grinders

koyote

koyote

Joined
Mar 29, 2007
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I'm needing a good belt grinder now- ya, ya, I can do it all by hand with some rough grinding on the little 1x30, but I also needs to pick up speed, yknow.

I'm really really debating about what to do within my budget, and it boils down to this:

I can get a bandsaw and buffer and a 1x42, or I can get the grizzly 2x72.

Is it going to be worth the 2x72? Grizzly time?

The jigsaw and sawzall are starting to piss me off. (Of course, there's this bandsaw in my backyard that might be restorable......)
 
Get the Grizz.
You can put a buffing wheel on the left hand side and you'll simply get a LOT more knifemaking accomplished.
You'll still need to upgrade in the future, but if you're going to make knives, you'd better get used to it.
 
Oh, I know all about upgrading, it's a constant :)

I just haven't been a grinder focused person enough - though ordering the abrasives resource belts for the HF 1x30 GSO helped so much that it cut my hand finish time in half or better, if not replacing my draw filing.
 
I just picked up a Grizzly and MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE using the smaller grinders. It's well worth the price. For the cutting try a 4 1/2 grinder with a cut off wheel
 
joesouth said:
I just picked up a Grizzly and MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE using the smaller grinders. It's well worth the price. For the cutting try a 4 1/2 grinder with a cut off wheel
Click to expand...

that s the upgrade 3 weeks ago. from hacksaw to angle grinder. lotsa fun.
 
koyote said:
I'm needing a good belt grinder now- ya, ya, I can do it all by hand with some rough grinding on the little 1x30, but I also needs to pick up speed, yknow.
I can get a bandsaw and buffer and a 1x42, or I can get the grizzly 2x72.

Is it going to be worth the 2x72? Grizzly time?
Click to expand...
The Grizz is a good starting machine. Be aware that it runs twice the speed of light, and you can't slow it down. It runs even faster if you upgrade to a 10" wheel.

I started with a Grizz, and its a darned good machine. I have said this before, and I will say it again........... If you can grind on a Grizz, you can grind on anything.

If you are on a limited budget, the Grizz is the way to go. You will eventually find yourself lusting for a KMG with all the bells and whistles.

Just my 2-cents worth.

Robert
 
Go for the Grizzly. As has already been said, you can buy a buffing wheel on it and get 2 tools for the price of 1. They run a bit fast, but once you get used to it I'm sure you'll do just fine. I keep trying to speed my KMG clone up. I bet most of you guys would freak out if you saw the speed my grinder runs at. :)

-d
 
I'll say something different than all the others hers. Dont get the grizzley.

Save up a little extra for a little longer and get yourself a Coote grinder and some step pulleys. You'll be very very thankfull in the long run.
 
I have some grinder plans when I made my own.... I can help anyone with the kinks. I am not responsible for anyone using them. Also, you can make a knife with a small sander or even a table top sander if you use some glass to true it up from darren ellis. check out my site and shop pics and you will see that I don't just use a 2x72

dpcustomknives.com

for years I used a 1x30 craftsman and still use a 6x42 but I changed all grinders to variable speed (dc and ac)

I didnt like the grizz, tracking sucked for flat grinds but it is great for hollow,,,,, what I spent on it I could have saved and got a KMG or made one like it quicker... I hated always trying to UPGRADE........
 
I say build your own. the NWGS is avery sweet grinder and if i ever decide to get a KMG all my hardware will tranfer over so the KMG will be cheeper. i just order a butt load of belts from tru-grit. there great. 40 belts for 200 bucks.
 
well, upgrading is part of the resistance I've been feeling, but I really need something and saving with a family and a wife in college is SO hard.

I do have the NWG plans from midwest, and I got them in part because of your grinder, Daniel!

The reason I was thinking of getting the grizzly is that I can't quite afford the parts to do the NWG up right (leastways, I think) yet. It's easy enough to get one part at a time later....

As far as I can tell, to have the NWG up and running before xmas would cost right at about $360 without the motor. That's not really that much for what it is, but once you add $200 for a motor I'm out of the ballpark. Maybe I could do it a bit cheaper. But I'm still in the position of not having used a 2x72 at all!

I'd love to hear about belts, too. There's an awful lot of choices and suppliers out there..
 
A C Richards said:
Have you thought about a reversible disc grinder??

Chuck
Click to expand...

I actually love my discs. And that guy from japan! wow!

But no, I'm doing about a third forging these days, and the belt grinder seems to be more useful for both stock removal (which I quite like, actually) and forging (which I'm beginning to like. better tools will help)
 
Get a Grizz and wait 2 years. Then upgrade (if you're still going strong) to a KMG. I have a Grizz and honestly, the Coote is nicer, but save the couple of hundred difference and invest in a Harbor Freight band saw. I've been running my Grizz for a year now and honestly, yes, hands down, a KMG will blow it away. I used one at Ashokan and ground out a blade with some of the worn out belts they had laying around in 1/2 the time it takes on the Grizz. The Grizz will do something very important for you IMO that you won't get from anything else. Control. You will learn (since it runs so damn fast!) how to control your grind, speed and pressure. You will not be able to do hollow grinding easily, though. The motor sits right next to the contact wheel, so unless you grind one side edge up and the other side edge down. I flat grind, so it's not a real issue in my case. For the money, it's well worth it to get you up and running on a 2x72 style. Like I said, after a year or two, upgrade to a KMG though.
 
You can always mount your grizzly on it's side also with the wheel pointing up and grind any blade length you want.
 
Like this, i obviously omiited the belt structure but you get the picture. You can run your blades on the rubber wheel and sideways on the platen, and have the belt setup run along your bench.


l_1ccd3e3eef81bd7cbab66916d110aeaf.jpg
 
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