Happy Face:
It ain't the gun, it's the gunner.
I have a 2X42 Craftsman. Why that one? Because the 20 year old 3X21 hand-held sander I had been using burnt out the bearings after the 6th blade I made on it and was half way through a blade when it happened. I knew I would probably die if I had to go back to using files but there was no way that I could afford even the cheapest 2X72 grinder.
Soooo... I first looked at a replacement for the hand held sander I killed. Then I looked at sanders such as you're looking at. In the end I chose the 2x42 because I felt that there are more belts available.
You've read the negatives, It's underpowered yet it runs too fast. Lets explore these charges a little bit.
Under powered: If I'm trying to hog a lot of steel off real quick by pushing it harder against the platen I can slow down or even stop the belt if I push hard enough. I'm probably just accommodating the needs of the grinder but this is usually not a big issue for me. I'm more concerned with getting the grinds and angles correct then to worry about how quick it removes metal. It's a whole heck of a lot faster than a file.
I suspect that If I had a nice 2X72 grinder I would have a hard time understanding how anyone could settle for anything less. I guess I don't miss what I never had.
It runs too fast: Yup. Sure does. But again I adjust how I do things because of it. An analogy - I've only ever hunted deer with a high power rifle and can't imagine why anyone would want to use a shotgun or muzzle loader. My brother-in-law prefers using a shotgun. To my way of thinking they don't have the range. In the case of the muzzle loader it has only one shot and reloading is not very fast. A deer could WALK out of range by the time a traditional muzzle loader is reloaded. It ain't the gun, it's the gunner.
If I could afford a 2X72 grinder there would be one sitting on my bench RIGHT NOW. Maybe some day I will but for now it's either the 2X42 (or some other similarly priced product), or hand files, or I don't make knives. That last option would sure save me a lot of money since I've never sold any of the knives I've made. Get whatever grinder you can as long as you can keep making knives.
LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
It ain't the gun, it's the gunner.
I have a 2X42 Craftsman. Why that one? Because the 20 year old 3X21 hand-held sander I had been using burnt out the bearings after the 6th blade I made on it and was half way through a blade when it happened. I knew I would probably die if I had to go back to using files but there was no way that I could afford even the cheapest 2X72 grinder.
Soooo... I first looked at a replacement for the hand held sander I killed. Then I looked at sanders such as you're looking at. In the end I chose the 2x42 because I felt that there are more belts available.
You've read the negatives, It's underpowered yet it runs too fast. Lets explore these charges a little bit.
Under powered: If I'm trying to hog a lot of steel off real quick by pushing it harder against the platen I can slow down or even stop the belt if I push hard enough. I'm probably just accommodating the needs of the grinder but this is usually not a big issue for me. I'm more concerned with getting the grinds and angles correct then to worry about how quick it removes metal. It's a whole heck of a lot faster than a file.
I suspect that If I had a nice 2X72 grinder I would have a hard time understanding how anyone could settle for anything less. I guess I don't miss what I never had.
It runs too fast: Yup. Sure does. But again I adjust how I do things because of it. An analogy - I've only ever hunted deer with a high power rifle and can't imagine why anyone would want to use a shotgun or muzzle loader. My brother-in-law prefers using a shotgun. To my way of thinking they don't have the range. In the case of the muzzle loader it has only one shot and reloading is not very fast. A deer could WALK out of range by the time a traditional muzzle loader is reloaded. It ain't the gun, it's the gunner.
If I could afford a 2X72 grinder there would be one sitting on my bench RIGHT NOW. Maybe some day I will but for now it's either the 2X42 (or some other similarly priced product), or hand files, or I don't make knives. That last option would sure save me a lot of money since I've never sold any of the knives I've made. Get whatever grinder you can as long as you can keep making knives.
LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
