SinDoc Posted March 30, 2023 Share Posted March 30, 2023 Does anyone happen to own this belt sander/grinder? I have seen it recommend in a few different places for starter smiths and it is within my price range as well as would fit in my work space. I know the 1/3 HP motor would be considered small and would bog down with enough pressure applied but anything beats an angle grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 I just took a look, I have a Black and Decker 2" x 48" belt, wheel combo with a 1/2hp motor and after using it for maybe 30 years built a 2" x 72 and haven't turned it on again. I do have a 7" grinder so I didn't need the grinding wheel on it. It was barely adequate for sharpening short blades, even a 5" blade means it runs into the motor let alone the handle. And yes you had to have a light touch or you could stall the motor. If you're thinking of making blades bite the bullet and buy or build a 2" x 72" belt grinder. Lots of bladesmiths are space limited and the market offers belt grinders that fold up. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 Currently the only 2x72 I found within my price range was the Grizzly but I haven't heard the best things about it. I have had several people recommend Ameribrade and while they look awesome, I sadly can't shell out $1700 for it. I will say that while I plan on making knives here and there, I doubt they are the main/only thing I will make. I have found I enjoy making "artsy" stuff more then I do knives, but that could currently be due to the fact I am not yet good enough to consistently making one as I still ruin most attempts somewhere along the line. I might be able to swing the one from Vevor, but it is a 2x82. I am sure I could probably make it work with 2x72 belts however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Buying an unsuitable piece of equipment NOW rather than bank profits from small learning projects will leave you with a wood working grinder instead of a versitile and powerful METAL grinder. I say this to a lot of people. The only thing rushing guarantees is your mistakes will become permanent much more quickly. Seriously, how "artsy" can you be with a 4" wide belt, no motor clearance and not enough power to work 4"s? You aren't going to make knives till you get better so why spend good money on poor bladesmithing equipment? You DO realize that belt grinder is for wood work and once you replace the wheel with a fine grit sharpening wood tools. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 1, 2023 Share Posted April 1, 2023 ESSA has a Grizzly 2X72 and it works just find for what it is. Of course it's not as versatile as a $1700 dollar machine, but a lot of students finished a lot of knives on it. We finally convinced them to invest in 3 KMG 2X72 grinders for knife grinding and the Grizzly still gets used. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinDoc Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 I was looking at the Grizzly but had not heard anything great about it. I will go back to considering it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Would I have been delighted to be able to spend a couple of grand on a top-quality 2x72 with speed control? Sure. Was I able to? No, and I'm still not. Did buying a weird 2x90 that runs at a single, just-slightly-too-high speed move my shop capacity forward by a quantum leap? Oh, yeah. Was it worth the $49? Many times over. If the Grizzly is all you can afford, get the Grizzly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Ditto John. Buy a 2"x72" belt grinder here and you get to tack on a couple few hundred in shipping. Our local club held a grinder build clinic, bought the tubing, base plate and wheels and I came up with a 3hp 220 single phase motor from a hot tub for the price of hauling it to the dump. (The hot tub, NOT the motor!) Then word got out and I ended up stripping a couple tread mills and being given hot tub motors a husband had pulled from theirs before the dump run but Mrs. said use it or LOSE IT! Those were usually freebies. I control belt speed with a step pully/jack shaft "transmission." Not counting dump charges I have maybe $150-175 in mine and it's a metal eating beast. Better yet from my point of view there are no special features, bells or whistles to annoy me. I do rig my shop vacc to pull grit and dust away. Home made dust comp too, maybe some day I'll make it a cyclonic dust collector. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judehey Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 I have the Bucktool 2x42 with wheel. Works well enough, a little awkward for knives. I wore a groove in the platen in a year through a lot of use. They said they would send me a free replacement, although I haven't received it yet. I plan to put a liner on the new one. I don't regret the purchase as a first grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Good Morning SinDoc, I bought a couple Grizzly 2x72 about 10 years ago. They have taken a pile of abuse from unknowledgeable members. Yes, we have had to replace a switch and we put new bearings in the motor. Still tickin..... Neil, Vancouver Island Blacksmiths Association Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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