good cheap belt grinder?

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Alan Molstad said:
http://grizzly.com/products/G1015
Back when i got my Grizzly, it was $100 less money...

Right now, I dont know if as a new guy I would have made the jump to a 2X72 right away...$400 is a lot of money for a new guy to sink into something he is only just "thinking about"
And the Grizzly is as cheap as you can go for a running setup.

Any 2X72 belt grinder is hard thing to give advice to a new guy about...all of our suggestions require a pile of money....
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Yeah, please don't forget that a lot of us new guys have a pretty strict budget to adhere to. It may seem silly to the pro's, but my little $100 Delta 4" belt/6" disc sander is a start for me. Quite frankly, I don't have a problem spending my first $400 on two such grinders and $200 worth of steel, if it comes down to that. Better than a nice fancy machine and nothing to work with :)
 
Oh, you are going to spend $400.00 no matter what you and I do...Heck, you are going to spend a lot more that $400 before you know it anyway...LOL. thats the way this goes....

The trick is to get the wife to think that this is "her" idea,,,,

Right now I really feel for the new guys starting out and wanting a real grinder but looking at the prices,,,
I got my Grizzly a while ago and it was $290.00,,,,right now it just about $400.00

I dont know, but I just dont think I would have even started this knife making suff had I had to caugh up 400.00 for the "cheapest" 2X72 grinder...thats still a lot of money for me...

The 1X30 starts to look a lot better....
 
I think we're on the same page, Alan, and it's encouraging for guys like me to hear from guys like you.

Lucky for me, my woman is really supportive, and as long as I don't spend the grocery money I can pretty much go for it :D So I'm starting out with what I can, and hoping to work my way up as I learn.
 
One little thing to keep in mind if you plan to use a 1X30 sander at all....(for anything.)

There is a fire danger with them sanders, due to the way dust collects inside the belt cover on the lefthand side.

The belts dump dust in there, and the wood dust can get kinda and inch or so deep.
Then if you switch to grinding a little steel, the sparks get sucked into that nice pile of dry wood dust.....

It happens to me all the time.... I end up looking over at my sander that I stopped useing about an hour ago and seeing some smoke,,,,,
 
Alan Molstad said:
Thinking over this topic...
That 1X30 sander idea is not bad ...

If a young man is only in his teens, then there is no harm is just getting a little 1X30 sander...they are found in many stores in town , and they are able to help a young guy learn how to work the steel...

And a 1X30 sander is a good place to learn if you want to save some money and get the big boy grinders....
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Bingo man, im wanting to get into this, i had though all of those belt grinders were $400, that really put me off. but that one from harbor freight doesnt look too bad. I have alot of stuff from them that works well. I could afford that, but i dont want it to break after 20 mins of work. Anyone else have that 1x30 from harbor freight??
 
The best advice I can give you is to find a maker in your area who can "show you the ropes" and let you try out some different equipment before you sink any money into the never-ending pit that is knifemaking equipment and supply (sure it starts with a 1x30, and before you know it you're living off of mac n cheese because you've lost everything to stabilized woods, etching equipment, cpm stainless, ceramic belts, cobalt drills, and that heat-treat oven that you sold your little sister for). Most, if not all, makers would let you expirement for the cost of the belts and steel (spend $20-30 before you spend $3-400). Personally I've used a 4x36 ryobi ($130 CDN) and a homemade 9" disc grinder (about $300 CDN) for the last two years until my uncle's Bader (1.5hp leeson vfd *drool*) made me break open the wallet and buy a Coote.
 
Alan Molstad said:
Thats the thing...but it's strange , but almost everything a guy wants to try, starts at $350.00 - $400.00 ....
My forge
My welder
My beltgrinder.
My kendo armor
My new speakers .....
My video game
My big-screen TV
My computer
My new washer

The base price for most all such things, is in the same range of $350.00 to $400.00
(Oh and as far as I know, none of such things has an upper-limit to what you can spend on them too)
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WOW, a new computer and a big screen for 400 each, im shopping where you go from now on. Think about Batto-Do in place of Kendo. It does away with the armor and teaches you how to use real swords. =D
Edit: added smiley face as sarcasm was not coming across well in print. no disrespect intended.
 
BigJimSlade said:
WOW, a new computer and a big screen for 400 each, im shopping where you go from now on. .
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$400.00 would be a starting price for the cheapest versions...
You cant expect to pay anything lower than $400.00 for any of the big Boy toys....

As far as I know, any 2X72 belt grinder worth having is not going to be less that $400.00

In a few years, things will go up in price and we will look back at this day and consider ourselves fools for not purchasing stuff while it was so cheap.:)

(Editing note: I had to add the "smiley face" to give my post that extra gibberishness when my natural gibberishness was not coming out in the text alone)
 
I hear yah, it is just all the big screens I see are alot more. But I live in Alaska and we lack the good deal places. That probably added to my shock! :O I was about to get a sears grinder and got a coote, I think it's money well spent already. My TV and computer are losing value as we speak tho :(
 
BigJimSlade said:
I hear yah, it is just all the big screens I see are alot more. But I live in Alaska and we lack the good deal places. That probably added to my shock! :O I was about to get a sears grinder and got a coote, I think it's money well spent already. My TV and computer are losing value as we speak tho :(
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You wouldn't be the same Big Jim Slade from the Golden Heart Shootist Society would you? If so this is Laff-a-lot Louie from the club. I was the membership coordinator before moving back to TN. How's the little one.

Give me an email sometime. Didn't know you were into making knives. It's something I'm just starting.

Later,

Charles
 
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jds009 said:
Bingo man, im wanting to get into this, i had though all of those belt grinders were $400, that really put me off. but that one from harbor freight doesnt look too bad. I have alot of stuff from them that works well. I could afford that, but i dont want it to break after 20 mins of work. Anyone else have that 1x30 from harbor freight??
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I got mine for $28.00 and bought the extended warrenty for a few bucks more. That way, even if I drop it, I can get it repaired/replaced.

I pretty much use it for beveling and light deburring. I haven't explored too much with it. The little thing suffers from "small man's disease" and can be pretty aggresive. Even with the finer belts there can be some nasty scratches.

Who ever said that about lots of dust and fire hazard was right. I haven't had the problem with the Habor freight unit yet, but I had a smoker with my $100+ Ryobi. I learned to clean the chanels in the arm with the shop vac (another important piece of equipment) when I change belts.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

Jim L.
 
The Grizzly (or any decent 2 X 72 grinder) can be used for a lot more than making knives.
They work much better than a bench grinder for anything.
They can be used for woodworking, sharpening, shaping.
So the initial expense is more justifiable if you have other uses for the grinder.
If ALL you want to do is make knives, it may be better to start off with a smaller, cheaper machine.
 
I'll go ahead and give my standard recommendation, if you've already got a couple of basic tools and are pretty good at building things: The NWGS.
A flat platen set up can be had for a bit less than the Grizzly if you source your parts and pieces carefully. The nice thing is that it's expandable upgrade-able as you go along and funds become available.
If put together well, it should rival any entry level grinder for sure.

Now, to be fair, I have changed a few things from what the plans called for to improve the machine, but as the plans come, they're still not bad.

You might also look into the Polar Bear Forge "SLING" grinders.

Just keep in mind, if you build your own, or put together a kit, the most expensive parts will almost always be the wheels and the motor. If you can find a used motor for cheap, that's half the battle. Now days, there are also plenty of good deals to be had on grinder wheels if you search eBay.
 
I was in your position. Bought my grinder at 16, currently 19. I went with a pheer 427. In my opinion, its the best grinder for the cash. I think I paid 600 for the whole thing, direct drive with a VFD. If you are serious, there is no reason to play around with tiny machines. The Pheer is a great machine, and an amazing deal.
 
I just bought a Pheer 427.
They are quite a bit more expensive now.
Mine was over $1500.
 
I think you would be hard pressed to build /buy a grinder for less than $400.
I built mine myself, and I spent a little over $500 with motor. I also had a lot of hardware laying around the house, so I have my doubts as to if it can be done less than $400.
 
There are some cost breakdowns on this site for the NWGS in various configuration:
http://www.mickleyknives.com/No-Weld-Grinder/no-weld-grinder.html

"Plans and a minimal build, used motor, single attachment flat platen, tool table rest, frugal approach =$285 to $325"

Now I understand this was last updated about 8 or 10 years back, but prices shouldn't be too far off for used, and there are more options out there for wheels and motors than there used to be.

If you scrounge for the steel, I'd estimate you could get it for about $45 to $50. A used motor, maybe another $50 to $75. Wheels can be found on eBay for $75 to $110 or so, and then there's maybe another $100 for misc wiring, pillow blocks, a spring, etc...

You could start out direct drive, single speed and save a little more money initially. Upgrade to a step pulley and belt down the road, or even a VFD. Welding parts could save even a little more yet. Make your own knobs out of threaded rod and some scrap, more savings yet.

Just throwing out some ideas. Now whether or not this will amount to anything worth using will depend on the builder. ;)
 
LucaM said:
Any one know a good belt sander for knife making, around 300 bucks?
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craftsman 1/3hp 4x36 works well. 4x36 is used for lapidary and metallurgical labs so there is a wide selection of belts available. expect to spend about $150. had mine about 5 years, squeals a bit but still works. get one, spend about $100 on belts, glue a 4x4 ceramic tile to the platen, and off you go. go to ebay and shop. you aren't going to find a 2x72 for $300.
scott
 
Polar bear forge has some economical options. You need a drive wheel and tracking wheel, but the two wheels at the platen can be longboard wheels. I used them on my old grinder for two years. I even used the longboard wheels as contact wheels.
 
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