surface grinder/mill

marekz

marekz

Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
1,699
where can i get a surface grinder that doesnt cost over 1200 dollars---is that even possible. my friend also wants to sell me a grizzly mill/lathe for $500.00. he said it works fine but he neds something bigger--how much bigger does a knifemaker need? yall ever see this mill/lathe deal? any opinions--thanks mark
 
Concerning the surface grinder......I would recommend watching Harbor Freight sale things that come in the mail. Before I purchased a surface grinder I did about 6 months worth of research on them, and it all finally lead me to a company in San Fransisco, that imports surface grinders. I called the outfit, and after I convinced the gentleman that I wasn't interested in becoming an importer, he started talking to me. He stated that nearly all of the 6x12" surface grinders that enter the U.S., do so through his business. He also told me that ALL of the 6x12" import surface grinders are built on the same factory floor/barge. He stated that the machines arrive to him in crates of 36 machines. His people go down a list, counting out how many machines each retailer has ordered. Based upon who the retailer is, some machines are unpacked, painted in a portion of the warehouse, labels applied, then they are re-crated and shipped to the retailer. When I asked about Harbor Freight machines, his response was..."We don't even uncrate those, we just count out what they ordered and forward the machines to them."
I asked a lot of other questions, but it boils down to the fact that all the 6x12" imported machines are basically the same, with the same motors, mechanisms, etc. The difference between a $999 Harbor Freight with free shipping, and a $2400 machine (plus shipping) from one of the other retailers, is nothing more than a paint job and some labels.
I've been running my 6x12" Harbor Freight surface grinder for over 5 years now, with no issues.
More important that the brand of machine is that it be set up correctly, and that you obtain a QUALITY mag chuck for it. That's the pricey part. A quality fine pole mag chuck in 6x12" new, is going to be $600+ easy. At first I purchase a 5X10" Suburban fine pole chuck, and at that time the best deal I could get was just short of $500. When I outgrew that chuck, I took the time (and the chance) and found an older 6x12" fine pole chuck on Ebay. Got it for less than $250, and have been using it ever since.

All of this information pertains to 6x12" import surface grinders. I've not researched other sizes, so I can only relay what I've discovered with these size/type machines.
 
got my surface grinder from Ohio, little far from you. but the place is called HGR industries, they sale all sorts of second hand machinery, mine works like a charm, was like 400, and had to spend $200 on a new motor cause it was 3 phase, but all in all i got a great my money's worth its a real smooth running piece of equipment.

Andrew
 
The mill/lathe combo may be a good deal or not, depending on which one it is and how much use it has. The problems most people encounter with them are that the head impedes the swing of the lathe or that the way the head tilts makes it very difficult to get it positioned the same way twice. If you're spending a lot of money on these sorts of tools, it's probably worth getting a small metal lathe and a mill separately.
 
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...=/images?q=grizzly+mill+lathe&um=1&hl=en&sa=N this is what was offered to me,however, its about 5 years old and it has a stand/cabinet under it. so do you think its worth it or would it be better to save up for a couple a years for a seperate mill and lathe. also is a surface grinder an absolutely neccesary item. im only doing stock removal with precision o1. in the future i will learn forging etc... how do bladesmiths even the steel out precisely? im sure not everyone uses a surface grinder. thanks mark
 
I know a lot of people who have purchased those machines, and without exception, they have all told me that it doesn't do either job well. Most of the those same folks have since gotten rid of the combo machines and purchased separate milling machines and lathes. I had a mini version of a combo machine like that at one time. The mill was just useless, and the lathe portion was OK at best.
 
thanks for the info and saving me 500 big ones. now if i should prioritize i guess i should get a mill first which i see will run around a grand--thats a years savings. then a metal lathe--how much for one of those babies--im guessing another grand? any comments on the surface grinder?--thanks mark
 
It depends a lot on the size and make of the machine. A small mill can be as little as $300, a small metal lathe is about $400. The enco/grizzly/harbor freight lathes are fine for most knife work in my opinion. A mill would be my first choice over a lathe if I were considering just knife making.

Keep an eye out for a used mill or for a HF sale. Those $1000 big mills that harbor freight has will go on sale for $700 and you can often get them at a store. If you scour craigslist and used tool outfits you can probably get a great deal on a mill that is knifemaker sized. You don't have to get a full-tilt floor mill to mill bolsters and the sort.
 
Remember that you will probably spend at least as much on tooling for a new mill as you did for the mill. I didn't believe it at first either but do now.
 
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