Need help with a grinder. Thanks

D

Dakota Willison

Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Messages
30
So, I made a post a little while ago about a grinder buy issue. Well, I foolishly went ahead and had it shipped.

The one good thing, I learned a lot about 2x72 grinders that I wouldn't have if I never had one in person.

The bad, where to begin.

I'm linking some pictures, perhaps someone can help me out and advise me if I shouldn't try and return it.

https://imgur.com/a/WCWqu

That album shows more then I think I can say.

When I got the machine out, I put it together, I noticed there was no platen.
I messaged him and he said he would send one with the vfd.
I put a belt on and expected some minor adjustment and it would be great, he had it for a week and said he was adjusting it.
The belt didn't track at all, and when I would adjust the tension wheel, it didn't move very much and just made it tighter.
I tried doing what he suggested and raised the tension arm in the fram up to add more tension.
This worked a little. I could get it centred, but the wheel was at such a high angle the belt didn't run flat at all and when it was centred on the front wheels, it would rub on the side plate of the tension wheel.
So I tried adding some washers to the front plate to extend the whole thing and help centre the belt on the wheels. Worked a bit again, but now it needed constant adjustment to stay centred and it got so tight the belt completely snapped on me, send a blade I was working on(was using very little pressure and was just trying it out) flying and took the tip off while chewing up the edge. Scared the shit out of me as I know a blade smith has been killed because of a flying blade(although it was a buffer, not a belt grinder).

I posted the images on reddit( I'm much more active there, but want to be more active here as well, was waiting till I had finished up some blades to post) and some people said by the looks of it, its not a proper motor(fully enclosed) and it will burn out quick, and it also is a single phase which won't run a VFD. I asked, and he basically told me not to worry, it will work and the vfd will work as plug and play. I honestly don't know enough about this stuff and this was why I went this route for an entire grinder setup to begin with.

We had a huge problem in the beginning and I should have just went with a refund.
I inquired about a refund and shipping it back. He stated a full refund if I pay for the return shipping.

I don't know what to do at this point. I feel as though he sent me a crap machine because of our earlier altercation. I feel like it showed up malfunctioning and not properly set up or made. I know the motor is not the proper motor for this application.

I'm stumped
 
I responded about the motor and VFD issues on reddit but thought I would touch bases here also. I didn’t realize this was the same machine and buyer from reddit who posted about this deal a couple weeks ago here. Initially I thought you might have been being a bit unreasonable, but now that I see the photos and the rest of the info, I think you got screwed by a guy building machines he doesn’t understand, using components that don’t seem to work together, and performs poorly as a whole package, which also arrives missing parts. What a gong show.
 
Grayzer86 said:
I responded about the motor and VFD issues on reddit but thought I would touch bases here also. I didn’t realize this was the same machine and buyer from reddit who posted about this deal a couple weeks ago here. Initially I thought you might have been being a bit unreasonable, but now that I see the photos and the rest of the info, I think you got screwed by a guy building machines he doesn’t understand, using components that don’t seem to work together, and performs poorly as a whole package, which also arrives missing parts. What a gong show.
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thanks for the response. I really don't know what to do. I am either out the cost of shipping and about 3 weeks time, or I'm stuck with a poorly made machine that doesn't function as advertised and out 1340$.
 
I agree with Adam. I would contact PayPal, explain that it is incomplete and also doesn’t work properly, you need to return it, and initiate a chargeback. I hope to god you paid with goods and services and are covered. The thing seems to be a train wreck and insanely priced for what you received. I would get on the return process as soon as possible.
 
kuraki said:
You paid $1300 for that?

I should quit selling knives and start selling grinders.
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Please do! Not enough options in Canada. I was expecting a proper motor and VFD setup with the grinder. Only reason I went this route. Other options are just frames and everything else separate. I regret not just going that route.
 
Grayzer86 said:
I agree with Adam. I would contact PayPal, explain that it is incomplete and also doesn’t work properly, you need to return it, and initiate a chargeback. I hope to god you paid with goods and services and are covered. The thing seems to be a train wreck and insanely priced for what you received. I would get on the return process as soon as possible.
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Will be setting up the claim and everything before I even box to ship. I have the feeling he won't be message me back now, even to give me a return address.
 
Do your best to get out from under that thing asap. I really hope you get your refund, eat the shipping and chalk it up to lessons learned.


Boxing rules always apply, "Protect yourself at all times".
 
3fifty7 said:
Do your best to get out from under that thing asap. I really hope you get your refund, eat the shipping and chalk it up to lessons learned.


Boxing rules always apply, "Protect yourself at all times".
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Sadly, I had to learn the hard way. Thanks for the response. Trying to figure everything out now.
 
Dakota Willison said:
Please do! Not enough options in Canada.

I was expecting a proper motor and VFD setup with the grinder. Only reason I went this route.

Other options are just frames and everything else separate. I regret not just going that route.
Click to expand...

A KBAC VFd and motor alone with wiring, connection plugs, and so on with us exchange rate, Canadian sales taxes abd shipping will cost damn near a thousand dollars all by itself.
A proper contact wheel made in Canada or USA is three hundred ish.
Wheels amount to another hundred or more.
Steel has to cost something.
If they used less than a hundred bucks worth of steel, it's too flimsy.



Don't go for the bare frame machines either.
setup nightmares.

You bought on the cheap, they delivered cheap, take the refund


I see capacitor bumps on the motor, that's a single phase for sure- you cannot put a VFD on a single phase machine.
From here, it looks like a HF motor.


That machine is NFG whatsoever.
The door hinge tracking mechanism will never be good.


There are plenty of options, but they all cost about double.

The reason is, that a good grinder takes a certain amount of material, machinery and labour to make a proper one.

If you have the skills to DIY, you can save some labour. If not, a good grinder is a good investment.
 
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You definitely have a cheaply made machine on your hands, and I hope you don't get stuck with it. If you do there are a number of things you can do to make it run properly. First is the motor mounting. That drive wheel needs to be damn near perfectly square in the vertical and horizontal to the platen c-plate. You might need to shim under the front or back foot mounts. I would probably have a full day or two trying to get that thing set up to grind, and that's with a pretty good understanding of what I'm doing.
 
if everything was squared up it will track good. put a piece of masking tape on the tracking wheel that will help some assuming your wheel aint domed already.
 
12345678910 said:
A KBAC VFd and motor alone with wiring, connection plugs, and so on with us exchange rate, Canadian sales taxes abd shipping will cost damn near a thousand dollars all by itself.
A proper contact wheel made in Canada or USA is three hundred ish.
Wheels amount to another hundred or more.
Steel has to cost something.
If they used less than a hundred bucks worth of steel, it's too flimsy.



Don't go for the bare frame machines either.
setup nightmares.

You bought on the cheap, they delivered cheap, take the refund


I see capacitor bumps on the motor, that's a single phase for sure- you cannot put a VFD on a single phase machine.
From here, it looks like a HF motor.


That machine is NFG whatsoever.
The door hinge tracking mechanism will never be good.


There are plenty of options, but they all cost about double.

The reason is, that a good grinder takes a certain amount of material, machinery and labour to make a proper one.

If you have the skills to DIY, you can save some labour. If not, a good grinder is a good investment.
Click to expand...

I have learned a lot since I originally paid for this. when I say expected a proper motor and vfd, I didn't mean expensive, I expected cheap and eventually needing replacement, but didn't expect it to be a single phase ODP. I plan on looking at another option that will cost about 700 more but is a much more complete package and way better looking setup. Will be inquiring on the details before I make any sort of purchase though.
I can design the frame, but don't have a welder. I have a metal supply near me, and could probably get majority of the metal for the frame for around 100$, but I haven't actually looked into pricing. This would all be bare metal though and I would have to seal with some sort of paint to avoid it rusting. I planned on wet grinding with a cooling mist, so this grinder would have died pretty quick. I don't know what brand the motor is, theres no plate on it and the maker added his own to the machine itself. It is a single phase, which he confirmed. Apparently the VFD he sent or was planning to send will work as plug and play. I don't know.
I don't want a contact wheel to start, just a flat platen and eventually a radius platen.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-power-tool/...er/1314372889?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
This was the grinder I was planning to look into
 
crank78 said:
if everything was squared up it will track good. put a piece of masking tape on the tracking wheel that will help some assuming your wheel aint domed already.
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wheel is not crowned, none are. I actually tried putting tape on the wheels to aid in tracking, but after learning more issues with the setup, I'm just looking to get a refund and take the hit on shipping cost. sucks, but this machine is not worth the trouble
 
mike-E said:
You definitely have a cheaply made machine on your hands, and I hope you don't get stuck with it. If you do there are a number of things you can do to make it run properly. First is the motor mounting. That drive wheel needs to be damn near perfectly square in the vertical and horizontal to the platen c-plate. You might need to shim under the front or back foot mounts. I would probably have a full day or two trying to get that thing set up to grind, and that's with a pretty good understanding of what I'm doing.
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Yeah, it's not great. Just looking to get a refund and learn the lesson. If I had to keep it, I would get new wheels and fix the alignment as best I could, but the motor being ODP would end up dying pretty fast as I planned on wet grinding with cooling mist
 
Wow I’m really sorry dude that thing is a pile of junk. Even if for some reasion you ended up with it after you got your refund I would not use anything off of it. S this someone that makes and sells these in Canada? I feal like you could pay for shipping from the states and still be money ahead.
 
JTknives said:
Wow I’m really sorry dude that thing is a pile of junk. Even if for some reasion you ended up with it after you got your refund I would not use anything off of it. S this someone that makes and sells these in Canada? I feal like you could pay for shipping from the states and still be money ahead.
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Yeah, if for some reason I do end up with it, I'll probably sell it with full transparency of what it is for cheap. Maybe someone who wants a project will take it.

The cheapest I have found in the states was going to be about the same, but it wouldn't have a vfd. All in all, this one is so crap I would have been much better off just paying for the shipping and duties from the states.
 
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