Frink Grinder

J

John Frankl

Joined
Oct 16, 2001
Messages
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I just read that Rob Simonich was wanting a Frink. I will eventually be buying a grinder and am wondering how people would compare the Frink, Hardcore, and Bader B3.

Any and all comments welcome,

John
 
I have one of Rob's grinders and it's great. It tracks smooth and is as stout as it can be made. I put a variable speed 1&1/2hp from Tru-Grit on and it has plenty of power. Do make sure you get a variable motor, even if it means waiting.

Rob has several options you can get for his grinder and if he doesn't currently have one, ask him and he'll probably make one for you. These aren't all listed on his web site. Take this into account when you decide.
 
Thanks. That's the exact motor I'll be getting regardless of grinder. What is the platen like on the Frink? I forge and flat grind primarily. I have only worked with Baders but I really don't like the lack of access to the left side of the platen, and the fact that the left side is a right angle while the right is radiused, etc.
John
 
well frist i had the coote and then the hardcore love them both. rob is working on a beveled disc for me and one of these days i will have afrink grinder in my shop as well, even mr. frink has marveled at the hard core, and so do i www.trugrit.com to take a look. but i dought that you would be unhappy with frink.
 
My Frink grinder arrived two days ago. It is quite a machine. It seems a lot more heavy duty than the Wilton which is the only other commercial grinder that I have had access to. The design is much smarter as well. You can tell that Rob has put a lot of effort into making the design as simple as possible at the same time using very high quality components. His workmanship is excellent. We're talking heirloom grinder here even if you use it every day for the rest of your life.

My memory might be a little hazy but I think the platen is either 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick steel and is replaceable. The edges are fairly square but you could shape them to whatever you wanted them to be. I had Rob slot the platen mount so that I can have infinite angle control between 45 and 90 degrees. He says he's going to do all his future grinders this way.

I got two extra tooling arms so that I can change from 10" wheel to platen to small wheel without tools, and two workrests so that I don't have to keep bolting unbolting those. I'm going to run a 1 horse motor with pulleys until I can get the variable speed this winter.

I'm about to test it out this morning so I'll report in my impressions of tracking etc, later today.
 
I have one of Rob's grinders and am very pleased with it. He has lots of options and is always trying to improve his machine and accesories. It is a super heavy duty grinder and is machined very well. He has been great to work with and always answers questions promptly. I purchased the 10 inch model with the flat platen and small wheel adapter block. I also purchased a tool arm for each tool so I don't have to unbolt each time. I mounted a 3 H.P. Allen Bradley Variable speed motor that Jonesy sells and have power to spare. I would buy Rob's grinder if I had it to do over again. Nice machine.

Shawn
 
I've been kicking around the idea of a new grinder, and never even though about this model. I spent the last few minutes looking at it (on the web), and really like the idea of getting the grinder I want, with the options I want. The only thing I can mention that I saw as a negative was the small wheel arm (the one without the fork), extends out past the surface of the small contact wheel, and could only be used if a blade was held vertical. Otherwise this looks like it would be a gem of a grinder. Not having a motor is a plus in my book, as a man can equip it with whatever option he/she desires, and still have less money, and more options than a grinder that comes motor equipped. There is one other option I think I'll talk to Rob about when I call. That being to see if the platen can be ordered with a radius slot for the second attachment bolt. That way it could be rotated 90 degrees either way from center to allow for work on either the upper or lower wheel (my thought is to order it with a 3" contact wheel on the bottom of the platen, and 1 1/2" on top.
For those who haven't guessed yet, I own a square wheel, and have been spoiled over the years by the ease of change over. This grinder looks to be about the beefiest model out there!
 
Ed, I did have Rob slot that second attachment point for the platen and so it gives me a range of 45 degrees to 90 degrees that I can tilt the platen to. You could slot it in the other direction as well and end up with what you're talking about I think. Talk to Rob, he's very accomodating and open to suggestions.

I didn't have any 72" belts to test out my new machine with since they won't be arriving until Monday, but in the meantime I couldn't wait. SO I spliced two 36" belts together and epoxied them to each other. Other than the two overlapped joints thumping away I was able to test the tracking and general operation. The belts and tooling arms change like a dream. The tracking is very easy to control and is quite responsive. I like the fact that no tools are required for most of the operations. Very impressive and well built machine indeed.:)
 
Originally posted by John Frankl
Thanks. That's the exact motor I'll be getting regardless of grinder. What is the platen like on the Frink? I forge and flat grind primarily. I have only worked with Baders but I really don't like the lack of access to the left side of the platen, and the fact that the left side is a right angle while the right is radiused, etc.
John
Click to expand...

The platen plate is 2"x8" and replaceable. It is mounted via angle iron that has some allowance in the mounting slots to allow about an inch of clearance on the left side for flat grinding. Plenty of room.


Now for Ed:
You are correct about the small wheel setup. A 1&1/2" wheel will extend past the wheel fork. Anything smaller will not. I have replaced the aluminum idler wheels with contact wheels and use them constantly but did not slot the platen.
 
I'm happy to see all this discussion.

Peter, I am in Cambridge. Would it be possible to contact you off list to set up a time when I might see the machine in person? It would make my eventual decision much easier.

Thanks,

John Frankl
 
I got a KMG 1 about 5 months ago,I thnks it's a great machine,it runs smooth and tracks great.I just got the basic model,even with only 1 tooling bar it takes less than a minute to switch from the contact wheel to the flat platten.The only bad thing is he keeps adding new options for it so my want list just keeps growing.Oh and by the way Rob is a great guy to deal with,promt,professional and stands behind his work 110%.
 
John, Of course, you are more than welcome to drive out here to my shop. I'm 5 minutes north of Amherst, so it's probably a two hour drive for you. I'm self employed and my hours are flexible but weekends are obviously best.
 
Peter,
Thanks. I'm in CA now visiting family but will be back on the 15th. I'll get in touch then.
John
 
I am a novice, so I can't compare it to anything.

I bought my KMG-1 for two reasons - it is built life a tank and it is versatile. Oh, I remembered another reason - it's affordable.

I have bolted the grinder to a piece of plywood, which is in turn bolted to my tablesaw top. I then use the motor on the table saw, which is on a hinge system. I use a 1.5 inch pulley on the motor, and have a four step pulley that I think is 1.5, 2, 3 and 4inches. I also use an additional single 6 inch pulley for "fine" work.

Rob always answers my e-mails promptly.

Here's a drawing:
grinder.gif
 
Kevin;

I've been luking here for a long, long time but never posted. But, your table saw idea is so neat I just had to say...Wow I wish I woulda thought of that! I'm going down to the basement right now to look at my saw!

Don
 
Great idea Kevin!

I've been thinking along similar lines, but using my Shopsmith instead of a table saw. Built in variable speed motor, and with the coupler device, no belts or pulleys to dink with!

With the speed reducer (which I amazingly already have) it'll go all the way down to 100 rpm.

Gotta love that. ;)
 
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