The best belt sanders for knife making.

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Hy guys. I,m looking to by my self a chrismas present. I would like to know what kind of belt sander i should by and what are your opinions on bader grinders,Burking or if any other.I,ve bein using`a regular 4" belt sander whith flat disc on the side and i think ther's to much restriction. Not enough space to work my blades. Can someone give me advice according to there experience.
I would like to get the right machine to do the job.:confused:
 
hey man there are all kinds of good info here you just gotta find it :> try going to the search function go to the advanced search function then search for belt grinders in the thread titles this will return about 1 billion post to search through but when you are done you will have just about every ones opinion on belt grinders , belts , platens and the like. hope this helps
doc silas
 
Are you looking for total versatility? Do you do either flat or hollow grinding or both? Do you have budget constraints?

Some of the American manufacturers may not ship to Canada. That will be something that may narrow your search.

Bader III, KMG (Beaumont Metalworks), Burrking, Hardcore are top end grinders. It thus becomes a question of how you wish to option them, such as accessories and motor choice. My personal choice would be KMG, followed by Bader. This is not speaking negatively about the other two at all. It is a matter of "drive configuration" preference and ease of changeover of different tooling.

If you search well, you will find a post here in Shoptalk that shows a grinder being produced in BC. It is new and not one familiar to this forum.

More information about your intent will help us to offer better advice.
 
I have been working on getting my grinder together for the past 2-3 months. I am a Montrealer as well and it is not as easy for us as it is for the guys over the border, will PM you my cell, give me a call if you'd like and I'd be happy to pass on what I have learned. It could probably save you some time and trouble.

Henrik
 
Hello, Henrik! Did you get anywhere in your search for wheels?
 
Yes I did.

I spoke to Norm Coote who was very helpful. I asked him if he could make me the wheels I need and he said no problem (he actually offered me to order the wheels for me from Beaumont and ship them to Canada. I find this amazing since he himself is in the bussiness of making grinders). I ordered the wheels from him as well as a 10" contact wheel and the shafts.

It all should arrive in a week or two.

Henrik
 
I am happy to hear that for you, Henrik! :thumbup: Perhaps you can save Louis some of the frustration you have experienced. Please let us know how your project works out!

Regards...
 
Jantz , is now selling tracking wheels, rubber bound wheels , etc, for building your own grinder. a new catalog also, George
 
Hello what i here and i see is the machine that i whant is the KMG and its the one i will try to get. I have contacted the company and like you say the will not deliver to canada. So i'm looking for other options.If i knew someone in the states who could get it and then send it by fedex or somthing like that it would be esyer for me . I can use my visa to purchas it.I saw the BIII that looks alote like the KMG but dont know much about it.
 
I have and like the BIII. One advantage is that it's main mounting (for a table) is the mount on the motor. The machine itself mounts to the motor's C-face flange. I find it eloquent--plus I don't like belts and pulleys which this eliminates.

Here is a picture of my set up as it sits today. The grinder is mounted on an 'angle plate' which means the whole thing can tilt 90-degrees to the left.

This is good because it allows you to run your belt horizontally. You can set up tool arms for convenient small-wheel profile Grinding as shown, or do other neat things, etc.
This means I don't need a separate machine for those operations.

You'll have a harder time tilting a KMG, as nice as that machine is.
 

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The Bader III is a very nice machine, Louis. It is quite popular. The company has been well established for many years and enjoys a very good reputation amongst the knifemaking community as well as the industrial world. The people at Bader have been very easy to deal with for many years. I would give them a call and talk to them, also. If Dan Johnson is still running the place, you won't find a nicer man.

Here is the website:

http://www.stephenbader.com/
 
The Bader III is a very nice machine, Louis. It is quite popular. The company has been well established for many years and enjoys a very good reputation amongst the knifemaking community as well as the industrial world. The people at Bader have been very easy to deal with for many years. I would give them a call and talk to them, also. If Dan Johnson is still running the place, you won't find a nicer man.

Here is the website:

http://www.stephenbader.com/

I have to agree, Dan has always been a good guy to me. He's helpful and will offer good advice.
I make my own grinders now (have a few different 2x72 machines). They're all based (read:copied) from the Bader design and I buy their wheels/idlers, etc. for those projects.
 
Louis:

As a Candian maker, you really need to look at Bee grinders - they are out of London, Ont- I have had one for 5 years and am entirely happy with mine. They can be had in variable speed, for a few dollars more - if your allowance allows, I would strongly recommend.
Check with Jeff Diotte at Downie Knife supply (his links are on the CKG website).

Mike
 
....Just for fun,
Here is one of my Bader copies making up part of a 36-inch 2x72 'surface grinder. (Until now there have been only about 3 people that have even seen this thing.)
The bottom half of the machine is an old Hanchett grinder. The entire top half, including third stage, was built here. There are two 8x18 inch magnetic chucks on a giant tilting-sine apparatus. It's designed for 'cleaning up' sword-length forgings with forged-in distal tapers.
The mag-chuck platform tilts so you could do edge-bevels, but I have a better set up for that.
This unit is now all-hydraulic-automatic drive with fresh electronics, etc.
....Something different....kind of chunky, but it works.
 

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Impressive piece of machine building, Joe! Thanks for sharing.
 
I agree that you should be looking at the Bee grinder. Jeff Diotte sells them in Ontario and we sell them in Alberta. Taxes vs shipping. It is a very nice grinder available in a wide variety of configurations. It has been available for many years - it is not made in someones gargage - and it is supplied complete and reliable.

Rob!
 
I saw that suremak grinder i think it looks a bit weak.I will try to get more info on the BIII and i think janz suplie holds that machine. I have ordered stuff from them and ther is no problem regarding the export. Thanks again guys.
 
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