Grinders: belt or stone?

MAURICE

MAURICE

Joined
Jul 14, 2000
Messages
3,278
OK.
i have been sucked in.
would a bench grinder with a stone work for a beginner trying to build some blades?(saw one at wal-mart for 40 bucks..)
or should i spend some money and buy a belt grinder?

advice,please
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You can do it... I did, for a while. Ground a bunch on a little 4X36 sander too. Then I bought a little 2x42 Kalamazoo and fell in love. After working for hours and hours trueing blade flats after grinding on a wheel, or just watching that 4X36 belt go round and round like a snail the kalamazoo with a 1 horse motor seemed like magic!
If I had known then what I know now...I'd of sprung for a belt grinder first even a cheap one like the Kalamazoo. Even if you only end up making knives for a while, the belt grinder will come in handy for projects all the time.
You could even build your own, thats what I'm gonna do.

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A Paladin in Hell
 
Rob, Talk to Max when he gets back from school. Bob Ogg did his grinding on a 10" rock till he passed away. I think it's an excellent way for a newbie to get started. If you keep an eye out on ebay you can get 10-12" diameter by 2" thick grind stones for $20 a pop. As soon as I find another way to sharpen my blades other than the buffer I think I'm gonna set the buffer up with a coarse and medium 10" rock for roughing out and hollow grinding. Just gotta be extremely careful with a grind stone and wear a face shield and hard hat. They do explode sometimes. Never grind brass or aluminum and such on a stone. It embeds in the stone and will cause it to explode.


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Take care!! Michael
jesus.jpg


Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
http://hometown.aol.com/l6steel/cooperknives.html
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
Mo,the gray vitreous clay wheels are the real dangerous ones.If you can,get aluminum oxide wheels.And wear a respirator.

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MIKE
 
The gray vitreous wheels are for wet grinding, IIRC.
I just bought a Prairie wet grinder, 10", w/ trough, belts, pulleys, & motor. Like new for an unbelieveable price at an estate sale!

Instructions included said not to run over 750 rpm........I NEED MORE BENCH SPACE!!!!!!
 
I normally let folks have their say and keep the comments to myself. But, I remember with great alacrity what I went through on my first ten or so blades. I don't really care if a bladesmith/maker, past or present, didn't use this or that equipment. If a fella/lady wants to build knives and has the money to debate between a bench or belt grinder, I say go with the belt grinder.

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A Paladin in Hell
 
Toxic, you have to consider the amount of money the individual has to spend. When you weigh a cheapo belt sander against a good bench grinder, you're going to get alot more use out of the bench grinder. I wish I had known about the big 10" by 2" wheels when I first started. It would have saved alot of head aches. I burned up 2 small belt sanders in 30 days. Eventually, if the maker stays with it, he'll buy or build a 2 by 72 belt grinder.

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Take care!! Michael
jesus.jpg


Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!

My Web Site
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
In Wayne Goddard's Fifty dollar knife shop book it tells you how to make your own stone grinder from a washing machine motor. He also tells you to use a Norton SG wheel he says it cuts steel like the dickens.
 
i graduate this saturday,so the parentals decided to get me a little something...http://www.grizzley.com/fcgi-bin/lookup.fcgi/products/lookup.cfg?q=item&kw=G1090

its got the aluminum oxide wheels,so i dont have to go find 'em.

after i get a job lined up for the summer and some cash in pocket,i'll probably pick up the grizz 2x72
 
Congrats on your graduation MO,good luck in your knifemaking endeavors.Just be careful.

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MIKE
 
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