Kalamazoo / TAS Hybrid

[Komitadjie]

Took another shot earlier today at a project I'd spent some time on previously without success. Specifically, I wanted to attach the Twice as Sharp scissor sharpening arm from my TAS-Pro to my Kalamazoo belt grinder, so that I could make use of the belt grinder's slower abrasive speed and vastly better heat control capability. Also this would allow me to use the large assortment of belt-based abrasives I have in place of the two (rather poor) abrasive options the stock TAS offers.

The first attempt I made was rather less than successful, I simply tried drilling a hole in the work rest and bolting down the TAS arm. Unfortunately, the work rest proved to be insufficiently rigid, which resulted in a lot of vibration and a less-than-optimal edge. This time, I took another approach to it. Little bit of cutting, little bit of welding, a couple of hose clamps and presto! A removable, adjustable, ridged-as-can-be support for the TAS arm. One 1/4-20 UNC-2A SST bolt later, and the TAS arm is now a fixture of the Kalamazoo, sharpening in the slack of the belt for a slight convex, just above the (Mark Reich modified) platen.

Going to give this one a shot this afternoon and see how it comes out! I have high hopes for this mod, the rigidity problem that the previous attempt had should be entirely resolved now.

 

[Noctis3880]

Could I buy a platen like that? Mine is too wide for me to actually use it for anything other than sharpening, and I prefer a convex edge anyway, though I'd like to use it for regrinding a knife.

 

[Komitadjie]

The platen was made for me by a fellow named Mark Reich, who goes by the screen name "Ytreich" over on KnifeForums. If you drop him a message, he can probably hook 'ya up. It's the best mod I've found for the Kalamazoo so far, it really makes the platen usable. Plus, Mark is a great guy to deal with!

 

[ebrguy]

I'll second that about Mark. I have one of his platens for my Kally too. It's great.

Kom, that looks really good. :thumbup:

 

[Komitadjie]

Thanks, man! It's still a bit rough, I'm going to be pulling it off again tomorrow, wire wheeling off the welding discolouration and slag, then priming and giving it a gloss-gray coat to match the Kalamazoo. Then the hose clamps are going to be replaced with more closely-sized ones, or at least trimmed down.