Is variable speed on a grinder necessary?

Variable speed isn't necessary but I heard its a babe magnet

Hey gorgeous... how bout we head back to my place, and I let you twist the knob on my VFD hooked to my Pheer grinder (wiggles eye brows up and down) ;0)
 
John Katt said:
Variable speed isn't necessary but I heard its a babe magnet

Hey gorgeous... how bout we head back to my place, and I let you twist the knob on my VFD hooked to my Pheer grinder (wiggles eye brows up and down) ;0)
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Man, my wife usually rolls her eyes. LOL. But, she did let me buy all those tools too. Still, she's never been all 'impressed' with any tool I've bought. Again, she usually rolls her eyes.
 
Fiddleback said:
Man, my wife usually rolls her eyes. LOL. But, she did let me buy all those tools too. Still, she's never been all 'impressed' with any tool I've bought. Again, she usually rolls her eyes.
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I just sent my 8" wheel to Sunray to be resurfaced at 10" I'm thinking that should stop..or maybe start the eye rolling thing... and its going to be blue ;0)
 
Necessary? NO. Will you ever regret spending the extra money and buying a VS machine. HELL no. Will you always be wishing that you had more horsepower with either type? Of course!!!! ;)
 
What I'm about to say is for me & my grinding style so your mileage may vary. If you're gonna leave your edges @ .015" or thicker then VS isn't necessary. If you're gonna grind your edges down to .003"-.005" with a 400X or 600X belt then VS is a NECESSITY. I can't take an edge that thin, with those belts, without burning the edge.
 
darrin sanders said:
What I'm about to say is for me & my grinding style so your mileage may vary. If you're gonna leave your edges @ .015" or thicker then VS isn't necessary. If you're gonna grind your edges down to .003"-.005" with a 400X or 600X belt then VS is a NECESSITY. I can't take an edge that thin, with those belts, without burning the edge.
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Darrin - remember YOU are an expert at this grinding stuff. You do it every day, day in and day out. You do more grinding in a week than most of us "hobby" type folks will do in several months. That allows your the skill required to grind at high speed - bet you even grind at 5,000+ SFPM? Me, I will profile at 4,000 SFPM with a good 36 grit belt, but beveling - I might start the bevel with that speed/belt, but by the time I'm getting .050" edge, I'm slowing down and moving to a finer grit. I just don't have that skill required.

I do admire your skills!

Ken H>
 
Karl B. Andersen said:
Not only does my new grinder have variable speed - it has reverse!!
Which means I can grind standing on my head. :D

But I think I'll check with Don first.
He's forgot more than I know. :thumbup:
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Being able to stand on your head and grind is another lady catcher! ;) That's why I became a knife maker, its all hot young knife groupie chicks!:)

Variable speed is important for several reasons.

First and foremost for me is that, The finer the grit of the belt, the slower the sweet spot on speed is.

Second is that, Then I want to removal some metal I want to be able to set the rate of metal removal by the grit, by the pressure and by the speed of the belt.

Third, I do ALL of my beveling grinding post HT, so I want to use SHARP belts at a lower speed because worn belts create heat very quacking and I want to keep the steel no hotter than about the temp water boils at with my finger skins on of course.;)

That will get you started.

Have fun and stay safe!
 
My grinder runs around 4500 sfpm. Every knife I have ever made has been on it. I have only seen variable speed grinders on the internet. It can be done. With that being said, I screwed up a lot of knives in the beginning and it will still get away from me sometimes. It's no big deal hollow grinding at these speeds. Flat grinding, on the other hand, is more difficult. I believe if I had a variable speed grinder that I would do less hand sanding on flat grinds at the higher grits. If you have the money, or can get it, I would go variable speed. I am going to build one next just for flat grinding.
 
IMO, variable speed is a necessity.

I've always had a variable speed grinder, so I can't even fathom making knives without one.
 
I am in TOTAL agreement with Don on this one - as usual.

There's simply too many times I want DEAD CRAWL speed, and you're not getting that without vfd...

Like many have said, though - it isn't necessary. However, once you have it, there's no replacing it's capabilities.

...and I'll wager Don knows a heckova lot. ;)

Don Hanson III said:
Who needs any control? ;)

I profile on a wheel at near full speed, I grind with 36-80 grit belts at near full speed, but moving up to 120-400 grit I damn sure want to slow the belts way down!

But what the hell do I know...
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I haven't near the experience as most of these guys, but when I bought my KMG, I bought the variable speed model. All I can say is, I don't think I would want it any other way. I love the having the ability to fine tune the speed to your exact needs for any project. I say if you can afford it, buy it. If not, save up until you can.
 
No, no, no. You need a VS grinder for hollow grinding and a water chilled platen setup on your VS grinder for flat grinding. :D
Rookie25 said:
My grinder runs around 4500 sfpm. Every knife I have ever made has been on it. I have only seen variable speed grinders on the internet. It can be done. With that being said, I screwed up a lot of knives in the beginning and it will still get away from me sometimes. It's no big deal hollow grinding at these speeds. Flat grinding, on the other hand, is more difficult. I believe if I had a variable speed grinder that I would do less hand sanding on flat grinds at the higher grits. If you have the money, or can get it, I would go variable speed. I am going to build one next just for flat grinding.
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I rough grind my bevels at about 4000 SFPM which is as fast as my KMG goes but every other task is done at a lesser speed by feel and what I feel is controllable . Small wheels need to go slower to keep their bearings cool. Just my opinion but why would a knife maker limit himself to 3 or even 5 speeds when a VFD can be bought at a reasonable cost? l think having the option of variable speed is of obvious value. No matter how many knives I make I am grateful for the control over the speed of the abrasives and it helps me make a better knife with less problems. Larry PS I have a custom made 4 3/8 inch drive wheel so I admit that I "overthink" everything. LL
 
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