$100 1" belt grinder ?

[razorback]

Recently i saw an add or infomercial or something for a bench top belt grinder that was 1" and specially designed for Knives. Anyone know what I am talking about. I can't remember any more details than this and was curious to find out more about it.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Lots of that size grinder for sale.  Look around on fleabay they sell them there,  Better than no grinder at all for sure.

[Scott Roush]

oh man you could get a Craftsman 2x42 for that much. I did many, many knives with that until I got my KMG.  It runs lighting fast but that just makes you that much better when you upgrade.  

You can get all the nice Trizact belts at Trugrit.com for it.. including 3m scotchbrites and leather etc.

If you ever go this route, contact me.. I can tell you how to make it into a knife grinder.  You begin by putting on a ceramic platen and then taking every last safety feature off of it.

[gables]

I would also recommend the Craftsman for this money. I have probably done all of what Scott has done to strip it down and modify it for knives- including a ceramic platten. Like Scott said, you can get a lot of belts for it which will help you develop a consistent grinding routine and grit sequence.

[Jeremy]

I made a bunch of knives on a Grizzly 1x30" and spent much less than $100.  I upgraded to the Craftsman 2x42.  It runs too fast for my taste, but I think slowing it down won't be too hard (when I finally get back in the shop)!

[DANA HOLMAN]

Scott, / gables,  can you post some pictures of your strip down craftsman, Ive had one for over a year, but I still go to my 1x30 for most of my grinding
thanks

[WestTexan]

I've got a 2x42 it works pretty good but needs more power but after the motor lets go i'm gonna get some power to it.

[Scott Roush]

I will try to take some pictures today.  Most of what I did was just removing stuff and grinding and cutting stuff away... either for more working space for the blade or to allow for thicker belts like 3M scotchbrites.

Yeah.. it has lots of speed.. but lacks in power for sure.  But I was still able to do full flat grinds on big blades without much problem.

[pditto613]

How did you do the ceramic platten and where do you get the ceramic

[mulie]

Scott,
I have the 2X42 Craftsman as well.  I'm very interested in the modifications that your're talking about.  I'd also like to hear what belts you recommend for it.
Thanks,
Judd

[Scott Roush]

You can get a ceramic platen from Ellis   http://elliscustomknifeworks.hightemptools.com/index.html    but it might take a while...

I had mine made at a local glass place.  The stuff Ellis sells is just high temperature ceramic glass that is used for woodstove door windows. Cost me less than $2.00 to have a piece cut. There are probably other places that carry pre-cut stuff too.

Mine is JB welded to the platen that comes with the machine.. and then I have two set screws going through at the bottom of the ceramic to form a ledge.  Some people think this is unnecessary.  If you search Blade there are several good tutorials on how to do this.

Okay.. here are some pictures. You will have to forgive the 'craftsmanship' when doing these mods.. They were usually done in the heat of the moment when I realized whatever the limitation was.  I'm also not saying any of this is necessarily safe.

 

Here I cut away some of the guard to expose the contact wheel... this allows you a little more room to do stuff as well as use the radius of the wheel.

 

This is the back of the machine. I had to cut away more of the guard to give me room to use the thick 3M scotchbrite belts.

 

This may be hard to make out.... but this shows the edge of the ceramic platen and where I had to cut away some of the original platen to allow me to use a file guide for setting my plunges.  A crack has just formed in the ceramic for some reason which you can see... I will probably just remove it all together because I now only use this for hogging wood and sharpening.. hence the leather belt.

 

Sorry this isn't all that clear.. but like I said..if you search the Blade forums you will see detailed tutorials on how to do the platen.  The other stuff are just things you do when you realize they need to be done and are not afraid to grind things away.

As to belts... Trugrit has been the best source for these sizes.  Most knife supply places don't carry much for 2x42 but Trugrit carries all the Klingspor and Trizact CF.. both of which I recommend.  With a blue 36 grit Klingspor on a this lighting fast apparatus.. steel flies so make sure you are confident with what you are doing.

Hope that helps!

[gables]

I made almost all of the same modifications as Scott. I took the disk off of the left side of the motor as well.

I use the glass platten as well but first I made a beefier platten out of 2"w x 9"long x 3/8" thick 01. I drilled two holes in the back of the standard platten and tapped two corresponding holes in the new platten. I use cap screws with washers to hold new platten on old platten. I then used JB weld to hold glass on new platten.

[Scott Roush]

that is definitely a better way to do the platen... I might as well take the disk off as I never use it.  The disks I buy around here don't last long enough to make it worth it....

[stevewills]

so can you totaly remove the gaurd

[mulie]

Scott,
Thanks for the information.
Judd