Esteem Grinder Setup w/pics

TLR

TLR

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 5, 1998
Messages
1,574
Well I had started a thread a couple of weeks ago about my excitement over my grinder order. Several had asked for pics once it was set up so now that I have some time I thought I'd get back to it. Below are some pics of it along with some thoughts.

The boxes came in from Oregon even quicker then I expected. My mailman now hates me but they were packaged very well.
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Everything inside was well wrapped and I have to say that Brett's packing job was thorough and really made me feel like he cared about what he was shipping me.
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All the parts laid out
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All the pieces together. The VFD came in a day later so no VFD in these pics.
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I was very impressed with the quality of machining, welds and the tolerances of this set up. Brett is putting out a quality piece of machinery. He had told me that he sets each one up and tests them to make sure everything works correctly. The frame and pieces of the grinder showed some marring in the finish where it had been previously assembled however none of the hardware showed any signs of previous use and the marring is not visible once the machine is together.
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His attachments show the same level of detail and craftsmanship as the machine. Below is the tool rest and his double small wheel attachment.
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The VFD came in the next day and I got it wired up and plugged in within 10 minutes.
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I ran the grinder for about an hour profiling out some blanks and I have to say that coming from my 2x42 I'm in heaven. I have not spent time on any other 2x72 machine so take the following with that grain of salt.

I'm really impressed with this grinder. It runs smoothly and the direct drive setup makes for a very quiet grinder. The tracking, with the little use I have so far put it through, is very stable and gives a very fine level of control. The knobs and adjustments are easy to use and very quick to adjust.

I had also purchased a 2" rubber wheel for the top of the platen and a 5/8" & 1" small wheels for the small wheel attachment. I just got the glass on the platen last night after having a friend weld on a small ledge. I look forward to using that in coming days.

Brett was fantastic to work with and I enjoyed speaking with him on several occasions. I wouldn't hesitate to order from him again.

Let me know if there are any questions I can cover. Being a newer grinder I had a hard time finding much information on the Esteem before I ordered mine. I hope this can become a resource for any one who might want to consider this grinder in the future.
 
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Looks good. His grinder was on my short list when I was in the market for a new one. So im happy for you and I hope you get years of use out of it.
 
12345678910 said:
thanks very much, all angles if you can.

Mostly I'm curious how he mounts the wheels.
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There are two bolts that hold each side of the assembly together. When you unscrew one side of the assembly then you can put the wheels in and it's just a matter of tightening back down the torx cap head bolts. I'll take pics tomorrow though and put them up late in the afternoon.
 
For those of you who asked for pics of the small wheel attachment and tool rest-

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Mitchell Knives said:
Looks great. Too bad it doesn't come assembled.
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Cheaper to ship I would assume. Truthfully it wasn't hard to assemble. I will say that one thing that was nice with this over a KMG is that almost all the wiring of the motor and vfd was done. Just had to use three supplied wire nuts to connect the VFD to the motor and screw the plate back on to plug in and go.
 
It looks as if there are two azel sizes on that bader style small wheel forks

what axel sizes are they ?
 
Since the bader small wheels have the bearings under the rubber, how would you change out the bearings I'd needed. Send back to bader?
 
PT Doc said:
Since the bader small wheels have the bearings under the rubber, how would you change out the bearings I'd needed. Send back to bader?
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It's a press fit into a super thin Al housing under the rubber.

Push the shaft out with a punch or small press

Then punch or press the bearings,


It's not hard, not a super hard press fit.
 
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