Should I go for the 24" contact wheel?

S

Scaniaman

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Jun 15, 2012
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Hi!

After doing a little bit of handle, leather and kydex work for a while now I finally decided to step things up and put together a small knife making shop in my garage, where I can make my own blades as well. I have one grinder on its way, and it seems pretty versatile. It has a flat platen, a slack grinding attachment, a 10" serrated contact wheel, small wheel set and work rests. And it tilts 90 degrees to do horizontal work. I can't imagine this not serving most purposes, but I would also like a separate grinder with just a Big contact wheel on it.
If I go for a 20" wheel I can stick with the standard belt length (50x2000 mm or appr 2x79") If I go for a 24" wheel I'll have to get custom sized belts, which makes things a little bit more complicated and expensive but not That bad. And the 24" is something like $180 more but I can live with that as well.
My question is: is there any disadvantage with getting the 24" apart from the belt and price issue, in your experiences? What would you opt for? Is bigger just plain better here? Is grinding on a 24" more difficult in any way? I want to be able to make shallow hollow grinds, and with 24" I should be able to get them ok high as well. At least for the 3-5" hunting and skinning knives I primarily want to make. Or am I fooling myself? Will a 24" wheel just leave a hollow grind so shallow I might as well just go to the flat platen on the other grinder? Even if so, I can imagine some benefits with less heat build up and longer belt life yes?

Any thoughts and opinions greatfully accepted!
 
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For 3-5" hunting blades a 3", 4" and 10" wheel, would be my choice as well as flat platen.

There is no need for 20" + unless you have a specific need for one.
 
If the Pythagorean theorem serves me two pints in, a 24" wheel would yield a .003 hollow on a 1.5 wide blade if ground to zero at spins and edge. Hardly a hollow grind at all.
 
If you want hollow grinds, you don't want a wheel like that. Those wheels are mostly for imitating the extremely shallow hollows of the old "flat grinds" which were done on large "stone" grinding wheels.

12-14" is about as large as you'll need for even "shallow" hollow grinds.


I'd also recommend starting with a 10 or 12, learning whether you like it or not, then you can make an informed decision, even if you don't end up going that route, the 10 or 12 inch wheel will still be very useful for general work, contact wheels are better for rough grinding and profiling, generate less heat and wear belts slower. They also hold their value pretty well if you don't do something stupid.



Where are you seeing a 24" wheel for $180 (more than what?)? Chinese one?
 
On a 1.5'' wide blade, a 24 inch wheel would give a "hollow" of 0.0235'' from flat. I could see some limited use for something like that. It might make a really slicey chef knife?

I've been using a 10 inch and 2 inch contact wheel. After grinding out a few things (definitely a beginner here!), I'd really like to add a 4'', 6'' and 12'' or 14'' to the mix. I can't imagine ever wanting something bigger than a 20'', but who knows! If you end up getting this monster, post some pics!
 
javand said:
Where are you seeing a 24" wheel for $180 (more than what?)? Chinese one?
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Scaniaman said:
If I go for a 20" wheel I can stick with the standard belt length (50x2000 mm or appr 2x79") If I go for a 24" wheel I'll have to get custom sized belts, which makes things a little bit more complicated and expensive but not That bad. And the 24" is something like $180 more
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I think the OP is meaning the 24" is $180 more than the 20" wheel.
 
Sam Dean said:
On a 1.5'' wide blade, a 24 inch wheel would give a "hollow" of 0.0235'' from flat. I could see some limited use for something like that. It might make a really slicey chef knife?

I've been using a 10 inch and 2 inch contact wheel. After grinding out a few things (definitely a beginner here!), I'd really like to add a 4'', 6'' and 12'' or 14'' to the mix. I can't imagine ever wanting something bigger than a 20'', but who knows! If you end up getting this monster, post some pics!
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Obviously, the Pythagorean theorem does NOT serve me two pints in. Your math is spot on, and thank you for the correction...
 
I've never seen a 24" wheel option for any grinder. What machine are you looking at?

I have a 20" Burr King & love it. But was perfectly happy with the 14" I had been using.
 
What about going with just a curved platen? You’d need more modifications (a platen chiller) into the grinder but you’re still saving money on custom belts.
 
I would be interested to know where you can buy a 20" wheel - I know Burr King has them made, but I have not seen them elsewhere. Sunray only makes up to 14" and I have not seen any of the Chinese wheels on AliExpress in the 20" size.
 
I hav
bjansen said:
I would be interested to know where you can buy a 20" wheel - I know Burr King has them made, but I have not seen them elsewhere. Sunray only makes up to 14" and I have not seen any of the Chinese wheels on AliExpress in the 20" size.
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I haven't either? Maybe he's in Europe?
 
Thanks for your input! Excuse my slow replying, time zones etc. behind that.

Ken H> said:
I think the OP is meaning the 24" is $180 more than the 20" wheel.
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Correct. The 24" wheel is appr 670 USD.

Don Hanson III said:
I've never seen a 24" wheel option for any grinder. What machine are you looking at?
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The two machines I'm looking at are these:



bjansen said:
I would be interested to know where you can buy a 20" wheel - I know Burr King has them made, but I have not seen them elsewhere. Sunray only makes up to 14" and I have not seen any of the Chinese wheels on AliExpress in the 20" size.
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The guy who makes the grinder in the second video could provide 24" wheels. Apparently it's made in Italy, more than that I do not know. And you're right about the asian wheels. I've done plenty of research the last month and their biggest is 14".

Don Hanson III said:
I have a 20" Burr King & love it.
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Can you tell me what makes you love it so much?
 
Don Hanson III said:
The BBA20 Burr King, it's just a Very smooth, very well made, industrial grade machine. It is a pleasure to grind on!
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Yeah it is, I was eyeballing it at blade west last year. When I had time away from my table I stopped over at their booth and asked about buying just the wheel. Thy said no thy don’t just sell the wheel but would I like to try out the grinder. Oh would I lol. Fired her up right there and started grinding. If I had the X thousands of dollars extra I would buy one.
 
Scaniamans location is a mystery, but I’m guessing somewhere in Europe?

In most of Europe, 50 x 2000 and 50 x2500 are both pretty standard sizes, so the bigger wheel may not mean a requirement for custom belts.
 
timgunn1962 said:
Scaniamans location is a mystery, but I’m guessing somewhere in Europe?

In most of Europe, 50 x 2000 and 50 x2500 are both pretty standard sizes, so the bigger wheel may not mean a requirement for custom belts.
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Yes you're right. 50x2500 is available over here in Europe as a standard belt in some sense. But finding belt types and grits popular in knife making in that particular size doesn't seem too easy.
Anyway a custom belt at 50x2300 is not a problem apart from the slightly higher price (you just pay for the extra material, so fair in that way). The belt places I've talked to when contemplating this 24" wheel thing will just make you the size you want in no time and the minimum number would be 3, 6 or 12 pc depending on what belt. So the only downside is slightly higher belt cost at 15% and maybe a smaller group of potential buyers if you ever want to part with the grinder.. Knowing me and tools, I don't see that happening though :)
 
JTknives said:
Yeah it is, I was eyeballing it at blade west last year. When I had time away from my table I stopped over at their booth and asked about buying just the wheel. Thy said no thy don’t just sell the wheel but would I like to try out the grinder. Oh would I lol. Fired her up right there and started grinding. If I had the X thousands of dollars extra I would buy one.
Click to expand...

I did see a video of this machine when searching for info on bigger contact wheels (actually one out of only two vids I managed to find, the other one being the one I posted above). Sure looks impressive. But is it in production? Couldn't find it on their web page just now.
 
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