Well, I was ashamed to admit it before, but for nearly a year now I've been doing all my grinding on a wee little Delta 1/4 HP 1 x 30" belt sander.

Alas, it has finally pooped the bed... So I took it back to Home Despot and they gave me my $100.00 back.

So now I'm ordering a Coote... Apparently Mr Coote has been in surgery, so let's all wish him health before I get too behind, eh? ;-)

I have to admit that for an original investment of $100 tat Delta has served me well and anyone starting out can get by on one, though for full-time work it was occasionally trying.

My advice to anyone starting out on the cheap would be one of those 1/3 HP 1 x 40" belt sander models from Enco. I bet you could get a few years outta that if you had to!

Jonathan,
Don't feel too bad I'm using a craftsman 2x42 w/ 6" disc,w/1/2hp motor,I use it factory and I also added an arm to use 2x72 belts w/ a caster for a hollow grind wheel!!!Dwayne loaned me one of his real wheels till I can scrounge up the money to buy my own.Can't Hawg w/ the 1/2 horse motor but I don't get in that big a hurry anyway. Any how like the old sayin poe folks got poe folk ways!!! :) Mike Sader

Jonathon,I agree don't feel bad.I have been using a 1"x42" grinder for years.I now have a 2"x48" Kalamazoo,my 1"x42", two 8" disc sanders and a 1"x42" horizontal profile grinder I just built.Enjoy the Coote,Dave

I started out with a Black and Decker hand held belt sander.
I mounted it in a wooden box and wired the trigger down, put it on a small switch and BINGO.
Even that was better than doing it with the hand held disc grinder I used when I welded.
That Bad Boy took an awful lot of hand work to finish out. :)
But even that was faster than the files alone.

Improvising is an essential part of knifemaking.
My first homemade grinder was out of old roller skates.
No tracking, no tool rest, and no rubber wheels.
I made a few more before I bought a Burr King.
I havn't needed any other sinse.

That was a HUGE investment!, but I have never regretted it. :)

When we were in the Hibben shop, here in Manti, we used a Bader 3" x 136", or was it 132" grinder and it was loud.....but hard working. We did a lot of work on two Curtiss machines that had, I think, 2" x 42" or 48" belts. They, too were LOUD, but got a lot of work done. Then on to Draper with a home built that, if you knew Harvey, you'd expect to work well, and it did. I think it had the 3 x 132" belts, too.

Loveless had a 2" x 72" Square Wheel that was quite noisy, back then, and also a nice quiet Burr King. I worked mostly on the fSquare Wheel. Maybe I was used to the noise. They are a lot quieter now, at least the last one I saw a few yrs. ago was. Don't hear much about them anymore, but I'm not in the market right now, either.

I have two Bader Bench models. One, an old, (maybe 1995?), variable speed, 2 h.p. and the other a newer BMIII with a 1 1/2 horse motor. I'd get a 2 h.p. next time, for sure.

If you can afford a higher quality grinder at the outset, you will save yourself much frustration & it'll be worth the money. Hold back on that new rifle, motorcycle, or whatever, and go with a first rate grinder, if you want ot be a "happy knifemaker."

Don't get me wrong. Get and use what you can for now. Many homebuilts are great grinders, if you've got the ability to build it. I'm sure you can even find some plans to build a grinder.

I'm just suggesting that a good grinder ought to be a high priority. Ask anyone who's used both types.

I'm sure you've checked out the "Homemade grinder" thread below.... Good looking machine!

Thanks ffor the "Coote" thread, also. Very informative. Any maker can learn a lot on this forum.

After using that Delta anything is going to be great...

I have my sights on a Bader in the next couple years.

When I started out I figured I could do all the finishing by hand until I got enough for a decent machine. Ha!

Two years from now, you'll be saying ,"WOW! , I should have gotten this 2 years ago!"

A good grinder can double your output and productivity, imorove product quality, and make life MUCH easier.

You will wish you had done it sooner. :)