Should I go for the 24" contact wheel?

It’s custom made per order. You have to call them and order it.
 
Taqtaq said:
What about going with just a curved platen? You’d need more modifications (a platen chiller) into the grinder but you’re still saving money on custom belts.
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We have already enough problems with flat platen ....and curved platen are poor man solution for really big wheels :D I think /not sure/the one @Nathan make imitate something like 72 inch wheel ?
Out of knife world nobody use any kind of plate behind belts to grind metal ...no one . Industry use only wheels , wheels of different size ....
If I can make I would make even 30 inch wheel not 24 one :) Grinding wheel can not be to big.......;)
 
On the subject of even bigger wheels, I found a thread at another forum where this guy made himself a 40" aluminium wheel, and put it in a water cooled grinder with a VFD controlled 10 hp motor...

40"
 
I have a 14 inch wheel and love it. I'd have a 20 instead if I had it to do again. It isn't overly difficult to grind with. Once you lay down a track it wants to stay in it more or less. You have to lay that track straight and true though, and it takes a bit of practice.
But there are challenges, especially as you get out to the tip of a blade. Assuming you are planning large kitchen / chef knives? If that is the case, there are so many geometry decisions to make, all of which add complications to a simple hollow grind. Lots of study and contemplation are in order to figure all that out. This would apply to smaller blades as well.

That said, I have Nathan's 36 inch radiused platen and love it too. It works very well. Not quite the same as a big wheel, but certainly very effective.
It does not make me want to run out and by a 36 inch wheel instead. It works great. Once you get a track laid down it also wants to stay in the track.
I would try this option first as it is far less expensive and does the job very effectively. I haven't set up a dedicated platen cooler for mine, and I do large knives with thick stock. I just use a spray bottle to keep things cool and grind post-HT. A mister would be nice instead of a spray bottle.

That grinder Silverman is using looks pretty fabulous as well. If money were no object, yeah, I might do that. But it is not a necessity. Just a nice to have perhaps.
The bur king 20 is another that looks pretty amazing. But so much money for such a dedicated setup. Prohibitive. I used to drool over that one, but honestly, my 36 inch platen does what I need easily. Nathan also makes a 40-something and a 72ish platen. Plenty of options with those.
You can also make your own I think with just a grinder and a jig that would work as well. I came up with a scheme to do that a while back, but never have felt the need to put it into production for myself.
This is a drawing I came up with for the idea. Crude but should illustrate the process.

RP-Jig-1.jpg
 
Thanks for the post Brock Cutlery. Good information there. It's great how you can come to these forums and get first hand information from professional makers, just great. I am new to this, as I said before. So the input in this thread is really appreciated.

Edit: Yes, I really want to try and make kitchen knives as well. At som later stage, when I've gotten the hang of things.
 
I mostly grind with a 12" and a 14" wheel.

I would suggest trying the radiused platten mentioned above before you make a decision.
 
Natlek said:
Out of knife world nobody use any kind of plate behind belts to grind metal ...no one . Industry use only wheels , wheels of different size ....
;)
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I have to call you on that statement Natlek. This is a ridiculous thing to say. Many things in industry use a platen backed belt, and many industrial grinders come with one installed.
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Natlek said:
We have already enough problems with flat platen ...
Out of knife world nobody use any kind of plate behind belts to grind metal ...no one .
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Maybe you have problems with a flat platen but I really like the one I am using that Nathan made. If you have platen problems maybe you should try one. Also his curved platens were 36,48,and72"

Scaniaman said:
On the subject of even bigger wheels, I found a thread at another forum where this guy made himself a 40" aluminium wheel
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I just cant imagine an aluminum wheel being anywhere near as good as a rubber coated contact wheel . I switched the 2" wheel on my grinder to a rubber wheel and it grinds so much smoother than the metal wheel ?
 
Spalted: sorry, I forgot to mention it was coated (with PU).

Is it ok to link to other forums here? Otherwise just google "old world grinding meets the modern west" and you should find it.
 
Now that I would like to have. I probably dont need it though.
 
I have everything but the wheel in a big box in the storage. 2HP 3Ph motor, variable pulley belt drive transmission with 12" wide drive wheel, 12" wide idler wheel to match, and more. When I get the new shop up, I plan on assembling it as a rolling unit with 10" pneumatic tires so I can roll it outside on pretty days. When done it should be a 36" to 40" contact wheel belt grinder version of a wet wheel kaiten toishi. You will sit in front of it, knees straddling the wheel. On/Off will be controlled by a foot switch. It will run between 10RPM and 50RPM or around 100SFPM to 500SFPM.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I have everything but the wheel in a big box in the storage. 2HP 3Ph motor, variable pulley belt drive transmission with 12" wide drive wheel, 12" wide idler wheel to match, and more. When I get the new shop up, I plan on assembling it as a rolling unit with 10" pneumatic tires so I can roll it outside on pretty days. When done it should be a 36" to 40" contact wheel belt grinder version of a wet wheel kaiten toishi. You will sit in front of it, knees straddling the wheel. On/Off will be controlled by a foot switch. It will run between 10RPM and 50RPM or around 100SFPM to 500SFPM.
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Stacy, this sounds amazing. I have used kaiten toishi in Japan, and they are wonderful. That said, they have to be trued as much as 5x a day in a production shop, and, you are constantly tweaking your technique as you notice low spots in the wheel. A giant wheel belt grinder would eliminate that problem, even if belts do need to changed with some frequency.

What size belts will this machine run, and what do you intend to use as a contact wheel?
 
The belt would likely last a very long time. At slow speed and run wet the abrasive would not wear very fast. Klingspor will make any belt I want up in custom size. Once the wheel is made, I expect something around 4", but it may be as much as 6" wide.
 
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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I have to call you on that statement Natlek. This is a ridiculous thing to say. Many things in industry use a platen backed belt, and many industrial grinders come with one installed.
s-l1600.jpg
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I thought on little more sophisticated belt grinders and work on real steel , not on something like this for taking burr of angle iron . . .
 
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Spalted said:
Maybe you have problems with a flat platen but I really like the one I am using that Nathan made. If you have platen problems maybe you should try one. Also his curved platens were 36,48,and72"
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You have same problems/ ok , flaws / with flat platen as I have ...... they are wear million times faster , they generate far,far more heat then wheels , they don t grind as fast as wheels , belts last much more on wheels ........
 
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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
The belt would likely last a very long time. At slow speed and run wet the abrasive would not wear very fast. Klingspor will make any belt I want up in custom size. Once the wheel is made, I expect something around 4", but it may be as much as 6" wide.
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It sounds great. I keep thinking about this. Will you make the contact wheel or have a machine shop do it? Very interested to make something like this eventually. Even with an actual kaiten toishi (or ento 円砥, as they’re often called) for hogging, I think this would be the superior tool for precision work.
 
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