of your first knife as a means to acquire things for free not so much.
 
Me showing him that knife showed that I actually put time and effort into knifemaking, I showed him pics of my shop too. Is there any attachments or things to add to the grinder that I should ask for since it's being built ground up so I could get them added. I promise to stop making threads for awhile asking questions and just put pics in the gallery after this . But since I have the opportunity is there anything you would love a 2x72 grinder to have that I should ask for?
 
duffy99 said:
Me showing him that knife showed that I actually put time and effort into knifemaking, I showed him pics of my shop too. Is there any attachments or things to add to the grinder that I should ask for since it's being built ground up so I could get them added. I promise to stop making threads for awhile asking questions and just put pics in the gallery after this . But since I have the opportunity is there anything you would love a 2x72 grinder to have that I should ask for?
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have it swing 45* on hinge to make horizontal.. :)
 
The Square wheel comes off and a 8 or 10 can be put in it's place . He's built them with a variable speed controller box so I could get that instead of the pulley system. I can ask about getting it to go 90 with a 8 or 10 contact wheel . We'll just have to engineer it into the design. These are great suggestions keep them coming.
 
I'm heading out there to talk knives and my grinder tomorrow , the pulley system works for 4 speeds , a VFD might up the cost and the contact wheel is going to be $225 on top. I'm thinking to stick with the pulley system he uses , also should I get a 8" or 10" contact wheel?


The wheels are being custom made by a guy in Saskatchewan where I grew up. I want to add it so that when the square wheel with platen comes off I can mount a 8 or 10" on ( depending which size you guys think is best) and have it go 90 degree's or close with a 1" ( or what would be better) contact wheel on top. Also I'm hoping the work rest and attachments are included , Is the VFD box really worth it to control the speeds? I'm putting a lot of cash into this so I want it as good as I can and to be a good fit for me . I blew the cost of this and more by going to G3 and Vegas over the weekend but am prepared to be poor and eat ichiban/ramam for a few months to catch up.Also it's going to take 2 months to build which is a real bummer to me as I was hoping it'd be under a month. Thanks in advance on anything I'm missing , thoughts and the size of wheels/ VFD.

Oh and I'll bring my camera and hopefully remember to take some pics of his knives.

Fraser
 
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I think a VFD helped me by leaps and bounds

I wish I had it upfront, because you need a 3 phase motor, so an upgrade is not only the VFD, but a different motor too.

You can find 3 phase motors pretty cheaply though.
 
After having spent 2 days at Chuck Richards' shop and doing a little bit of grinding on his 2"x72" and watching him grind a blade on his disc I'm twice as convinced that VFD's are the way to go...I'd by a VFD from Wayne Coe http://www.waynecoeartistblacksmith.com/ like Unky Gumby did and find a 3Ph motor locally, or, get the motor from Wayne too... That's what I did. I also have a motor coming from him for my Disc Grinder. I bought the Nielsen Hub system for my disc too....
I'd say get the 10" wheel...
 
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