Horizontal grinders

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Gburgs

Gburgs

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Nov 22, 2014
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Not finding a whole lot on HORIZONTAL grinders via search, so I'm hoping to get some info here. Tag-101 by Wilmont, uber grinder (can't find it available), EF-48 KMG...

Any others available out there that you guys have experience with and would recommend?

Thanks, Greg
 
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USA Knife makers sells the Uber grinder. If you are a handy guy you can build a direct drive "Grinder in a box" and mount it to swivel to the horizontal position. Actually, any direct drive grinder would be fairly easy to mount to set both vertical and horizontal. I built a Polar Bear Forge version of the "Grinder in a box" which is a kit with laser cut parts and I mounted it horizontal. The cost with A new Leeson 2 hp motor and a new KBAC 27-d VFD was $1100 including a contact wheel and flat platen, all wheels, stand and first class fasteners. If you can drill and tap you can build one. I had the base on mine welded for $50 though. Very strong and straight. Larry




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIqdNZaB-Uc
 
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Did you guys consider the TAG-101 before purchasing the TW-90? If so, any reason you went with one over the other?
 
Gburgs said:
Did you guys consider the TAG-101 before purchasing the TW-90? If so, any reason you went with one over the other?
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I tried both the TAG-101 and the TW-90.

Both are fantastic grinders, but I liked TW-90 just a bit more. Specifically, the method used to flip the grinder, the belt tensioning system, the lighter tooling arms and the surface grinder attachment were features that made me choose the TW-90.

That said, whenever I get around to replacing my KMG, it will probably be with a TAG-101. The additional tooling arm slots allow it to do things that the TW-90 can't.

I don't think you could really go wrong either way though.
 
What are your needs from a horizontal? If you just think you might need it eventually, buy a TW-90 or a TAG-101. If you're a pocket knife maker and find a horizontal grinder indispensable on a daily basis; I highly recommend a dedicated horizontal in conjunction with a vertical.

I've got two TAG-101's, and a LB-1000 that I've mounted permanently in horizontal mode. Very easy I tapped a big piece of angle iron to bolt the base plate to, and mounted to a large cast iron stand.

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Not shown in the pic is the tool rest setup I made for it.


I leave it setup with small wheel holder and the tool rest which is perfectly square to the wheels and has cutouts for the various sizes so all I have to do is rotate it.


Pretty much never turn my TAG-101 horizontal now. Other pocket knife makers I know build dedicated horizontal setups long ago, with similar needs. The way I build slipjoints, it's very handy to have constant access to a small wheel with a trammed (square) tool rest. Even though the TAG-101 is convenient to adjust the tooling arms, it's still too tedious to swap it around, and having the other grinder makes it effortless and saves a *lot* of time.


Not sure how the small wheel/tool rest combo works on the TW-90, in regards to how convenient it is to turn and setup sideways, so I can't comment on that.

I do know that if you're adding a second grinder, going with a dedicated horizontal is typically much cheaper than buying another convertible grinder.
 
I love the horizontal feature of my TAG101. I got a great deal on it used and it is a great grinder. I wish I could buy a surface grinder attachment for it though. It is a bit harder to flip horizontal than what the TW90 looks like, but not super hard anyway. The three tooling arm slots are awesome. I love how adjustable good rest is. Worth every penny over a GIB in my opinion.
 
Brian, I liked the Tag 101 also because of the three slots but the GIB grinder is not handicapped for toolrest positions and adjustability. Here are three tool rests I made for my GIB which also tilts horizontal and the whole setup cost only $1100 with first rate components. Just another way to get there if a guy is handy with drill and tapping some parts. Larry


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Ok Larry, you win the internet today. Lol. Very nice. Where do I get those handles on the bottom kmg?
 
You can also get adjustable handles from McMasters Carr. Shop them everywhere because the prices vary quite a bit in my opinion. Measure what you want first because there are many sizes. Larry
 
LARRYZ10 said:
You can also get adjustable handles from McMasters Carr. Shop them everywhere because the prices vary quite a bit in my opinion. Measure what you want first because there are many sizes. Larry
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Grainger carries them also, which for me, meant I could pick them up locally.
 
Thanks for the feedback all. I'm pretty well sold on the TW90. The YouTube vids helped. Hoping their customer service is good. Can't get them to respond to my emails, so I guess I'll try the phone. Old school :)
 
hsc3_90293 said:
esteem with horiz option



No offense to anybody but that toolrest setup on the esteem is useless in horizontal mode.

I also used one of these grinders recently in "vertical" mode, and found the toolrest design to be *extremely* arduous to get square to the platen when adjusting, because of the compound joint of the arm, you have to adjust both joints at the same time, which use socket head screws basically, you need three hands.


I say this, hoping it's taken as constructive criticism. Otherwise the grinder seemed fine.
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Mitchell Knives said:
I tried both the TAG-101 and the TW-90.

Both are fantastic grinders, but I liked TW-90 just a bit more. Specifically, the method used to flip the grinder, the belt tensioning system, the lighter tooling arms and the surface grinder attachment were features that made me choose the TW-90.

That said, whenever I get around to replacing my KMG, it will probably be with a TAG-101. The additional tooling arm slots allow it to do things that the TW-90 can't.

I don't think you could really go wrong either way though.
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Jonathan,
I ended up using my KMG as a small wheel machine pretty much all the time. I had my Hardcore for flat and any profile grinding as well as handle sculpting. If I didn't have to down size when I closed my retail/knife shop and went back to my garage I would probably still have the KMG as a small wheel worker in my shop.

If you have the room, don't sell it. Just dedicate it to a job and you can go down the line for different jobs. saves a lot of time from having to swap out tooling.

My next with be the Tag or the TW once I make more room! LOL
 
TW90 owners: does this come to you shipped fully assembled? That's what I'm reading on the site. We're there any adds besides the surface grinder this didn't come with? Looks like it comes with everything.
 
Gburgs said:
TW90 owners: does this come to you shipped fully assembled? That's what I'm reading on the site. We're there any adds besides the surface grinder this didn't come with? Looks like it comes with everything.
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When I got my TW90 I had to bolt it to my bench, put a tooling arm in and plug it in. Otherwise it's fully assembled. Unless I got a killer deal on another machine, the TW90 would be the only one I buy again.
 
J. Hoffman said:
When I got my TW90 I had to bolt it to my bench, put a tooling arm in and plug it in. Otherwise it's fully assembled. Unless I got a killer deal on another machine, the TW90 would be the only one I buy again.
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Well that's awesome. Pay day is Friday. Can't come soon enough!
 
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