KMG grinder or no ?

Bfusmc03117

Bfusmc03117

Joined
Dec 29, 2008
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697
Finally on the market for a real grinder . I'm looking at the KMG 2 horse variable speed and 10" wheel. Anybody have any recommendations as far as variable speed grinders that run off of 110? I have been using a craftsman 2x42 for some time now and I finally have the coin to get a real one.
 
There have been lots of treads about this topic, and lots of recommendations for the Esteem grinder. If you search, you will have a days worth of reading folks with the same question.
 
I have the 2hp KMG Variable speed and have been happy. (The 2hp, run on 110, will give you 1.5 hp max)
From reading a lot of the threads on this subject I think you can't go wrong between the KMG, Esteem or Travis Wuertz grinder.
 
All the grinders mentioned will allow you to make a knife. They are all good. They are a tool that is used along the way but they don't make the knife for you. You won't be disappointed.
 
PT Doc has it right, everyone is going to tell you to get the grinder they have. I personally grind on
a Bader B3, does that mean its less or more of a grinder than another one? Is a dewalt cordless drill
better than a makita? When you get serious get what you can afford, and want. After that it will be up to
you not the grinder.
Ken.
 
We're blessed with an embarassment of riches when it comes to really good belt grinders from which to choose. I don't own a KMG, but I've worked on one at a friend's place... it definitely works, and offers a lot of versatility. If the price is right for you, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it :thumbup:
 
I currently have a KMG, but if I were to buy a grinder today I would go with a Wilmont Grinder(www.wilmontgrinders.com). If has much more flexibility with its ability to flip over on its side and allow horizontal grinding. The tooling support is adjustable for just about anything you would want to do.
 
KHall said:
I currently have a KMG, but if I were to buy a grinder today I would go with a Wilmont Grinder(www.wilmontgrinders.com). If has much more flexibility with its ability to flip over on its side and allow horizontal grinding. The tooling support is adjustable for just about anything you would want to do.
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Another great recommendation that does not get enough press. That tool rest should allow for great plug and play. Separate toolarm is a plus but can be added easily to the kmg since its steel plate. Probably could mod the esteem for another toolrest as well. Maybe Brett will chime in.
 
I have a KMG also. I love it and it is night and day versus a 1x30 or something similar. Here are some thoughts though:

Direct drive is fine if you have no intentions to water cool your grinder. This is something I had never intended to do at first but the deeper down the knife making rabbit hole I go the more I understand the benefits of having the option. So down the road I may water cool it, still playing around with post HT grinding though! I would NOT water cool a direct drive. Also I like that if I decide to use my motor and vfd for something different or a new grinder, I can make this multi speed with pulleys and a cheap motor, where you can't do that with direct drive.

As mentioned above I too do not like how the work rest mounts to the grinder on the KMG. It mounts on the tool arm and that is just a bad design to me. It should have its own slot like the tool arm so it can be easily adjusted or rotated 90* if you mount it horizontally.

I planned on mounting it in a way that allowed me to use it horizontally or vertically but now after some thought, the way I was going to do it would cost more money, I planned on making it nice. In the end it won't cost me that much more to build a permanent horizontal grinder. Personally if you do this enough, just changing belts gets old let alone flipping it on its side and what not. This is why a lot of guys have several 2x72s.

In closing, I think there are several really nice grinders out there to suit your needs. They all make a 2x72 belt spin really fast and have a table in front of it. To me it comes down to power plant. For once I did something right the first time and I went from a 1/3HP 1x30 to a 3HP Baldor and KBAC VFD. I don't care what size the belt is I can do some serious grinding with that motor and VFD combo!
 
Same here. I bought one of the early VFD version of the varialble speed grinder and it was 100. I moved into my shop and left it the same. If i could have more HP, I would want 3 or even 5.
rcetroy said:
I have the 2hp KMG Variable speed and have been happy. (The 2hp, run on 110, will give you 1.5 hp max)
From reading a lot of the threads on this subject I think you can't go wrong between the KMG, Esteem or Travis Wuertz grinder.
Click to expand...
 
I have a 2HP Variable Speed Beaumont Grinder.

It is an excellent piece of equipment. Very well made. Very solid.

Steve
 
I bought the Coote 8" in 97 or 98, a Hardcore products 1 1/2hp variable in 2000 and love both machines. I had a KMG and sold it and the next one I will get will be the TW-90.

If you have the bucks? Just go to the top with the TW-90.
 
The KMG Grinder downside is that it has only one slot for a tool arm so it doesn't accept really cool tool rests. Upside is that it is bulletproof and stable and with pulleys and a VFD it can use 1725 RPM motors which perform really well. Another downside for some is that it doesn't flip sideways. I built a "grinder in a box" (polar bear forge kit) also known as a "eerf" grinder to flip horizontal and it has a second tool arm slot and is direct drive ( some say an advantage and some say not) . Both work very well. I like the Wilmont grinder design (tag 101), The Uber grinder by Brian Fellhoelter, and the Travis Wuertz grinder also. If I could have only have one grinder I would build the grinder in a box with a 3 hp 3 phase motor and VFD with a 1725 RPM motor and a custom made 7 inch drive wheel. It would have a D2 platen by Nathan Carothers with a chiller and Beaumont wheels. IT would flip horizontal and have a gas piston for tension. In reality, any of the professional grinders out there now will make a beautiful knife with some practice. Buy the best you can afford and spend most of your money on steel and abrasives. Oh and get a grinder that will accept a lot of work rest designs.

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I have a KMG, a TW90 and a GIB.

The KMG is OK, but I would rather have an Esteem grinder instead.

The TW90 is awesome if you don't mind the price.
 
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