OK, it's not enough to sharpen anymore

i guess i could machine the parts so you can build the sander yourself :D. you mentioned above that a buddy was getting you some steel. does he have access to a mill and a lathe? pm me your email addy and i'll send you the pictures with dimensions. everyone who sees it says i should make and sell them. i made mine for way under $50.
 
Take a look at richard j's idea, and the No-Weld-Grinder plans/kits available at USA-Knifemaker.com.

There's a lot to be said against the Grizzly... it's hella fast with no way to slow it down, and few/no accessories are available for it, to my knowledge. The NWG is designed so you can change platens, mount contact wheels from huge to tiny (for hollow grinds or small radii), set it up for variable speed, etc.

About the best you can say about the Grizzly is that it's cheap and has a buffer on it. I've looked into a Grizzly many times and just can't justify spending $500 when I'm pretty sure I'd still end up spending another $1000-2000 on a much more versatile tool down the road.

One again, the search function here is your best resource. There are plenty of threads on grinders.
 
I bought my Grizz back when they were $365. You can slow them down by changing out the drive wheel for a smaller one. (that only works for platen grinding)

I agree that if you were a stock removal guy, save for something more versatile with a variable control. Personally I use mine to finish my knives and have never had an issue. I'm sure if I ran a KMG for a day I'd get spoiled... that day hasn't come yet.

Rick
 
I just face-palmed, remembering that johnnymac44 already has the Grizz so my post is pretty much pointless. :o

Didn't mean to rain on your parade, dude. Have fun!
 
james terrio said:
I just face-palmed, remembering that johnnymac44 already has the Grizz so my post is pretty much pointless. :o

Didn't mean to rain on your parade, dude. Have fun!
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LOL, no problem James!:D It's just feedback, which I'm always open to, and trust me...I did TONS of research before buying the Grizzly. It's just what I was able to do at this time and I'm happy with my decision for now. Also, the idea of making some custom mods to it is actually pretty exciting, especially the idea for several custom rounded platens to do curves, very good idea! I'm going to have a blast with this thing.
 
richard j said:
i guess i could machine the parts so you can build the sander yourself :D. you mentioned above that a buddy was getting you some steel. does he have access to a mill and a lathe? pm me your email addy and i'll send you the pictures with dimensions. everyone who sees it says i should make and sell them. i made mine for way under $50.
Click to expand...

Oh that buddy!!:D He brought me a stack of cheap bar stock today in several thicknesses:thumbup:, but I'm not sure exactly what machines he has available to him. I'll have to ask. I'll get a message out to with my addy, thanks Richard!
 
*whew* I felt like a moron for a minute there. Get to grindin'!

Just remember to go have dinner with the family/friends, get some sleep so you can keep your "real" job, etc... it's really easy to get obsessed/hypnotized by the sparks.......
 
LOL, no worries!:p I know what you mean. I thought I could get obsessive just about sharpening and doing repair work, but man I love grinding!:D I just realized I still had to take out garbage, water the plants, get kids ready for bed, feed the dog.......where did the evening go??

Anyway, had a refrigerator emergency earlier today and had to cancel my trip to pick up an angle grinder to cut out the rough shape of my blade shape, but I still wanted to get to work at least a little bit, so I said what the hell and decided to try and wear out a cheap $4.00 supergrit belt, an 80, and just started shaping. Here is the basic shape of what may become my first finished blade, sort of an off the cuff mini santoku for my wife to use in the kitchen that comes in at just a hair under 10 inches long overall. I still have some work to do but it's basically there. Next I'll start grinding the bevels and the plunge!, which I'm feeling a little nervous about. I may try it on some of that junk steel that my friend gave me first. I don't want to mess up this piece of ATS-34!

FirstBlankATS-34.jpg


FirstBlankATS-342.jpg
 
Kewl! And yeah, the dang kids and pets still need feeding and stuff... dang them!

A word of advice... practice plunges early and often. They're a tremendous pain but are a focal point. A good plunge serves as a guide to help keep your bevels aligned, and makes it look like you know what you're doing.
 
You can do very good grinding on a Grizzly. You just have to practice.
It doesn't have variable speed-but you don't NEED variable speed. It doesn't have a lot of available accessories.
But, after quite a few years it will still be a very versatile grinder/buffer.
 
Ok, I cut out a couple of really quick basic blade blanks with some of the junk bar stock I got from my friend. Grinding went pretty well considering it's the first time I've done this exact type of work. I can see the bevel starting to take shape and my distal taper isn't anywhere near perfect but it is definitely starting to show. It will come with practice. The plunge is shaping up a little bit, but that's definitely going to be another challenging area. Lastly, I'd like to note that I now have tons of respect for makers that can produce a very crisp line between the flat at the spine area and the bevel leading to the edge. Mine pretty much disappeared!:o:o Again, time and practice will show me the way. I'll get a pic or two up in a bit.

I think I'll definitely do a few more of these practice blanks before trying it out for real on my mini santoku.
 
Lets see some pics J-mac!!!! You will get the feel for it soon. My first stock removal blades looked like an 8yr old did them.... now, I'm seriously passing for a 15yr old.:thumbup:

Getting crisp lines comes with practice.... lighten up on the pressure and let it float a bit. Be careful not to rock/teeter the blank as you change direction... that leads to a condition, commonly known by makers as the 2" disease. You will get a wave about 2" off the plunge line. I am not a skilled grinder by any stretch of the definition, that's why I chose the way of the hammer.... more room for error in the rough forged look.... lol.

Rick
 
Ok, Mag......here are a few of one of the practice blanks I started with a basic wharncliffe profile. Like I said, lines are just starting to show up, but I'll post more in the next few days as it progresses. Thanks for the encouragement!

Practiceblank.jpg


Practiceblank4.jpg


Practiceblank3.jpg


Practiceblank1.jpg
 
The band saw is an excellent idea, and I want those shoes, how much for your shoes and what size are they? I will even pay the 3% paypal fee;p
 
unky_gumbi said:
The band saw is an excellent idea, and I want those shoes, how much for your shoes and what size are they? I will even pay the 3% paypal fee;p
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I've looked into some smaller bandsaws to cut out blanks, but I've reached my investment limit for the time being:o For now I'll probably stick to the angle grinder, even though it makes a brutal sparkly mess!! I tried my reciprocating saw but I think that was even a bit more sloppy than the angle grinder, and I think I'd burn up blades faster than cutting wheels.

......as far as the shoes go, not a chance buddy!!:p:D
 
I just picked up the Princess Auto (Canada's version of HF) porta band saw for a song, just because I have connections there, but I saw the HF version was on sale for around $80, about 25-30 bucks of steel and some welding and you have a cheap usable upright band saw when you have the money.

Too bad about the shoes, they would have made some killer kicks for riding:(
 
Unky, when using your angle grinder, do you have any problems with getting the steel to hot (if cutting annealed steel)?
 
I don't use an angle grinder, johnnymac is using one. I have always used a hacksaw, but just got a portable band saw so that is what I will be using now
 
Off topic a bit-- I just bought a Harbor-Freight mortiser and took it back immediately after getting it set up. I have no reservations about saying it is without a doubt the most pathetic tool I have ever had the misfortune of trying to get to work, and I have used many in the last 63 years. From top to bottom this Harbor Freight power tool is just pure garbage. I hope I don't get some Chinese workers executed by posting this. I would say it is consumer fraud that cost me 300-plus miles of driving to and fro, plus a lot of time wasted. Odd because I have a half-ton truck crane and a 12-ton pipe bender of theirs, and they are okay, which is why I went to get the mortiser.
 
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