Grizzly belt grinder?

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shaving sharp

shaving sharp

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I want to try my hand at making knives. I was a machine shop foreman for 10 years before I went into my current profession so I know my way around shop tools and machines.
I plan on just doing it as a hobby maybe making a couple straight knives a month for myself and friends.
My question is has anyone ever had a Grizzly brand 2X72 belt grinder and if you did do you think it would work well for what I want to do?
I plan on making combat type knives with a bead blast finish so I will not need to use the machine for fine finishing.
 
I have seen the Coote grinder but the cost is the same as the complete Grizzly unit. I think most of my grinding would be flat from the platten.
 
I know one person that owns a Grizzly, and he seems to like it. It's probably the most cost effective option.
 
I have owned a Grizzly for about 15 years. When the first one went out, I immediately ordered a second one. They are a great deal for the money. BTW- I have much more expensive grinders.
 
Ive got a friend that said his fell to pieces in less than a year.But many here like them.I think for weekend projects it would be fine.
 
I've had a Grizzly for 6 years and I still use it for my handle work. I've made a lot of knife with it. I do prefer my KMG for most metal work now, but a Grizzly can be a good way to start.

Another option is the grinder in the box that is sold here on the forums. It's a kit and requires gathering some parts and assembly, but it goes together easily and works really well.

--Nathan
 
Go to USA Knife Makers Supply and have a look at that no weld grinder. The plans to make are cheap and the machine is concidered to be a very good one. With your back ground you should be able to give it an assesment and the construction would be a snap for you. Frank
 
Frank Niro said:
Go to USA Knife Makers Supply and have a look at that no weld grinder.

The plans to make are cheap and the machine is considered to be a very good one.
With your back ground you should be able to give it an assessment and the construction would be a snap for you. Frank
Click to expand...


Same here...

For the price of the grizzly you can use these plans

http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf

to build your own version of one of these.
..has become one of there defacto stds of knife grinders...
I like the modular approach to attachments and tool arms.

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/grinder.html

GO WITH VARIABLE SPEED


Rubber contact wheels here
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/...9.html?zenid=5b88d54dd08403cf7b53d8dee215c12e

*and the NWG plans Frank mentioned too.
 
The main complaints I have heard about the Grizzly are that it is single speed and a bit fast, and that when hollow grinding the motor housing is in the way when grinding one side. The speed is what I find least appealing, it makes it very easy to over-heat a blade when grinding after HT. Tracking is suposedly not as stable as some other machines.
I would suggest the Coote as a better option if you can afford the extra $, based mainly on the ability to accept a small wheel attatchment, which I find to be an important feature. There is no such attatchment for the Grizzly.
 
It's not difficult to get a better machine than the Grizzly.
I got one 12 years ago, and about 11 years ago it became my $400.00 pencil sharpener.
 
I've had one for about 4 months now (I think??) its decent. it needs a tool rest, the one it comes with is junk (I just made one), and I had to do a bit of adjusting to get the tracking wheel to line up with the contact wheel but it seems to work fine now. I only had about $500 to spend so there wasn't much else out there in that price range, the coots still need motors and other doo dads.

eventually I'll probably sell it and upgrade to a kmg but not for a while. I think its fine for a hobbyist, especially because you can run a buffing wheel on the other side. my only gripe is its too fast. I'd really like to get a little 4" wheel or something to slow it down instead of the 10" monster it came with. its great pre HT but I've ruined a blade or 2 overheating it post HT.
 
Do a forum search on "Grizzly Grinder". There are many threads.


I love my grizzly... I use it for all my grinding needs. I trued up the flat platten the third day I had it. I recently cut a portion of the tool base off to let the wheel hang off the table totally unobstructed. A few tweeks here and there.... It's all I need at this point.

It runs fast but I have yet to burn a blade on it.

IMG_0066-2.jpg

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NewForgingArea-1.jpg






Rick
 
I have had One for 8 months. Have ground 35 plus knife blades,profile and all including handles. I have not had any problems at all. The rest is not so good but I don't use a rest, so no big deal to me.
 
It's the only grinder I have right now, (besides my 1x42") I think it's great. I will eventually move up to a KMG for the variable speed and different tooling...and yes, a decent tool rest!
But for the money (I also got mine second hand for
200.00) I've been more than pleased. I use a 10"
wheel, hollows are not a problem. If I was starting over and on a budget, I think I'd still
get one.

Love the idea of removing part of the footprint, I'll definitely be making that modification soon!
 
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