What do you guys think?

silverdragon33 said:
that looks almost exactly like this one except more expensive: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2485

i have the central machinery one and it's great.
Click to expand...

+1.

The Grizzly and HF appear identical, except the HF is less expensive. A lot of people use these just fine, myself included. Jerry Hossom has a forum on that other place about using a belt grinder. I took off the plastic guard at the top and the table.

Get your belts here

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48040&cat=1,43072
 
I use the HF 1x30 belt sander quite a bit in my leather work and sometimes for sharpening and other projects. I've had it about a year and a half. I always attach my shop vac to the exhaust port to suck in the particulates and that does a decent job. Just yesterday I broke the side plate with the vacuum port, so I'm not sure what I'll do for now beyond get my shop a lot messier than before.
 
Gerberblades said:
Silverdragon, does your grinder work good for you? On infi?
Click to expand...

it works great. i'll agree it does have a bit of vibration, but it's not too bad. it's great for starting out on if you've never had one before. i'll probably get something a little higher end when this one breaks down, but i can put an excellent convex edge on my Busses with it . . . after a bit of practice on some cheapo knives. way faster than by hand, and i get a better edge . . . not that i'm good at it by hand

HPIM1032.jpg


HPIM0902.jpg
 
I have the harbor freight combo disk one. It does put a mean edge on knives. I have never used it on my Infi yet. I just don't have enough practice to risk it. I hand convex my infi. I have done two knives on the belt sander, and they are stupid sharp, but I need more practice to avoid the dreaded rounded tip.
 
Gerberblades said:
Which one, the Grizzly?
Click to expand...

I think the Grizzly is the same as the Harbor Freight sander as well, I have the one that says "Harbor Freight" on it.

I still use it, with a charged leather belt.:thumbup:

Its just too fast for my tastes.:)
 
Probably too fast for me, I like doing things nice and slow, the faster it is the better chance and the faster I could screw the knife up.

Maybe something with variable speed.

GregS said:
I think the Grizzly is the same as the Harbor Freight sander as well, I have the one that says "Harbor Freight" on it.

I still use it, with a charged leather belt.:thumbup:

Its just too fast for my tastes.:)
Click to expand...
 
I've been watching this thread for a bit and am interested in recommendations.

I live close to a harbor freight and was thinking of picking one up from there. Do they sell any balanced pulley models or ones that are considered decent quality?

Tagged for info.
 
GregS said:
I have the same one and IMO its a POS. The pulleys aren't balaced so the machine shook from day one, and the RPM is much is too high. For junk knives, yes. INFI? No.:thumbdn::o Get something with variable speed, my next one will have that feature.
Click to expand...
+1. I bought the HF and the Grizzly (one was backordered and I didn't want to wait). One of them worked and one didn't but both are pieces of crap. Agree about the tolerances being off and the speed iof the belts too high, especailly for learning. Wasn't expecting much from a $50 machine, but still, folks had said it was an OK starter machine. All I can say is, put that $50 towards a quality variable speed grinder. Cry once. Soon I'll be getting rid of these, and what sucks is I have a bunch of 1X30 belts I may not use on the next one. Try Amazon for the Kalamazoo, I've heard its a better machine than these cheapies (a photo was posted earlier in this thread). That's if you're on a tight budget. But if you have more to spend, you might want to go one up fro the Kalamazoo. Talk to knifemakers about which ones they use. I think I'll be trying the Kalamazoo next. BTW, I also think the HF and the Grizzly are the same machine. Not worth the money. Remember, you gotta buy the belts too. And leather belts are awesome to have (but pricey). So spend cash on a machine you'll be happy with and keep a while, so you're not wasting money on belts.
 
Thanks Balislinger! Thats why I buy Busses. Rather spend more money on a quality item, then having to keep buying a new Chinese knife every month... in the end its cheaper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top