Harbor Freight surface grinder?

Its an okay SG, Will. Plenty good for knifemaking work. The 120v power is a big plus. Dont get the base - instead make your own. FWIW, this is the same grinder Grizzly, ENCO, and KBC charges like $2k for.
 
I don't know about that particular surface grinder, but I have had a SG (converted to belts) for years and don't know how I'd get along without it. Not a necessity, but saves hours of work, increases precision, and makes things possible that otherwise might not be so easy.
 
Will, I have the Harbor Freight and it has been a wonderful tool. I bought mine and converted it to belts a few years ago when Ed Caffrey posted some pictures of his unit. Jeff is right about the vendors. Ed did a ton of research at the time and found that they were all imported by a single vendor who painted and labeled them accordingly for each distributor. One thing I did do was purchase a high-quality, fine-pole magnetic chuck. The chuck cost me almost as much as the grinder, but it has been worth every penny. You can email me if you want more information or pictures of the conversion.
 
I have one too. Unfortunately, I didn't receive the advice about the stand ahead of time. I paid $229 and it might be worth $40...:mad:

AND...on top of all that...it does NOT fit the surface grinder. The holes are close...but close is not good enough.

Oh well...you live and you learn.


Definitely build your own. The SG comes with a manual that has a layout of the holes (dimensions, etc.)



That said, I am very pleased with it and it was worth every penny.
 
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