New toy ordered.

Hi Erik, is this grinder the one that was used at Josh's hammerin? I didn't go this year, but he had said there were to be some new grinders there.
Looks nice. I am sure that you are excited.

~Alden
 
yeah beyond my price range too but i figure i have mudled through this long enought with a grizzley that it is probably time to pony up and get a big boy grinder.
 
Expensive, but well worth the price if you ask me. Comes standard with a 2hp motor and variable speed, which a lot of us don't have on our less-costly grinders, so the price goes up. That, and this fella isn't mass-producing them.

Now that I have a KMG-clone, I really appreciate what a good grinder can do for a shop. The biggest drawback, imo, is that you can't flip it 90 to work with the small wheels. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to turn that belt just a few degrees so I could better see the work. Flipped on its side with the flat platten installed, and you're looking at a belt-grinder that does the same thing a disc-sander does, basically. How many of us have both in the shop?

I'll definitely be looking into a TW90 in the very near future.
 
Erik, Good choice... I ordered mine at At the Atlanta show. I talked to Travis yesterday. Mine should be shipped by the end of the week.... can't wait... No long
wait for the freight... Alaska Air Cargo... should get it the next day! Glad that I got a fresh order of belts in. Now, what am I going to mount it on...... I guess that I've got to clean my shop now.

Now for you..... the wait is on.
 
I talked with Tim Hancock last week, and all he could talk about was this grinder, he loves it. He sold his JL grinders and bought two of these. I just bought a milling machine so I'm tapped for a while, or I would have placed an order.
 
Awesome Erik! Those things look slick as could be. :thumbup: :cool:

I didn't realize you'd been working on a Grizzly all this time.... makes your work all the more impressive!!! :eek:

And you got the Alaskan Hair Farmer to post?!?! :p I thought that was impossible! ;)

I'm excited to hear how you like it once you get it in your shop :)
 
That looks like the best grinder yet: pivots 90 degrees, and has numerous tooling add-ons. I look forward to seeing the soon to be released surface grinder attachment. I'm jealous. Enjoy!
 
D.Mirabile said:
Erik, Good choice... I ordered mine at At the Atlanta show. I talked to Travis yesterday. Mine should be shipped by the end of the week.... can't wait... No long
wait for the freight... Alaska Air Cargo... should get it the next day! Glad that I got a fresh order of belts in. Now, what am I going to mount it on...... I guess that I've got to clean my shop now.

Now for you..... the wait is on.
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It sounds like mine should be in the same production run as yours david. I will give you a call when i get mine and see if you have any tips for me on set up. Now to clean my shop out.
 
I picked mine up ten days ago and it works wonderfully. Travis is also a very nice guy. You could play with the tools rests, etc forever and come up with so many possibilities that it is mind boggeling. The tracking is perfecto!...even when you turn it on its' side. If careful you can turn it on its side while running:eek: and the tracking does not move a thou....well maybe a thou!:D It really is a fine machine.
 
OneOneBravo said:
Okay, a totally souped-up 3HP KMG with all the trimmings, or this???????? Anyone care to offer advice?:confused:
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Hey 11B, Rob at Beaumont (KMG) is top-shelf to deal with; excellent customer service. I have a 2-HP Variable, and wouldn't hesitate to get the 3-Horse.
 
Just visited Robs site. I can get two working KMG grinders (8" grinder package, spare chassis, rotary platten, small wheel attachment) and one of Robs Horizontal grinders for right around 3300 dollars. This is with 1.5HP motors, and no variable speed controller. (This is my current setup btw.)

Having to constantly setup, and re-setup one machine stinks. Sorry to down this ultrabadass grinder, but it seems to me to be much like the old shopsmith tools. Too much going on too much time wasted changing the setup. Being able to step back and forth between two machines is MUCH more efficient than having to stop and set, then re-set because you forgot something, or scratched something. Plus, if one goes down, you have a backup. Rob's grinder is a simple, no bull, elephant could breed on it without damage tank. I'm really suprised to see new grinders appearing on the marketplace.
 
I have one of Travis' grinders and a second to arrive this week. They are unreal. I had a two HP Vari KMG and it was a good grinder. I also had a 2HP Burr King. Anyone that has a KMG will be happy and Rob is a good guy for sure.

However Travis' new grinder is the Farari to the KMG Cadilac. The TW-90 is the smoothest, fastest, most versatile grinder out there. If you've not tried one then you are missing out. I was happy with my KMG and didn't think I needed more. I was proven wrong. This grinder has already made me a better maker, not to mention quicker. The way that his table assemblies work is so cool. The only thing that limits you is your own imagination.

While working on a 11.5 foot long spear this week I was able to do things I never could have done with the other grinders.

This machine gives you a 2HP variable speed machine in vertical and horizontal. It saves room in your shop. It's very quick to change attachments and belts. The fact that you can adjust the tension on your belt is great. Travis was here and my hammer in and is a damn genius. After talking with him I realized that this is just the beginning. He has amazing plans for attachments and other machines in the future. $3200 is a steal. Two grinders in one plus the bells and whistles.

Congrats Erik.
 
Patrice Lemée;8499960 said:
Can you elaborate on this a little? I am curious as to the level you have to be at for this to be true. I see that you have attained a very high level by the look of your knives.
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Sure no problem...

In the last few weeks I've been able to set up this grinder to grind false edges like I've never ground before. The table system allows you to set up any angle you like on the platen or on any sized wheel. I was able to grind a false edged to 600 grit perfectly by setting an angle on my table. I hand finished my blade, then put down blue tape on the table to protect from scratches. I was able to lay my blade on the table and grind the false edge in to the desired angle.

Even better was yesterday. I am making a spear with two crescent shaped blades that come off each side. They are drastically curved and had to be dagger ground. I was to set the grinder up in the horizontal position and grind the inside curve with amazing accuracy. I will post some pics of these blades later. Originally I had planned on filing these in expect it to take at least three days. Instead I ground, hand finished and etched them in six hours.

Your level of knife making does not matter. Whether your Tim Hancock or a beginner you can get better with this grinder. Tim will tell you that. This grinder allows you to take guess work out of making a knife. You can set up fixtures and table arrangement that make your work dead on. That will help ANY level of maker.

I think its to a beginner makers advantage the most. It will allow you to take large leaps of improvement, instead of tiny baby steps for Tim. A guy like Tim will improve mostly on ways only he will notice. A beginner can improve in ways everyone will notice. Just watch what Erik Fritz will be doing in a year! :D
 
OneOneBravo said:
Okay, a totally souped-up 3HP KMG with all the trimmings, or this???????? Anyone care to offer advice?:confused:
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What will the extra 1 HP do to make you better? The trimmings don't even compare to the TW-90 trimmings. I know because I've had both.
 
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