Recommendation? Belt Grinder

Bladegunner

Bladegunner

Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
595
Just getting into knife making well really only re-gripped a couple knifes. My son gave me a $300 big river gift card and I would like to get a belt grinder. I could add money if needed. Is the 2" belt the standard? do I need the disc grinder or just the belt? I don't like to buy cheap tools but don't want to spend $1200 either. Can you recommend one machine over another in the $300 to $500 range.

Thank you for your time.
 
Following this thread as I too would like to find something in that price range. I don't think a 2x72 is realistic at this price point w/o building it.
I might settle for a 2x42 or similar. That runs at a slower speed than the 3400 area that most of these do.

Anyone know of such a machine? I wanna say I saw somewhere one that ran around 1750. But cant find it now.
 
12345678910 said:
I don't know where Sin City is

I checked Big River and all I get is restaurants.

Should I guess where you are and what you're talking about ?

Less Cryptic BS and more info is needed to help you.

https://sites.google.com/site/vorpalcustomknives/shop-techniques-3/grinders
Belt grinder reviews

I think $1,200 would build a nice grinder. I don't think it would buy one outright.
Click to expand...

Big River is Amazon, Sin city is Las Vegas and I am looking for a grinder. Is that plain enough?
 
Bladegunner said:
Big River is Amazon, Sin city is Las Vegas and I am looking for a grinder. Is that plain enough?
Click to expand...

The go to answer for a starter grinder was the sears 2x42
See the Youtube videos 500 dollar knife shop

See my standard reply
http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/...-you-want-in-one-place.1052730/#post-12016587

Once you have a real 2x72 that works well, it's easy to regret the smaller grinders.
You can get the sears, or a Grizzly, but a three or four wheel grinder with a toolbar is so much more versatile and convenient.

Check here for used equipment, but it goes fast-Get that Esteem if it's not already gone.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/for-sale-knifemaking-supplies-tools.765/
 
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Well, if you took the $500 down to the casino and put it on black ... you would have a 50-50 chance of having enough for a simple grinder.

There are units available for $500 that are very basic entry grinders. Problem is they are too fast, can.t be slowed down, and are severely limited as far as accessories or changing anything. At around $800 you get the basic grinder that will have the ability to be upgraded later on. At $1000-1200 you can build a VS grinder with potentio]al. Turnkey grinders with VS and accessories start around $2500-$3500.

The review The Count gave will give you some ideas.

That said, a 1X30 for $100, or a 2X24 for around $300 will work to start learning on. They should be available from Amazon. The old Sears 2X42 was the most recommended starter grinder for years.
 
From the Reeder thread-

I've got one and I really like it.
Ginder $500- http://reederproducts.com/products/belt-sander
Wheels $140- https://www.knifegrinderparts.com/c...eel-set-5-drive-5-8-4-tracking-2-idler-wheels
Motor $206- http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-hp-electr...204806?hash=item440404e146:g:hl4AAOSww9xZEhy6
VFD $125- http://www.ebay.com/itm/361155386082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

$971 for a great setup!

I already had most of the stuff from my DIY grinder but my brothers set theirs up with the above items and they run great. I did add a 7'' drive wheel, I'm running around 6300 SFPM

Here is mine-
IMG_4932_zpsvudo9nhf.jpg
 
What about the Kalamazoo 1SM 1X42 1725 RPM Baldor Motor. People seem to like it.
 
my first grinder 6 years ago was a Craftsman 4x36, 1/3hp, 1200 fpm. still runs though noisy. still made, costs about $150. works good enough to learn how to grind and if you like the whole process. I use it now mostly for woodworking. for a 2x72, I bought a Wilmont LB1000 and found my own motor and VFD, total cost about $1100. the more you get into knifemaking, you will find that more expensive does not always mean better quality
 
this is more $, but I just bought a Oregon blade maker 2x72, well built it seems. I don't have it wired yet, but decided to spend $ and go down the vfd path.
on the "cheap" you can get one delivered for $575, add a $30 drive wheel, $20 horizontal rest. Then some add a single speed 1-1.5hp motor, tefc preferred, would put you in the $750-$775 range. I went all the way and added a kbac-27d vfd plus an ironhorse 1.5hp, which is another $525 or so.
 
Yes, after posting I figured someone would point out the odds were 47.4 to 52.6. The house has a 5.2% advantage.
 
muleskinner222 said:
From the Reeder thread-

I've got one and I really like it.
Ginder $500- http://reederproducts.com/products/belt-sander
Wheels $140- https://www.knifegrinderparts.com/c...eel-set-5-drive-5-8-4-tracking-2-idler-wheels
Motor $206- http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-hp-electr...204806?hash=item440404e146:g:hl4AAOSww9xZEhy6
VFD $125- http://www.ebay.com/itm/361155386082?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

$971 for a great setup!

I already had most of the stuff from my DIY grinder but my brothers set theirs up with the above items and they run great. I did add a 7'' drive wheel, I'm running around 6300 SFPM

Here is mine-
IMG_4932_zpsvudo9nhf.jpg
Click to expand...
Muleskinner222 how is that VFD working for you? Did you have to build a box for it?
 
Bladegunner said:
Just getting into knife making well really only re-gripped a couple knifes. My son gave me a $300 big river gift card and I would like to get a belt grinder. I could add money if needed. Is the 2" belt the standard? do I need the disc grinder or just the belt? I don't like to buy cheap tools but don't want to spend $1200 either. Can you recommend one machine over another in the $300 to $500 range.

Thank you for your time.
Click to expand...
My first grinder was as $450 Jet 2X42 single speed (read too fast) grinder. I quickly realized that if I was going to continue trying to make knives a 2X72 was going to be necessary. Now I have a 2X72 and a $450 paper weight LOL. In all fairness I use the 2X42 occasionally for de-burring but I would never touch knife steel to it.
There are a great many options now when it comes to 2X72 grinders. My advice would be to save your money any "buy once cry once" as the saying goes.
 
For someone just getting into knifemaking a 6x48 belt sander is very versatile and can be used to grind out blades (It's powerful enough with a 1hp motor), work on flats, shape handle materials, sanding leather for sheath making, putting on final edge bevels for sharpening, etc... IMO it's a better machine than the 1x42 I have and used just as frequently if not more than my 2x72. Even when you do upgrade to a 2x72 you can still find plenty of uses for the 6x48, at least I sure do.
 
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It might come down to how much you want to invest to get started. Coote http://cootebeltgrinder.com/prices.html makes an affordable and high quality product. It's not as versatile as a $1200+ unit but it does hold it's value if you wanted to sell it and upgrade in the future. You supply the motor. Get a ~1700 TEFC and with a 2:1 pully ratio you'll get ~850 RPMs. That's slow enough that you'll only mess up a little bit vs a lot a bit.:)
 
kwakn said:
It might come down to how much you want to invest to get started. Coote http://cootebeltgrinder.com/prices.html makes an affordable and high quality product. It's not as versatile as a $1200+ unit but it does hold it's value if you wanted to sell it and upgrade in the future. You supply the motor. Get a ~1700 TEFC and with a 2:1 pully ratio you'll get ~850 RPMs. That's slow enough that you'll only mess up a little bit vs a lot a bit.:)
Click to expand...

A lot of bit as in my grinder which runs at 5400 sfpm. :D
 
kwakn said:
I'd of slit my wrists by now if I had to work at that speed. :)
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Grinding belts are build for fast speed , they love speed ...more speed more they bite .My belt grinder run on 6400 SFPM . And I work on second one which will run 9000 SFPM :D If you run your grinder on 850 RPMs it s faster to grind blade on big waterstone wheel ;)
 
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