Grizzly 1015

[Toddv]

New to knifemaking and Knife Network, can anyone advise if the Grizzly 1015 is a good grinder to start out with. Grizzly website lists it for $355.00. Is there something else out there that would give me more bang for my buck at this price range. Thanks

[SKIVIE]

For the Buck ? Nothing close. I have a grizzly and love it to death. You will too. When the time comes and you feel like its time to move up...then buy a KMG. Till then The Griz will be perfect for you and will do almost everything you need.

Shane

[patmn]

I'm new to knife making but the Grizzly is what I decided on. I have had it only a week and after trying to grind a piece of steel into something that resembles a knife i quickly decided that it need some help. Some modification to the platten seems to be the most urgent. Trying to keep something ground flat with their set up is quite dificult.

I came across a website that shows some mods a fellow did to his Grizzly and they look as if they would turn the machine into a real workhorse.


http://www.stoneandsteel.net/equip_grinder.html

The above link will take you there. Take a look and see what you think...

Patrick

[TJ Smith]

You really don't need to do to much. The platen will work if you attach a neo or pryo ceramic 1/4x 2 by length to it.
tap in with a 1/4 x 20 bolt at the bottom of platen to act as a stop.
Put a brace from the motor to the upright and attach with dryer clamps and hose clamps. This firms it up and helps trackin. I also added a tension adjustment to the back so you could adjust belt tension.
Stay away from the 10 inch wheel. Itt just makes the grinder run faster. Get that on your next grinder.
It runs a little fast just use a gentle touch. You'll be ok.
Take Care
TJ

[TexasJack]

Last year, Grizzly put that model on sale and quite a few on this forum bought them, including me. It is a moose of a sander! The boxes it shipped in were nearly destroyed by rough handling, but not a dent on the Grizz. It doesn't have the bells and whistles that the really good units have, but it is far, far cheaper and is a pretty good workhorse.

It has weaknesses - search TKN for some of the long discussions on it and you'll get a pretty good picture of what could be better and some of the things people have added to improve it.

If you're really interested, I'd suggest you watch Grizzly and see if they put it on sale again.

[markd]

It's a horse. You can't stop it, you can only hope to contain it. Get some pyroceram for the platen & give it heck.

[obe]

I am pretty sure I will buying one very shortly. I will be doing all the suggested mods and thought about seperating the motor and using different one or using step pulleys to slow it down to be somewhat variable. none of this is my idea, just after reading many different post. What do you think? Glad you posted this, and got positive replys on the griz, helps me make my choise. obe. see u in NYC

[Ray Rogers]

There are many useful modifications that can be done to the Grizzly but there is no need to modify a machine that you haven't used yet. The glass platen is the only modification I've made to my Griz and it has ground many, many blades.

Due to the way the machine is built you'll find that separating the motor from it is not the easiest thing you could ever do with your spare time. I'd suggest you use if for a few weeks, even a few months, before you start modifying it. You'll probably find out it works just fine the way it is or, at most, you'll do a few of the simpler mods .....

[Toddv]

Thank all of you for the replies, I appreciate it !

[cdel]

You might want to look at the Coote grinders. They are a little more expensive because you have to buy the motor seperately, but this will give the option to use step pulleys for speed control. here is the link to his web site. www.cootebeltgrinder.com. I bought one of the coote's last year and it is great. Also I have not needed to do any mod's to it since I got it sent up.

Chris