Ex-
I have the grinder that you're talking about...it's a good, serviceable piece of machinery. I've had no problems with it, since I got it last yule, and it tripled my production ability. With that said, there are a few downsides...
I agree that it would be nice if it was more of an upright configuration. I have mine mounted kinda high (tall workbench is all I have), and on the occasions when I suddenly remember that steel gets awful HOT while grinding (or if I just plain screw up and lose my grip), it flings the piece a good eight or ten feet across the shop. Bummer.
The REAL inconvenience, though, is the lack of a workrest. I'm constantly fiddling with it, trying to jury-rig a part that comes standard on most grinders.
On the plus side, again, though, the platen is easy to adjust or remove, to do slack-belt grinding. Tracking is a breeze, too. One word of advice, though, if you decide to go with this one--get the rubber-covered idler pulley. On tighter radiuses, when I use the small end, it bucks mercilessly every time the belt joint comes 'round. So most all of my grinds are done at the big end. Maybe I'm just a screw-up, and that's the way it's supposed to be, but it'd sure be nice to have rubber at the other end, too!
Overall, this is a good grinder to start with. It does enoug--without deluging you with so many gadgets and whatsits--that you can really focus on learning to grind. Once you've learned, though, you may find yourself wishing it had a few extras that come with slightly higher price tags...
BTW, Grizzly didn't start offering theirs until about four months after I got this...or I probably would've gone that way. Cheaper, and if ya cuss it enough, you can make it work...
Saving up for a Hard Core and heading back out to the shop--See ya!
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Vaya con Queso!!!
