I think that im going to get the craftsmen 2 by 42 inch one. I was wondering if the platen can be taken off? like the harbor freight 1 inch one .I want o be able to do convex edges. I had thought the craftsmen was discontinued, atleast thats what the sales guy said. now i find it on sears.com. Im going to get that, and probely get 1200 grit 1 inch belts
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
craftsmen 2 by 42 grinder?
- Thread starter nc527
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 4,076
Yup, the platen can be easily removed. Or adjusted away from the belt to make room for a ceramic or hardened-steel platen. (I really need to do that.)
I took the side cover off and cut away the upper guard; this allows me to use the slack portion of the belt between the upper idler roller and the platen, for convex bevels/edges. And use the upper idler as a contact wheel for rough grinding (profiles, mainly). The disk sander part runs reasonably true.
It's a good starter grinder, in my opinion. Far better than the 4x36 I started with. I got mine on sale for about $100. Shop around locally; I've seen Delta and Harbor Freight grinders that appear to be the same machine with different paint/labels. I intend to use mine until it burns out or I can afford a KMG/Bader etc.
Folks here recommend buying better belts than what's available at Sears or HF. TruGrit has a pretty decent selection.
I've read that the cost of the name-brand belts is more than offset by the fact that they cut better and last longer.
It runs pretty fast; not so good for wood (tends to scorch it) or finer grits (easy to make a goof real quick).
Have fun!
I took the side cover off and cut away the upper guard; this allows me to use the slack portion of the belt between the upper idler roller and the platen, for convex bevels/edges. And use the upper idler as a contact wheel for rough grinding (profiles, mainly). The disk sander part runs reasonably true.
It's a good starter grinder, in my opinion. Far better than the 4x36 I started with. I got mine on sale for about $100. Shop around locally; I've seen Delta and Harbor Freight grinders that appear to be the same machine with different paint/labels. I intend to use mine until it burns out or I can afford a KMG/Bader etc.
Folks here recommend buying better belts than what's available at Sears or HF. TruGrit has a pretty decent selection.
I've read that the cost of the name-brand belts is more than offset by the fact that they cut better and last longer.
It runs pretty fast; not so good for wood (tends to scorch it) or finer grits (easy to make a goof real quick).
Have fun!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 4,076
Shop around for the 2" model. You won't regret it.
James pretty much nailed it. It is best available online, and they'll ship it to your local store. I haven't taken off quite as much of mine as James has, but you can toss 90% of the stuff around the belt. Trugrit for the belts. Get some 36, 50, and 120 norton ceramic, and a 160 and 400 gator, and some klingspor 220's and you'll be good to go.
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2008
- Messages
- 3,415
Here is how I attached a ceramic plate on my 2x42 and it is still going strong.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=599568
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=599568
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2007
- Messages
- 1,380
I've never seen a Sears store carry the grinder. You should be able to have the .com ship it to your local store for pick-up.
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 4,076
I must be spoiled; I got mine at the Sears in the mall downtown. No matter though, the website says they'll send one to your local outlet for pickup.
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2007
- Messages
- 2,738
....that's how I got mine......
Question, is the slack on these when the platen is backed off, good enough for a full convex grind, or should the belt be a bit firmer?
oops.....James, I think you may have answered my question in your post #2 of this thread.
Any chance of a picture of what the guard that you cut away looks like now?
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 4,076
The slack portion between the platen and contact wheel works fine for a mild full-convex. YMMV depending on the belts you use. Removing the platen completely might make it too floppy. I don't know, try it. 
I can't upload pics right now, but I'll try to describe it without confusing myself...
First, I removed the side plate completely. It's just held on by 2 thumbscrews.
I used a Dremel with a fiber cut-off wheel. Two cuts: 1 running parallel to the belt path, about 1/4" to the left of the contact wheel. The other cut is perpendicular to the belt path, at about the 1 o'clock position as you look at the contact wheel from the side. The cut-off wheel was a little too wide to get the cuts to meet without digging past where I wanted them to be, so I just got them as close as I could and broke the remaining 1/8" or so by hand. I suppose you could drill a 1/4" hole in that corner, cut towards the hole and it would look better. You could also cut more of the guard away, say back to the 3 o'clock position, but that didn't seem necessary.
That's it. It almost takes longer to describe than to do it. Just be careful not to slip and put a big ding in the contact wheel, that would be a drag.
The contact wheel works much faster than the platen for profiling, and saves wear and tear on the platen as well.
Two things I forgot to put in the diagram: I removed the handle on top because it was getting in the way. You can just grab the round thingy with your hand to take tension off for changing belts. I took the table off the belt portion and just use the disc sander or my "calibrated eyeball" for squaring things.
I mounted mine on the very right end of my bench, so the belt portion hangs over the edge. With a bucket of water under it. This saves a lot of cleanup time and helps prevent setting things on fire.
I can't upload pics right now, but I'll try to describe it without confusing myself...
First, I removed the side plate completely. It's just held on by 2 thumbscrews.
I used a Dremel with a fiber cut-off wheel. Two cuts: 1 running parallel to the belt path, about 1/4" to the left of the contact wheel. The other cut is perpendicular to the belt path, at about the 1 o'clock position as you look at the contact wheel from the side. The cut-off wheel was a little too wide to get the cuts to meet without digging past where I wanted them to be, so I just got them as close as I could and broke the remaining 1/8" or so by hand. I suppose you could drill a 1/4" hole in that corner, cut towards the hole and it would look better. You could also cut more of the guard away, say back to the 3 o'clock position, but that didn't seem necessary.
That's it. It almost takes longer to describe than to do it. Just be careful not to slip and put a big ding in the contact wheel, that would be a drag.
The contact wheel works much faster than the platen for profiling, and saves wear and tear on the platen as well.
Two things I forgot to put in the diagram: I removed the handle on top because it was getting in the way. You can just grab the round thingy with your hand to take tension off for changing belts. I took the table off the belt portion and just use the disc sander or my "calibrated eyeball" for squaring things.
I mounted mine on the very right end of my bench, so the belt portion hangs over the edge. With a bucket of water under it. This saves a lot of cleanup time and helps prevent setting things on fire.
Attachments
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 4,076
No problem, bud! I hope I helped in some small way.