MEMBER ITEMS FOR SALE
Custom Knives | Other Knives | General Items
-------------------------------------------
New Posts | New PhotosAll Photos



Go Back   The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions > Custom Knife Discussion Boards > Knife Making Discussions > The Newbies Arena

The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-15-2012, 12:49 PM
Richard Glenn's Avatar
Richard Glenn Richard Glenn is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Palm Bay, Fl
Posts: 65
Grizzly Sander

So I finally have enough money to buy a belt sander even if it's a really cheap one. So I'd like to know if anyone has advice on buying the small grinder since I was looking at a grizzly 1x30. Also what belts should I get for it to begin with since I'm also ordering some 154CM to use for my knife.

Thanks
Richard
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-15-2012, 03:08 PM
Ray Rogers's Avatar
Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
Founding Member / Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
I have a Grizzly 1x42 which I would much rather have than a 1x30. I only use it for small things like shortening screws . The 1x42 has much more power than the Delta 1x30 that I used to have. The Griz 1x42 is available in at least two models. The one I have has a belt drive so that I was able to change the pulley sizes to get the power and speed set the way I like it.

All that said, I would not want to have to grind a blade any larger than a pen knife on a grinder that small. As long as you limit yourself to very small blades you can get by with it but you should consider the larger Grizzly 2x72 if you can find a way to afford it.

The 1x42 has more types of belts than just about any other sander except for the 2x72. If you go that way get the best belts you can find because those small belts wear out very quickly ....


__________________

Your question may already have been answered - try the Search button first!






Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-15-2012, 04:25 PM
Richard Glenn's Avatar
Richard Glenn Richard Glenn is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Palm Bay, Fl
Posts: 65
I looked around some online and I can't find a 1x42 for sale, though if there are any sites that stock it I'd be willing to take a look, But even so I'm on an extremely low budget and was hoping that I could start small and slowly use it to work my way up.

I subscribe to Gavkoo's channel on youtube, hes a knife maker that used the small grizzly for a good while to make fair looking knives. Though I don't care for his style it does show that with effort I'll be able to make a full sized knife on one of these though it would be ill-advised to attempt large things.

But for any of the three what are the suggested grits just for starting out? I don't want to buy one of everything just because I have to be able to afford the steel as well.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-15-2012, 05:03 PM
Ray Rogers's Avatar
Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
Founding Member / Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
I just looked around and can't find a 1x42 like mine from any place, dang it. Grizzly still has a 1x42 but it's direct drive like all of the 1x30 machines. Kalamazoo has a very nice 1x42 for $236 at Jantz but that's the only one I could find that was better than the others. I know I can't talk you out of a 1x30 - and maybe I shouldn't even try - but you might be better off investing in a good set of files, vises, sand paper and such than one of those tiny sanders. All those things will still be useful later after you get a 2x72 and they'll probably work better for shaping a blade than the little sander. Note: the Grizzly 2x72" is currently just under $500. I know, that's a fortune but it's also a goal - start saving.

As for belts, large sander or small, you'll want50 or 60 grit, 120 grit, 220 grit and maybe 400 . Get the highest quality belts you can, they'll be more expensive but a 1x30 belt is tiny and you can literally wear out a cheap one in only a few seconds working on steel...


__________________

Your question may already have been answered - try the Search button first!






Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-15-2012, 05:26 PM
Richard Glenn's Avatar
Richard Glenn Richard Glenn is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Palm Bay, Fl
Posts: 65
I'm glad you tried actually, I can understand the frustration of someone getting something far inferior instead of just going for something that'll really work. But I haven't finished my first knife yet and I'm still trying to get my foot in the door. And while I will be getting all those files and such for now IU don't have anything that would really work to mount a vice on (A pitiful excuse I know) and I have seen people work with those small grinders and get the job done even though it took a bit of effort even then.

So for now I do think I'll get the little grinder and I'll work to make it work for me and I'm very hopeful to come out in the end better than I am now.


And Just a btw, one of the frames in your animated signature is out of focus in the lettering and is very distracting.


I do have one other question. What is the difference between open and closed coat sanding belts?
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-15-2012, 06:13 PM
Ray Rogers's Avatar
Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
Founding Member / Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
Thanks for the heads up on the signature block, I think I fixed it now. I have the option for signature display turned off so I never saw that.

Open and closed coating is not something we usually are aware of because that is something that you deal with on aluminum oxide belts that are used solely on wood. remember where I mentioned the cheap belts? That's them, useless on metal.

You'll want ceramic (orange, red, or yellow), zirconia (blue), or silicon carbide (black) belts for metal and in that order of preference. They will also work just fine on wood, plastic, horn, etc. All of those may not be available on a 1x30. It is very easy to spend more on belts in a few weeks than you will spend on that little grinder. To be fair though, even on a $2000 grinder you'll probably spend more on belts than on the grinder but it may take two or three years .....


__________________

Your question may already have been answered - try the Search button first!






Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-15-2012, 07:30 PM
tuskbuster tuskbuster is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: cache okla
Posts: 70
man do i feel good then if those old grizzs pulley drive are that hard to find ,i just picked 1 up for 85.00 a 1x 42 at that guess i got a good deal
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 03-15-2012, 07:54 PM
Ray Rogers's Avatar
Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
Founding Member / Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
I'd say you did get a good deal. I bought mine new about 10 years ago and it was $120 at that time and went up a bit shortly after that. The motor on mine is 1/2 hp which is more than the 1/3 hp you get on all the 1x30 and most of the other 1x42 sanders. Having the pulleys make it fairly easy to change the ratio so you can have more torque if you need to grind blades with it or if you want to slow it down. I like it a lot but I still wouldn't want to do any heavy stock removal with it ....


__________________

Your question may already have been answered - try the Search button first!






Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 03-15-2012, 09:24 PM
Matt Bufford Matt Bufford is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Farmers Branch, Tx
Posts: 218
Granted I am still very new to this, but I started the same way. I originally bought the harbor freight 1x30 and ground my first knife on it- which took a very long time! It is the exact same thing as the griz, but cheaper. Go ahead and get it, try it out, and once you can't stand trying to grind on such a small underpowered platform, save up and get a larger one. Having used the 1x definitely made me appreciate the 2x72 once I got it!!!


But you will end up keeping the 1x30 for other uses. I still have mine for handle work, sharpening, and stropping. A 1x30 strop is way cheaper than 2x72

Only real advice for using the 1x, is be patient and use light pressures. That little guy is very easy to stall out just by pushing against the dinky platen. Also as ray mentioned, get plenty of belts because they will wear out fast. Pops knife supply has one of the better selections on the 1x30 belts and has pretty good pricing.

If I had it to do over again I still would have started on the 1x30, simply because it really does make me appreciate what I have now.

Good luck!

Last edited by Matt Bufford; 03-15-2012 at 09:28 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 03-15-2012, 09:35 PM
tuskbuster tuskbuster is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: cache okla
Posts: 70
yep Ray its the 1/2 horse couldnt turn it down,been usin a delta 1x42 for 10 or so yrs and cant wait to get my 2x72 that i been puttin together seems like forever. i just pond away on the little guys till then.and as the big dogs said invest in good belts
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 03-16-2012, 07:20 AM
kvistads kvistads is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: South Georgia
Posts: 57
With some searching through flea markets, yard sales and the like, it's possible to gather enough parts and components to build a suitable 2" X 72". Of course this would take a little creativity, patience and mechanical know how which shouldn't be a problem for most knife makers. I chose to buy a set of plans for the "No Weld" grinder and weld it up instead since I'm an accomplished "backyard" welder. It's a 2" X 72" that's as good as the materials you put in it. Probably the two most expensive things to buy will be the motor and contact wheels. Having said that, I built a grinder that IMO is far superior to a Grizzly and cost less money to build. I purchased a nice GE 1.5 HP, 220 volt motor from Tractor Supply that you'd probably have trouble trying to bog it down - it's super nice and I really like it. The only thing I wish I could have done better on is the contact wheels - they're a little pricey. If I could find a supply cheap enough, I'd build another just to have two. There's a lot of ways to go about this and I too started with a simple Delta 1" X 30" which I still have. Good luck on your decision.


__________________
Russ
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 03-16-2012, 08:59 AM
Ray Rogers's Avatar
Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
Founding Member / Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
Check out Sunray wheels, they'll make them to your specs. Use Search to find threads about these wheels that have been used in building your own grinders: www.sunray-inc.com/


__________________

Your question may already have been answered - try the Search button first!






Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 03-16-2012, 09:49 AM
kvistads kvistads is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: South Georgia
Posts: 57
Thanks Ray, I'm already ahead of you. That is exactly where I bought mine. I still think the wheels are a little pricey for what they are. You're right though - Sunray is the place until there's a cheaper source.


__________________
Russ
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 03-22-2012, 03:54 AM
NJStricker's Avatar
NJStricker NJStricker is offline
Hall of Famer
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 2,193
R Pope--

Check out Sears for the Craftsman 2x42 belt sander. The new ones are 2 wheel and a bit underpowered at 1/3 HP. If you look around you might be able to find one of the older 1 HP, 3 wheel models. There are several youtube videos on modding them, including installation of a glass platen and demos of how to get variable speed with a different motor and step pulleys. Belt options from trugrit or supergrit are better than for 1x30, though not as good as the options for 2x72.

Nathan
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
art, blade, files, for sale, handle, horn, knife, knives, mount, plastic, sharpening, steel, supply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Selling Grizzly Knife Sander mlamb The North Carolina Custom Knifemakers Guild Forum 1 01-03-2012 10:31 AM
sander NJStricker Tool Time 5 04-11-2007 07:01 PM
Where to buy Grizzly-like sander in Europe gijsvandersuijs The Newbies Arena 1 12-24-2004 04:31 AM
Help on which sander to buy Eadams Tool Time 3 04-24-2002 03:38 PM
Grizzly Sander TexasHoppy Tool Time 9 02-14-2002 08:54 AM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:11 AM.




KNIFENETWORK.COM
Copyright © 2000
? CKK Industries, Inc. ? All Rights Reserved
Powered by ...

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
The Knife Network : All Rights Reserved