cheap grinder?

H

Hoodoo

Joined
Aug 18, 1999
Messages
2,355
I know this is a pretty dumb question but is there a cheap way to grind a knife? Something easier than filing but cheaper than an expensive belt grinder? Should I try to build my own belt grinder? If so, would a two pulley system be better to start with?

I'm not trying to do anything fancy here, not because I wouldn't want to but because I don't have a lot of spare time to devote to making a knife. But i read an article about a guy who makes knive from lawn edger blades. It looked like a fun project so I spent my $3 for a lawn edger blade and now I need to do some grinding. He did the work with a file. I thought I might try an easier way if I could do it at a moderate price.



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Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
This is the grinder I'm starting out with, $338 shipped:
http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/fcgi-bin/lookup.fcgi/products/lookup.cfg?q=item&kw=G1015

It's backordered right now, so you'll have to wait about a month or more if you want one, but that's the route I'm going. If I wait until I can afford a Bader III, it'll be a year before I can start!

Do a search on this forum for Grizzly and go into any threads with grinder or sander in the title and you'll find a lot of the pros and cons of this grinder. Allen Blade also has a lot of experience with this grinder; his flat grinding and hollow grinding videos are both done on a Grizzly. (See Maker For Sale forum for the videos.)

Ryan

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Hoodoo,

I agree with Ryan. I have had the Grizzly for about four months now and am very pleased. Plenty of HP and it tracks reasonably well. It sure beats files and sandpaper. You will need to do something about the platen, though. I straightened mine by bending and then sanded on my sanding block. I then put about a 1/16" radius on the edges. Also, if you intend to use the rest, you will not want to use the one supplied by the manufacturor. I fabricated one, but since I watched Allen's video I work free hand. Surprisingly, I do a better job this way.
Ryan, I think the hollow grind video is shown with his other grinder. I may be wrong, but that was his plan as I understand it. BTW, I am not sure if one could do a good hollow grind with the Grizzly.
 
If you are looking for a cheaper option. Go get a 4x36 belt sander from Sears or Home Depot. You will surprised what you can get done with these things. This is simply an option that will get you started and allow you to decide if you want to spend the additional money on a larger grinder. This type of sander will run you from $80-$100.

Good luck.
 
Kaos,

I don't know for sure, as I haven't received the video yet, but Allen told me that he was going to be doing the hollow grinding on his Grizzly, and include how to set up the grinder for hollow grinding.

Ryan

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23


 
Originally posted by TLFranklin:
If you are looking for a cheaper option. Go get a 4x36 belt sander from Sears or Home Depot. You will surprised what you can get done with these things. This is simply an option that will get you started and allow you to decide if you want to spend the additional money on a larger grinder. This type of sander will run you from $80-$100.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was wondering about only I didn't want to appear like a complete idiot asking. I once saw the Furniture Guys tip one of these up and use it as a vertical belt grinder.

Can you get the right kind of belts for these to grind metal?

And added advantage of buying this is that I have hardwood floors in my home that are probably due to be sanded.
smile.gif


I have to admit that the grizzly looks pretty good and the price ain't bad. I especially like that fact that you can use it as a buffer as well.


------------------
Hoodoo

The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stone—the light-press’d blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.

Walt Whitman
 
I've got the Craftsman 4x36", 3/4HP. It needed some modification, but it's worked well for me for around a year and a half, and probably three dozen knives and assorted other restoration projects. I'm going with the Grizzly, too, though. I just get bored doing only flat and convex grinds, and it stalls out a lot. I also want more flexibility that comes with the 2" belts. It can do a lot if you're creative, though. Even hollow grinds, but only with a 2" radius, and that's really only good for miniatures.

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Oz

"Violence never settles anything."
Genghis Khan 1162-1227

Check out my egostistical homepage!
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
I started out with a Craftsman 4X36 about 6 or 7 years ago, I ground my first knife on it, but..........
Expect to do an awful lot of hand work. The finest grit belt that I was able to find in this size was 320 grit with a bump at the joint that would wear out a Monroe shock absorber in five minutes! Most belts available for this size belt come in 60, 80 and 120 grit. Can you say "lots of hand work"?

Of these two choices, I would recommend the Grizzly grinder. It is possibly the most "value added" grinder on the market for the price. ALL of the knife supply houses carry belts in the 2 x 72 inch size.

One other option. It you are strictly flat grinding, take a look at the 6 X 48 belt grinders that Grizzly or Harbor Freight carry. By the way, Harbor Freight ships for free! Belts in this size are readily available in numerous grits as well. Check out http://www.trugrit.com

C Wilkins
 
I read C. L. Wilkins post on the limited availability of belts for the 4"x36". Jantz Supply carries these belts from 36 grit up to 600 grit. I got a good deal on a Delta 4"x36" but haven't had a chance to modify the platen for grinding blades yet. Has anyone else tried the Delta. I had origionally thought I would just keep it for woodworking only.-Guy T.
 
It's the same design as the Craftsman. The major mods I did were to glue some 8 ounce leather to the platen and contact wheel, then coat those in graphite. The softened surfaces cut down on that chatter almost completely.

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Oz

"Violence never settles anything."
Genghis Khan 1162-1227

Check out my egostistical homepage!
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Hey Oz, they do look a lot alike but your Craftsman has a bit more power than the Delta which is 1/3 horsepower, hence the hesitation to modify it when it would be great for trueing up flat surfaces on handle materials. Any ideas here on the horsepower question?-Guy T.
 
hello,

they hollow gring GREAT!! if you learn the proper technique for holow grinding on one.

I can Grind Perfect Hollow grinds on my Grizzly with no problems at all,,,,,In FACT i have hollow Ground full sized KATANA sword
Blanks on mine, just ask David Poff!! hehe

In my Hollow Grind Video i Grind one of my
RECON PATROL LEADERS on it, works great!!

BEst machine out there for the money and compared to a few machines better in alot of respects.

Remember its not an Expensive Grinder that makes Great grinds,its the Technique the maker uses to grind.

I also have a BURR-KING with all the Attachments and i grind as good on the Grizzly as i do on it.


my .02

regards, Allen
 
Allen Blade,

You seem to have a lot of experience with the Grizzly grinder. Are the 10" contact wheels that Grizzly has worth getting? What mods have you done to the machine to improve performance?





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John
 
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