Hunterbow Smithy Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hey All, After having my home-made grinder fail miserably, I am turing to a professional for help. Cory with Custom Eyes Machining has quoted me a KMG grinder clone for $530.00 CAD ea. I think this is a pretty good price for the chassis, base plate, tooling arm, platen, and work rest. I still have to supply the motor, wheels, and assemble the thing, but all things considered - not too bad. If any of you guys are interested in getting a grinder of a decent price, let me know and I will put you in touch with Cory. I would love to buy one from Beaumont Metal Works, but unfortunately he does not ship to Canada; which really sucks. Cheers, Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Your call on buying a clone. My take on the matter is that even thought they will not ship to you,,,a copy is just that a copy. No royalties are paid for the research KMG put into their product nor will they receive a dime. This is not the place for me top jump on a soap box about the economy...But I will say that now is the time I will try my best to buy from the home folks...that may not apply to you.......Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Post some pics when u get it working:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 Its one thing to make a copy of a product for myself, but I feel that it is quite another issue to make one and then sell it with out regard to the owners rights to that products design and development. Copyright law allows us to make another persons copyrighted product for ourselves, but its a crime to make another persons copyrighted product for resale with out paying proper fees for licensing and royalties. I would hope that this person you are recommending has been licensed for this, but maybe Canada isn't upholding US trade laws or NAFTA anymore. If that is the case then Canadian designed products should soon become available here, made by our local people at a lower prices than Canadian imports as well. Some that may think I am being a jerk about this, and maybe I am, but I doubt they have had their hard work stolen by another unscrupulous person taking the credit, as I have. But I admit that maybe I am too worried about others rights to what they have earned as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Mayo Posted January 29, 2009 Share Posted January 29, 2009 To start with where do you think the kmg idea came from? There has been plenty of b.s. threads about this and the bottom line is the same as any thing else just change one little thing and that is it. Chad probably should not have used the kmg clone phrase but unless you buy one to make an exact copy than it's just a persons version of another product. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Were not talking a production line here, Chad was only trying to be helpfull if a few smiths would want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunterbow Smithy Posted January 31, 2009 Author Share Posted January 31, 2009 Yikes! This is not the excitement I was trying to generate. First of all, I would like to clarify that I am not stealing anything. The plans that I am using are freely available on the WWW and I would be glad to pass them along to anyone who wants them. Secondly, many people have posted pictures of their home built grinders and say what a great help that Rick at Beaumont Metal Works was, supplying parts and free advice on how to get their clones running, so I am guessing that either he holds no patten for the device or he does not care if people make their own. Thirdly, I actually tried to buy a KMG grinder and was told that they do not ship to Canada. My intent was not to cheat anybody their due; I just wanted to offer fellow Canadian smiths the opportunity to own a grinder that they may not otherwise be able to have. And if a fellow American smith should want to take advantage of the current exchange rate I would not fault him / her at all since we should all have the chance to own good tools. Free trade should be exactly that, free, and not just when it benefits one party or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) In light of Hunter's last post, I think perhaps we may have blown this all out of proportion. After all, look at how many sites offer plans to make their version of the "Kinyon Style" air hammer. This is not the first instance of offering the KMG "STYLE" grinder. I don't recall even in his first post that he was offering a genuine KMG. IF he was then that would be wrong, but he said it was a clone! As many here know, I'm am also a Mopar enthusiast. I frequent several Mopar devoted forums and even in that realm there are guys "cloning" Road Runners out of Satellites or Super Bees from Coronets etc. NO they are not REAL Road Runners or Bees, and anyone can figure it out by reading and decoding the VIN. Many people call them Road Runner (or Super Bee) tributes. Again, if they tried to sell it as the genuine article, that would be wrong. I know its not the exact same situation here but hopefully you get my drift. Just my 2 cents. Let the ridicule begin, or continue :D Edited January 31, 2009 by Dodge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimenickel Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 also the owner of the kmg specifically won't sell to canada.. .. i know, i tried several times to get one and it didn't matter what money i had... the answer was a flat out "no"... there are lots of clone plans floating around the net for it... and he doesn't seem to care....... besides, his design looks an awful lot like the bader... hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 also the owner of the kmg specifically won't sell to canada.. .. i know, i tried several times to get one and it didn't matter what money i had... the answer was a flat out "no"... there are lots of clone plans floating around the net for it... and he doesn't seem to care....... besides, his design looks an awful lot like the bader... hmmm Alot ??? I am not sure which to model you refer, but: my B3 is direct drive, not pulley's; wheels mounded to a vertical cast plate, not a bar frame; spring loaded tension arms... uses 2x66 to 2x78inch long belts... But I guess they are both grinders :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimenickel Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 ok ok ok... picky picky... hahaha..;) guess i'm a little bent outa shape... as i wanted to get one of those kmg's long time ago... and because of the owners unfair bias prevented that... i'm a little resentful but i did get a bader 3 with vfd from the factory.... and that is one heck of a machine.... with customer service ! now that was worth the extra money...... Good business with good people... ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) I don't know about assigning bias, but export laws and taxes can be a pain. That maybe the real reason they don't ship there. So far I have had few out of country orders. When I did get my first order from OZ, I did check into the legal issues. If a foreign order ever causes me any grief, I wont ship there again either. I am not anti foreign, but I am going to complain about anyone that wrongfully takes from those that work to earn a thing, and to defend those that have had it taken from them. Edited February 3, 2009 by steve sells typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcraigl Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I'm currently in the design/build process for my 2x72 belt grinder. I didn't care for the jackshaft/belt arrangement on the KMG, just seems like two extra bearings to wear out/ or vibrate. So... I bought my tracking wheel, and a 2" and a 4" inch contact wheels from Beaumont, and a 6" drive wheel with a 7/8" bore from Bader. My unit will be a hightly hybridized cross between the two. I like the quick change tooling arm of the kmg, but like the simpler/solid plate construction of the BIII. I've got the thing pretty much drawn up in CAD, and once I spend a little time and a few beers with Mike HR going over the design to make sure I didn't miss anything I'll be emailing the file to the waterjet guy to have him cut out parts for me. I'll post pix etc. once I get things rolling of my build. I can tell you, I'm not really saving a lot of money considering I'm just about a grand into this thing already and that's just buying wheels, a motor, and a vfd. Haven't cut out a single part or started fabbing a single thing yet. But I'll have the satisfaction of having a custom belt grinder with the features I wanted. I personally think that Chad is paying way too much for what he's getting. The KMG is in my opinion a somewhat dated design. No reason to spend that kind of labor on precision drilling and tapping of holes when a much simpler design that does all the same things can be done a LOT faster/cheaper/better with other techniques and a few minor design changes. My .02 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimenickel Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Hi Steve - that was my point... bader had absolutely no problems shipping right to my door step in less than 6 days.... and i payed up the customs charges and brokerage fee's..... there was no feathers ruffled... so i don't buy that the kmg guy had to jump through hoops to ship it up here....its not like its over sea's... just a little to the north.. besides... i've shipped swords and knives to england and the states... never had a blip of a problem.. its not like were shipping ivory or endangered sea turtles.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunterbow Smithy Posted February 4, 2009 Author Share Posted February 4, 2009 Mcraigl, I would like to see pictures of grinder when it's complete if you get a chance to post them. Originally I was designed my own grinder as well. It was a mish mash of a lot of different designs and I think it would have been great except for the fact that my drill press is too light for the jobs I asked it to do and most of the holes were misaligned which lead to tracking problems. My grinder was a better part of a year in the making; not counting hunting season and when it did not work and I realized it could not work due to poor fabrication, I was faced with two options: 1) invest in a proper mill/drill or 2) have the parts made for me. I opted for the latter since it was least expensive option and wife-approved. In the end, the grinder will allow me to make knives faster & better than by hand and that is all I really want. As for the KMG grinder, it looks like a solid grinder and with Ed McCaffrey's endorsement I don't think a guy could go wrong owing one. Personally I am disappointed that Beaumont Metal Works does not ship outside the US, but I prefer to believe that it's a matter of customs paper work and not nationality. Anyway, I wish everyone good luck with their grinder projects. Please contact me if I can be of any assistance. I will post pic's of the assembly & finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcraigl Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Chad, Wouldn't it be absolutely hilarious after all I said above and all the money I've invested if my grinder don't work? I HAVE a vertical mill, that will very precisely drill and tap the holes, but even at that, there's a bunch of 'em on the KMG style. My mill is a manual one, if it was a CNC setup, then getting everything right is a little bit easier. My hope is to eliminate 95% of the holes that have to be precise with my design. There will still be some that have to be right, just not as many. Too bad you spent soo much time on fabrication to not have it work out for you. I will post pics once I start actually fabricating parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunterbow Smithy Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) Here is a picture of the grinder so far. Hopefully, I will have a chance to assemble it next week. I am soooo stoked! Edited February 15, 2009 by Hunterbow Smithy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I cant see the pic:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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