Belt grinder

J. Hoffman said:
Unfortunately Northridge Grinder is no more.
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I keep reading that and heard it from a friend, too, but I checked before I posted and the website is still up. I figured that'll at least allow for a comparison versus other machines.
 
I’ve got a KMG-TX and haven’t had any issues. It seems to be well built but it’s the only 2x72 I have experience with so I can’t say how it compares to others but it would be hard for me to believe you could find a much better setup. I just got the surface grinder attachment for it a few weeks ago and it gets everything within 0.001” of parallel so far which I think is pretty impressive. I’ve had good luck dealing with Beaumont Metal Works. The SGA was the only thing that took more than a week to be delivered from the time I ordered it. I also have one of their disk sanders and really like it.

The KMG-TX doesn’t have a reverse switch but I’m not experienced enough to know what I’d use one for if it did. Once I figure it out I’ll probably try to add one.
 
ScarFoot said:
I’ve got a KMG-TX and haven’t had any issues. It seems to be well built but it’s the only 2x72 I have experience with so I can’t say how it compares to others but it would be hard for me to believe you could find a much better setup. I just got the surface grinder attachment for it a few weeks ago and it gets everything within 0.001” of parallel so far which I think is pretty impressive. I’ve had good luck dealing with Beaumont Metal Works. The SGA was the only thing that took more than a week to be delivered from the time I ordered it. I also have one of their disk sanders and really like it.

The KMG-TX doesn’t have a reverse switch but I’m not experienced enough to know what I’d use one for if it did. Once I figure it out I’ll probably try to add one.
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The switch is only part of the issue... If they didn't set up a separate tracking system for reverse it likely won't work. The normal tracking knob won't track it in reverse
 
GRapp said:
That one Contender Works has looks nice, no first-hand experience though to speak of.
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I have the Contender grinder and it's really nice. Darren put a lot of thought into it and the accessories. Both the design and build quality are excellent.
 
Ricky-O said:
I have the Contender grinder and it's really nice. Darren put a lot of thought into it and the accessories. Both the design and build quality are excellent.
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Maybe he can chime in but at some point he's wanting to sell an upgrade that would allow you to retrofit everything needed for water cooled grinding (trough, flaps, misters, etc) which would be the only one on the market.

I've got his articulated work rest and it's hands down the best on the market.
 
REK Knives said:
Maybe he can chime in but at some point he's wanting to sell an upgrade that would allow you to retrofit everything needed for water cooled grinding (trough, flaps, misters, etc) which would be the only one on the market.
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It is worth noting that he has accessories that aren't on his website. I ordered a water cooling accessory that isn't on his website (that should arrive today).
 
A note on reverse tracking to add to REK's comments:

Belt tracking is in two (technically three) directions - yaw (u) and roll (V) - pitch (Ω) is fixed by the wheel placement on the grinder but is somewhat affected by belt tension. Most tracking works in only one of these planes (usually roll). That works fine in forward for most grinders by aligning the belt with the forward roller. When the motor is reversed though, the tracking wheel is tracking to the drive wheel. This has different parameters in direction and distance than before and may need tracking adjustments. Sometimes you can only get a partial alignment on the platen. For sharpening, this is usually acceptable since it is the slack belt that is used.
Grinders with two axis tracking can be fine-tuned to allow direction changes with little or no adjustment.
Proper belt tension is also important on tracking.

Obviously, grinders with the drive wheel crowned instead of the tracking wheel will be harder to run in reverse. This is usually found only on DIY grinders.
 
I too have the Pheer. Two of them. Nothing fancy but track great and run and run and run. One is older and the other about five months. When getting the second one here recently I debated if I needed one of the newer style grinders from some of the others mentioned in this thread. Ya know one that will do this and that and that and this. I decided that I didn't (I too had the budget) but I just don't do all those things. So for what I do and how I do it and how often I do it (I make lots of knives), the Pheer grinders have really worked out for me.
 
I installed a reverse switch on my KMG. It works but the tracking is a bit wonky, at least with the small wheel. I used it to shape this guard.

20240128_160456.jpg
 
Ricky-O said:
It is worth noting that he has accessories that aren't on his website. I ordered a water cooling accessory that isn't on his website (that should arrive today).
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With Bladeshow right around the corner I am working on finalizing a lot of new attachments and other tools that I have been working on. Got some cool stuff coming out!

In regards to tracking in reverse, that was one of my main goals when building my grinder. I wanted to be able to have a platen installed and have very minimal belt movement when switching from forward to reverse. It is correct that when you switch a grinder to reverse the drive wheel becomes the tracking wheel leading to whatever attachment is installed. This is why I chose to run a crowned, rubber drive wheel. Since, in regards to a platen, we only care about the position of the belt in between the pulleys, I developed the cam arbors I have. These allow for precise adjustment in both forward and reverse of the grinder to get the belt running parallel to the platen. Properly tuned I can switch my grinder from forward to reverse with no change in position of the belt. Unfortunately, due to every belt behaving a little differently, it is common to have a little bit of movement. However this can quickly be corrected if that little bit of precision is needed.

The quality of the overall build is also huge in tracking. Pulleys that aren't square with each other will diminish tracking a lot. Also, proper tension is very important.
 
REK Knives said:
The switch is only part of the issue... If they didn't set up a separate tracking system for reverse it likely won't work. The normal tracking knob won't track it in reverse
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You’ve got me curious now so a switch is on the way from KMG. We’ll see what happens.
 
I put a reverse switch on my classic KMG and the belt tracks about halfway off the pulleys with no way to adjust it. It could be tweaked to run better though.
 
I think Contender's water-cooled platen backing is now called a magnetic heatsink. It combines the chiller with a water spray or mist system.

I always recommend a free or nearly free Breg Polar Cube Cooler as the perfect container for the ice water reservoir and pump. It has the hoses, pump, and AC power supply or DC battery pack. People who had a knee, shoulder, elbow, foot, etc. surgery often get one free for post-surgery therapy. They have no need for it afterwards and will give it away or sell it at a yard sale for $10-15. I pick them up whenever I see one cheap. The thrift stores often have one.
 
Maybe it's me, but is replacing the whole grinder due to a failed inverter not throwing out the baby with the bath water? Unless the grinder itself is also meh, but I don't see any indication of that in the OP's posts in this thread... Fixing the inverter sounds like something that can be done in isolation from the rest of the grinder.
 
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