Surface Grinder Attachment Suggestions

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Patrick Martin

Joined
Oct 2, 2018
Messages
8
Looking for input on surface grinder attachments for my Wilmont grinder. Currently looking at OBM just curious was there other brands that people prefer better.
 
Patrick, I can't speak for the other brands, but I just got this one a couple weeks ago: https://beaumontmetalworks.com/product/sga/
So far it's great and it looks like it would fit your grinder.

I had a homemade one using a milling slide table. It 'worked' but turning a crank can leave tiny dips (unless you have a monster, heavy real one). Using one that you can manually pull (fast and smooth) is a much better design. I can't believe how much time I've wasted flattening stuff on the platen over the years.

Seriously, I was just in the shop and thought, "I don't need to pull out the surface grinder, I'll just flatten this knife right here." That lasted about 5 minutes. Moral of the story: if you're even thinking about one, just do it.
 
Reeder... It's the best SGA in the business imho. I've got a Wilmont TAG-101 and it works perfect, even their dual arm upgrade. They also precision grind their wheels to prevent the rippling effect many experience. I also REALLY like the remove able magnets - dunno how others manage not being able to remove haha
 
I have the Ameribrade surface grinder and while I have nothing to compare it too I can tell you it is a top notch SGA. I think at Blade Show they may have unveiled an adapter for it to work on 1 1/2" tooling arms.. Not sure if it's on their website yet but I'm sure if you reached out to them they could give you an eta on availability. They have outstanding customer support.
 
Colby L. said:
I have the Ameribrade surface grinder and while I have nothing to compare it too I can tell you it is a top notch SGA. I think at Blade Show they may have unveiled an adapter for it to work on 1 1/2" tooling arms.. Not sure if it's on their website yet but I'm sure if you reached out to them they could give you an eta on availability. They have outstanding customer support.
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Yes it is, although there's a 4 week backlog. https://www.ameribrade.com/kit-products/surface-grinder

I have the Brodbeck Ironworks surface grinder attachment and it gets the job done, but honestly I wish I had the Ameribrade instead, purely for the releasing magnets so you can easily remove your knife blank from the chuck. Every time I use my Brodbeck I end up smashing my fingertips and cursing up a storm. I contacted them and asked for tips and they suggested using a thin piece of liner material between the blank and the magnet but I haven't tried it yet.

The Reeder looks really nice, but again the magnets look to have the same problem.

Northridge Tool says they have one in the works, and I believe J. Keeton J. Keeton got a traditional style of magnetic chuck with a release lever from them to use on his custom surface grinder attachment.
 
Just a follow-up on the discussion about Ameribrade surface grinder/1.5" tooling arm.

I just spoke with Kevin at Ameribrade. He'll be sending me the surface grinder with their new 1.5" arm. (I'll only be in the US for a few weeks, and he did his best to move things along for my convenience.) He referred to the 1.5" arm as a "prototype," but said that early reports are that it works great. I can't wait to try it out on my KMG. I've had only limited dealings with Ameribrade, but each time their customer service has been absolutely top-flight. I have confidence in these guys and expect to move my future business their way.

He said the surface grinder with the 1.5" arm will be on the website in the next 2-4 weeks, more or less.

-matthew
 
matthewhoffman said:
Just a follow-up on the discussion about Ameribrade surface grinder/1.5" tooling arm.

I just spoke with Kevin at Ameribrade. He'll be sending me the surface grinder with their new 1.5" arm. (I'll only be in the US for a few weeks, and he did his best to move things along for my convenience.) He referred to the 1.5" arm as a "prototype," but said that early reports are that it works great. I can't wait to try it out on my KMG. I've had only limited dealings with Ameribrade, but each time their customer service has been absolutely top-flight. I have confidence in these guys and expect to move my future business their way.

He said the surface grinder with the 1.5" arm will be on the website in the next 2-4 weeks, more or less.

-matthew
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Looking forward to your report regarding the attachment. I have an as yet unspecified SGA on my list for my KMG.
 
Michael Black said:
Every time I use my Brodbeck I end up smashing my fingertips and cursing up a storm. I contacted them and asked for tips and they suggested using a thin piece of liner material between the blank and the magnet but I haven't tried it yet.
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Try to turn steel 90 degree to chuck and then pull it out by sliding............ do not pull upwards never. One of the reason why I used round magnets in my chuck is exactly that problem .
 
I agree with Natlek, rotate the blade and them slide it off the chuck. Don't try and pry or bend it off or you put a bend in the blade and destroy the reason you surface ground it.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I agree with Natlek, rotate the blade and them slide it off the chuck. Don't try and pry or bend it off or you put a bend in the blade and destroy the reason you surface ground it.
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I have small surface grinder in my car service .When I bought it /too many years back to remember when / an old experienced master gave me this advice..........never insert / remove steel from above on chuck, always sliping/pulling from side , although it is an on/off magnetic chuck .
 
Has anyone heard how Northridge Tool’s SGA is coming along? I sent an email a few days ago but might need to call. I would pull the trigger on the Reeder but would like one with on/off magnetic chuck… stuck between the reeder and ameribrade (when they offer with a 1.5” tooling arm) at the moment.
 
Did we ever get a report about an OBM SGA working on a Wilmont?
 
Have you thought about building your own? If you consider it, I would recommend ordering an aluminum wheel from Sun Ray and getting a good cross feed table. The PT-SD102P table has its issues, but they are fixable. I bought a tiny lathe cross feed for 20 bucks and it turned out to be too flexible. Overall, I think the project would cost about 400-450 doing it right the first time, and closer to 800 if you buy the North Ridge on off chuck. I think that would make a pretty sweet setup for $800.
 
I have a Northridge grinder, but they recently told me that their SGA won't be ready any time soon. I just spoke with Ameribrade about their option of a 1.5" tool arm. They are supplying them now for an extra $100, so $1225 total, but you have to phone as they aren't listed on the website.
 
Does anyone make one with a 1.25" arm? I sure do like the Reeder but don't have a mill to take the arm down to the size I need.
 
Travis Fry said:
Does anyone make one with a 1.25" arm? I sure do like the Reeder but don't have a mill to take the arm down to the size I need.
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Contact Reeder - they just might put it on a 1-1/4" arm for you. They might wish to use a double arm for rigidity, but I'd at least talk with them.
 
Colby L. said:
I have the Ameribrade surface grinder and while I have nothing to compare it too I can tell you it is a top notch SGA. I think at Blade Show they may have unveiled an adapter for it to work on 1 1/2" tooling arms.. Not sure if it's on their website yet but I'm sure if you reached out to them they could give you an eta on availability. They have outstanding customer support.
Click to expand...
Hey, bumping this to ask how the Ameribrade surface grinder worked out for you on 1.5 arms? What grinder are you using it on?

I ordered a Northridge grinder and wanted to add the Ameribrade surface grinder, but I'm learning that it's not compatible because the offsets are different and the Ameribrade SGA is not offset-adjustable. It's a fixed 0.75 offset and George says the Northridge offset is 3/8".

I thought 1.5" arms were plug and play, so I went Northridge over Ameribrade to avoid the 2" tooling arms and open myself up to all vendor's attachments. But this varying offset thing sounds like a PITA. It makes me wonder if I'm best off just picking a grinder with a full set of attachments, like Ameribrade, and just live within their ecosystem.

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EDIT: I think there was a major misunderstanding. Ameribrade was quoting me the distance between the distance between the arm and the belt, and this is definitely larger than 3/8" on a Northridge. I'm not sure what the 3/8" refers to or if I heard it wrong. My current understanding is that either of these SGA will work quite well on a Northridge.. but until I get my grinder and attachment, I won't know for sure.
 
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