Yes, yet another grinder thread ...

nailcreek said:
I'm mostly concerned with the alignment issue - if the machine axle seating isn't perfectly ( 90 degrees ) aligned, belt tracking will be wonky. I know some builders use regular bolts for axles to keep cost down, but that seems a poor choice as alignment errors likely stack on each other. Relying on tracking adjustment seems a poor way to resolve build/material problems.
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If you think on bolts used to attach wheels , it is absolutely irrelevant which one bolts you use . It does not depend on the bolts whether there will be * alignment errors * or not .
 
a less than precise fit with a wheel axle could affect alignment a bit, but the bigger concern is premature bearing wear and/or failure
 
Ran a KMG for 15+yrs only negative was the belt noise and occasional maintenance.
Sold it and got an Ameribrade Runs smooth as silk and Customer service is top notch!
Accessories are a little pricy but worth the money for sure. Can't speak to the others mentioned but the Ameribrade is right up there and it tilts sideways and in reverse.
Smooth both ways...
 
I feel like I answered your questions on one of the FB forums, but I'll answer it here too. Things you list as possible downsides (not sure why you feel they are) are things I prefer. The 1.25" aluminum arms are so much lighter than the 1.5" steel ones. They are just as rigid and have no drawbacks that I can see. Bader has been using 1.25" arms since they came up with the idea of interchangeable tool arms. Some people that don't own aluminum tool arms claim they don't hold up as well as steel, but I've had my TW90 for more than 10 years and the tools arms are just fine, with minor surface scars. You don't need to wrench the handles on the tool arms, they just need to be snug. Multi slots on the grinder is another non-issue for me. Each tool arm on the TW90 has a tool arm slot attached.

Ratcheting tension is not hype or marketing. I understand thousands of people have grinders with springs or gas tubes, and that's fine. The ratcheting tension allows you to change belt tension without moving the tooling arm. It allows you to run with more tension and less tension than you can on a spring. I've ground on numerous grinders that have everything from ratcheting, spring, gas cylinder and pneumatic tension. By far the ratcheting tension offers the best tracking and flexibility. I have one grinder that has spring tension and the rest have ratcheting. If Burr King made a ratchet upgrade for my spring tensioned grinder, I would do the upgrade tomorrow. While people get by with spring tension, I've never known anyone with ratcheting to switch to spring.
 
J. Hoffman said:
I feel like I answered your questions on one of the FB forums, but I'll answer it here too. Things you list as possible downsides (not sure why you feel they are) are things I prefer. The 1.25" aluminum arms are so much lighter than the 1.5" steel ones. They are just as rigid and have no drawbacks that I can see. Bader has been using 1.25" arms since they came up with the idea of interchangeable tool arms. Some people that don't own aluminum tool arms claim they don't hold up as well as steel, but I've had my TW90 for more than 10 years and the tools arms are just fine, with minor surface scars. You don't need to wrench the handles on the tool arms, they just need to be snug. Multi slots on the grinder is another non-issue for me. Each tool arm on the TW90 has a tool arm slot attached.

Ratcheting tension is not hype or marketing. I understand thousands of people have grinders with springs or gas tubes, and that's fine. The ratcheting tension allows you to change belt tension without moving the tooling arm. It allows you to run with more tension and less tension than you can on a spring. I've ground on numerous grinders that have everything from ratcheting, spring, gas cylinder and pneumatic tension. By far the ratcheting tension offers the best tracking and flexibility. I have one grinder that has spring tension and the rest have ratcheting. If Burr King made a ratchet upgrade for my spring tensioned grinder, I would do the upgrade tomorrow. While people get by with spring tension, I've never known anyone with ratcheting to switch to spring.
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Quick question out of my ignorance... But why would you want to adjust tension? The benefit to a spring (as I see it) is that it goes to the exact same tension every time. I've been running my Wilmont TAG for about 8 years on a spring and never had the need or urge to change tension....and I grind almost every way imaginable (flat, hollow, convex, soft platen, belt backed platen, etc)
 
Belts vary and stretch. If you never adjusted the tool arm some would be tight, and others would slip. Both situations would affect tracking. On a Reeder it is just a few seconds to turn the lever, slide the arm in or out to what you want, tighten the lever, and let the spring go up to set tension. On a grinder with ratchet tension, the ratchet is pushed up until it is as tight as you like. Like you, I never saw a difference in performance between setting the tool arm when I put on a new belt and letting the spring apply the tension ... or shoving up the ratchet arm.
 
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