Grizzly grinder

fastcamo

fastcamo

Joined
Nov 26, 2006
Messages
444
Hello, i just placed an order for a Grizzly 2 x 72 grinder with the 10" wheel
i know i know its not the burrking or wilson or the new dream machines available, but with todays bills this is what i got, what i need to know is like alot of machines, what can i do or to put it simple is there any tips or tricks for the grizzly to make it run smoother, grind better or add-ons that some one made or any of you know about? by the way ive seen some of the knifes you guys have made and their all very beautiful! ive read alot of your guys tips for a little while and love everyone of them, this one i really do some some help with
 
From what I have heard the platen needs to be replaced with a stiffer platen. Besides that I have no clue never used one.
 
I love my Grizzly...
There are a few suggestions I could give you as you set yours up.

One of the best things I could tell you is to try to find a way to mount the grizzly so that both the 10 inch contact wheel, and the buffer , both hang out over the edge in space .

If you can find a way to have nothing underneath the 10 inch wheel you will be so much better off later on.

This means that you must try to find a way to have the main motor bolted down to some type of table or work bench, but that you still can have no bench under the wheel or the buffer.

trust me, allowing some free space under the wheel can REALLY help,,,and free space under the buffer is the only safe way to go.
 
down the line in the future, you will need to fix or replace the platen.
The one the grizzly comes with has a limited lifespan before it starts to show some up and downs in it's face.

Many people talk about using glass that they just glue to the platen.
I still use the Platen the way it came , but I have had to grind it flat 2 times.
 
The Grizzly has a weird way that you put the Contact wheel on by.
They tell you to push it into position, but I had to hammer it on, and it went on so hard that I have never considered a change of wheel size.

Also, the Grizzly came to me with a sanding belt, and thats fun as I made my first knife within an hour of the grizzle being dropped off at my house.
However, the belt was an odd size and this means that when i got the correct belts I had to do that tricky lining-up of the wheels an extra time.

It did take a few attempts to get the wheels, and the platen all in the correct line, but it was not that hard to do.

HOWEVER,,,,,once I got the thing mounted in the right spot, and the tracking correct, I have Never had even the smallest problems with it...it's runs good and is easy to change belts on fast.
 
I've a few questions about the grizzly grinder as well, I'm in the market for a belt grinder, but my budget is very very tight right now.

From the images they have of the grinder

http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/pics/jpeg500/g/g1015.jpg

it would appear that the whole belt assembly would be able to be kept detached if you were to attach another drive shaft through the center of the contact wheel. Then you'd be able to attach step pullies to the motor and the grinder to get some variable speed out of it rather than just one speed. Can anyone who owns one let me know if this is actually feasible?

I'm trying to end up with the best grinder i can without breaking the bank at this point, and being able to modify the grizzly heavily would give it more bang for the buck.

EDIT: Along the same lines, knowing that the grizzly grinder is only 1HP, would I be better off with a cheap TEFC 1HP motor (~100 bucks) and the minimal coote i can afford, knowing that even with just a 1hp motor, between getting the wiring kit, pullies, etc, i'd be spending about 200 more than the grizzly?
 
Justin.Mercier said:
http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom/pics/jpeg500/g/g1015.jpg

it would appear that the whole belt assembly would be able to be kept detached if you were to attach another drive shaft through the center of the contact wheel. ?
Click to expand...

Well, no, I dont think that would work.
Now,I dont know this for sure, but I think the wheels and that whole support system is mounted on a bracket that needs the motor houseing to stay in one place. As far as I know from mine, the whole wheel support system really needs the firm foundation of the motor.

Now, I bet if you were clever and knew your way around stuff, that perhaps there is a way to get the wheels and everything supported enough to allow you to use some other system of motor.
What I have seen a lot of guys do is turn OFF the Grizzly motor, then just run a rubber belt around the buffer and to a different slower motor.
This allows them to change speeds without needing to mess with the Grizzly motor and changing the wheel supports.
 
For what you are paying for the grizzly. You should buy a Coote and a used motor. Far superior product.
 
The Grizzly is made to do what it does...
It's made to get going today!...
A few bolts to tighten and you are making a knife. However there is a trade off, and for some knifemakers the trade-off is too much to stuck with the grizzly alone.
The speed of the Grizzly is a problem for some things.
Now I have NEVER had any problem with the speed at all, however Im told that the Grizzly is too fast to buff some things.
I have also read that the Griz is too fast when sanding very thin knives, because it can burn them .

I have never had a problem,
I think the reason I have never had a problem is that I know ahead of time what not to do, or I know how to do things in a different way that allows me to use the Grizzly.
 
jll346 said:
For what you are paying for the grizzly. You should buy a Coote and a used motor. Far superior product.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Grizzly is a basic, near ready to go grinder...
It's for guys like me that have no other knowledge of how a grinder works and could never in a million years hook up a used motor on our own.

What I noticed:
Before I got a Grizzly I didnt have a clue how any grinder worked.
Thats why no matter how much advice I got on how to "Make Your Own" it didnt really help me at all.

I had never seen a grinder, so I was not really interested in building my own.
Then I got my Grizzly and got it set up and was working on my first knife an hour after the guy in the truck dropped it off at my house.

After I set my Grizzly up and had it running, ONLY THEN did I see how easy a grinder could be made from used parts from other things.
The concept behind a belt grinder is now easy to see and understand. I get it now how guys were always telling me I should have made my own from some plans for sale on the internet.

But, the truth is, before I had seen my Grizzly , I didnt have a clue how they worked.
 
I have one also and honestly it does what it does. Yea a KMG or a Bader III are better. Variable speed would be nice. I makes the grind a little more manageable, but really the Griz is just fine. Buy a ceramic platen (2x9) with beveled edges off the net. Strip the graphite off the existing one and adhere the ceramic (fireplace glass) one to the metal with JB Weld. It works so much better. Use Klingspor J-Flex yellow belts. The run super smooth on the Grizzly (maybe on others too, don't know). Good choice with the 10" wheel, the 8" is just a little too small. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Erik
 
TekSec,
My advice would be for him to mount the grinder and to try to get both the buffer and the contact wheel to be not spinning on top of the workbench.

This is because while I have my buffer spinning out over the edge , my contact wheel is sitting just an inch or so above the workbench and its a REAL PROBLEM....The grinded off metal piles up under the wheel, the wood dust piles up under the wheel and sparks are always setting fire to stuff...every day I regret where I mounted my Grizzly.

I didnt know at the time, nor did I notice, but now I see how many other grinder designs have the main contact wheel pushed out and free of the edge of the work bench..

Your thoughts?
 
I actually have mine mounted with the buffer side fully off the one side, benchtop stops about 2" out from the motor. On the grinder side, yes, let it hang as much as possible. I vacuum up the leavings daily just for that fact (fire hazard) and mine hangs off about midway on the contact wheel. I followed the recommended mounting plate from Grizzly and then mounted that on top of another benchtop set up of the same size with 4 4x4 legs. One of the main issues that I have had is because of the high platen and low contact wheel, I had to raise it so that the contact wheel is a little below my waist line (I'm 6' tall) and the platen is about sternum height. Not the most comfortable for long use. I like the way the KMG had interchangeable surfaces so they are all the same height. Wish Grizzly had something like that.
 
Justin The 1hp farm duty motor from HF is what I use with my Coote. I am very happy with it and a set of step pulleys. I will probably keep it forever and just add a KMG when I sell my first $3000 art dagger (starts holding breath).

Also I agree with the above posters.Coote is a bit of a pain. I had to get the grinder and then my motor. I'm not a good electrician so I payed a guy to wire me up power and an on/off switch. Then I had to design a base for it that would allow quick change of the belt on the step pulleys. I am better with some do it yourself stuff than other so this was a little nerve racking. I have never built atool base let alone one where a hinged platform had to line up with the grinder or suffer the wobbles and early motor death. It wasmore than I had bargained for, but doable. Still I can see the atraction of just unpacking the grizzly and going to work.
 
Ok, there's supposedly a harborfright opening up in Rhode Island (the first new england HF) sometime soon, though i still havent been able to get a date. If they open before i make any purchases maybe i'll get that motor and save on shipping a 35lb+ package as well. In the mean time i'll keep watching ebay and craigslist.

It looks like my best bet at the moment is a coote with 10" contact wheel (450+sh) + $100ish cheapo TEFC 1hp motor, +$50ish for a pair of step pullies + $10ish for a belt +$25ish for wiring & switches, and then pick up a bunch of 2x72 ceramic belts. So I'm looking at probably ~200-250 more than the griz, but will actually be able to change the speed and whatnot
 
Justin.Mercier said:
So I'm looking at probably ~200-250 more than the griz, but will actually be able to change the speed and whatnot
Click to expand...

Thats the deal a person has to make with themselves...
Sorta "Ying and Yang" thing going on with my Grizzly,,
You get some of this, you dont get some of that.

When I got my Grizzly I looked around and the fact is that for the money, nothing even comes close to the grizzly....not even close.

The buffer is something that really helps a guy go for the Grizzly....
Im not sure how much a new buffer is, but getting one tossed into the deal with the grinder is the one thing that I looked at as being the key reason to get my Griz.

I also liked the idea that the motor was fixed to the wheels and the sanding belt support rig...
at the time, (and still to this day) I didnt want to get mixed up in the use of rubber "V" belts and all that stuff.

Now that I have used my grinder for a few years, I have never had 2nd thoughts nor run into a situation that I could not find a way to work around.
I do wish I had mounted the contact wheel away from the workbench, but thats about the only problem I have with my setup.
 
Justin.Mercier said:
Not to be hijacking this thread, but another question, would an el cheapo 1hp harbor fright TEFC motor be sufficient for a coote or would you quickly end up regretting the purchase?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=41376

Since modifying the grizzly seems like a much more involved process, I should probably start looking at a coote, since a KMG is just plain out of my range currently.
Click to expand...

Look on ebay for motors. I just purchased a 1.5hp 1725rpm Lesson motor in MINT CONDITION for $76.92. It is the same motor they sell for the KMG @ $245.
 
a TEFC enclosure single phase motor? I can get 3phase motors for dirt cheap, i could get a 2hp 3ph motor for around 50 bucks, but i dont have 3ph power in my garage. I've been watching ebay motors off and on for a while and havent found any TEFC enclosure single phase ones going for that cheap recetnly, just DP enclosure ones. And whlie a DP enclosure would work... it'd probably fail in a relativly short amount of time without a very good dust collection system
 
Justin.Mercier said:
a TEFC enclosure single phase motor? I can get 3phase motors for dirt cheap, i could get a 2hp 3ph motor for around 50 bucks, but i dont have 3ph power in my garage. I've been watching ebay motors off and on for a while and havent found any TEFC enclosure single phase ones going for that cheap recetnly, just DP enclosure ones. And whlie a DP enclosure would work... it'd probably fail in a relativly short amount of time without a very good dust collection system
Click to expand...

It took me about 5 weeks to score my Lesson. I just kept watching and typing in all kinds of searches and it paid off.
 
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