Two or three wheel grinder design

roxtar

roxtar

Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
85
Ready to start building my grinder but not sure whether to go with a 3 wheel, KMG style, or a 2 wheel, ala Coote.
Three wheel seems offer more options however, the two wheel's ability to rotate the belt from horizontal to vertical seems very handy.

Looking for opinions from those with actual experience.
 
My first grinder was a 2x48 coote, I now own a KMG. The KMG style is hands down a far superior machine in terms of versatility and built rock solid. I vote for the KMG.
 
I built a 3 wheel about 8 years ago. I really like the way everything works on this style. With a tooling arm, you can have all the options you can imagine.

IMG_0168.jpg


IMG_0083.jpg


Paul
 
I'd go with a 3-wheel style...oh wait...I DID :D

Being able to swap in additional tooling is HUGE...

-d
 
In my experience, a 3 wheel tends to have better tracking as well, though a quality setup of a 2 wheel does all right.

--nathan
 
I've got a coote and a KMG, love them both. The coote I like better for slack grinding and some operations, the KMG with the flat platten for grinding bevells. The KMG is still kinda new to me so it may be just that I'm not that used to it yet. One thing the KMG is built like a tank, very solid.
 
+1 for three wheel. Tooling arm options are a must IMHO for your main grinder. If you build it with a 1-1/2" square socket for the tooling arm, you can throw pretty much any KMG or Bader attachments right into it. To me, vert. or horiz. platen are pretty much the same in terms of what can be done with them. Then again, a simple 2 wheel grinder is probably easier to build. The other thing is that 2 wheel grinders are usually front (contact) wheel drive. This means that whatever wheel you are grinding with will dictate your grinding speed and affect your torque. So if your contact wheel is 14" for nice hollow grinds, it'll be screaming fast and pretty weak.
 
Just in case no one has said it - three wheel. :D

It is hands down the superior design. All grinding is done at the same position (belly button height for me) no matter which tool you are using. The two wheel designs stick up in the air like the tip of a fishing rod, often leading to magnification of any small vibrations. Three wheel designs only need one tool rest. The two wheel ones need one at the contact wheel and one at the flat platen. Most two wheel grinders drive the contact wheel. That means that changing contact wheel size drastically changes belt speed - if it is even possible to change the wheel size.

Just my three cents worth. :)

Rob!
 
When it comes to using a wheel, I believe a two wheel design will "out hog" a three wheel grinder (if the contact wheel is the driven wheel)
I own a KMG with a 2hp variable motor and a Hardcore grinder with a 1.5hp variable.
the Hardcore will out hog the KMG hands down.
I ground with a KMG for a couple years and love the machine, but when it comes to hollow grinding, the Hardcore is King.
 
As a very happy KMG owner, I'm quite willing to believe that a top of the line two wheel grinder is better for hollow grinding if that's all you plan to do with that grinder! There are certainly a number of professional knifemakers who meet that criterion.

The advantage of three wheel grinders is flexibility and quick tool change, this is by far the most important for a hobbyist like me (especially since I have yet to hollow grind a blade).
 
Dan Pierson said:
As a very happy KMG owner, I'm quite willing to believe that a top of the line two wheel grinder is better for hollow grinding if that's all you plan to do with that grinder! There are certainly a number of professional knifemakers who meet that criterion.

The advantage of three wheel grinders is flexibility and quick tool change, this is by far the most important for a hobbyist like me (especially since I have yet to hollow grind a blade).
Click to expand...

I 100% agree
That is why I bought the KMG first.
Tool change out is way faster on the KMG.
I just had no idea how much more agressive the Hardcore was until I ground my first blade on one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top