First 2*72 grinder

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Jun 27, 2016
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I'm looking to buy my first belt grinder, finally done with filing all my life away. I'm budgeting about $500 to $600 bucks. What would you guys recommend, I've looked into a few and the boltdas toobinator and the kadrmaskreactions srg as well as some others on ebay/Amazon etc.
 
If you're not going to build your own, then I'd suggest buying without motor and VFD to save money. Then purchase a new Ironhorse 3 ph motor with a Chinese VFD for $70 or so. REALLY important for variable speed grinder.
 
I recommend filing another year of your life away and affording a 2x72 with vfd.. you will hate but then love this idea, hope you like sour patch kids.
 
If at all possible build your own
You have a decent budget for it
You or a mate to weld and away you go
If not just save a bit more
 
If I had it to do over I would have built a file jig and made a few knives to scratch that itch way earlier. And even though I didn't know anything about them when I bought my grinder I am kicking myself for not getting a TW90. I suppose you could add something like a Grizzly grinder as a intermediate step but I can tell you that at some point you are going to want to do some things and you will wish you had a top quality grinder. I have a Esteem and it's a great grinder but I wish I had horizontal grinding with a better rest arm system. At this point a second grinder is now on my wishlist.
 
I built my own, having the parts waterjet for me. The it was pretty much bolt together. If you want information on a source for a good kit I helped design that ships in a flat rate box, let me know.
 
You can build one for that budget, but anything you could buy for that probably wouldn’t be worth paying for.
This^^^ About the only Machine you can buy for that amount is the Grizzly 2 x 72” belt grinder ... I had one that I ended up with so cheap I couldn’t say no, I sold it to a noob that wanted it ————————They Work, But far from the best!!———-I have the Hardcore & the Wilmont that goes horizontal! Only Cry once! Not every time you use it! Save up more $$$.. Buy the best you can possibly afford! Get a variable speed too!
 
I should probably revise my statement slightly, or at least expand upon it... There ARE chassis you can buy in the $500-$600 dollar range. Most of them will NOT come with a motor, or if some how they do, it won't be much of a motor. At the very least it will be single speed, and probably open frame as well.

You can get some decent bolt together kits here or there. The GIB by Polar Bear Forge is still being offered I believe, for about $275. You have to provide your own wheels and motor, and some nuts and bolts, etc... as well as do a little drilling and tapping, IIRC.
There are a lot of options for wheels on eBay these days for not a lot of money, and you can get a used 3 phase motor and a chinese VFD for less than $200 if you shop around.
The kadrmas grinders don't look terrible, though they're a relatively new company. They do seem to be priced very competitively though. Again, you'll have to add your own motor.
If you have a scrap yard or a fab shop near by, you could probably buy some scrap tube and put a frame together for about $100 to $150. Buying all the steel brand new might take you closer to $200 or $300 by the time you got all the little springs and knobs and whatnot.

As Laurence pointed out, the Grizzly is always an option, though it is single speed and kind of a one trick pony. I'd personally spend the money on a tool arm style grinder that you could expand as you get more into the knife making, or get a few more dollars saved up.

So, long story short, there aren't a lot of options for $600 unless you scrounge and build. Double that budget, and you'll have several options from a number of grinder manufacturers, along with an extra accessory or two. Double it again, and you start to get into some professional machines that will really shorten your learning curve. ;)
 
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