Definitely, evey metal worker should have a decent 2x72 belt grinder. The type you would be best off with depends on what you'll mostly be doing with it. If you're planning to make knives, then I'd recommend the Bader B-3 (the one I was using at Gichner's), or the KMG from Rob Frink. Both are top of the line belt grinders, and both are priced accordingly. The B-3 at Dave's farm was brand new and I believe it cost around 2 grand or a bit less. The KMG in similar configuration is about the same. For a pro, they're worth the money. For a hobbyist, they're probably overkill and more machine/money than is appropriate.
Grizzly Tool makes a decent 2x72 belt grinder they sell for knife making, and several guys I know have them and say they're fine. They're a single-speed, rather than variable like the Bader or KMG, but that isn't much of a problem for hobby knifemaking or general-purpose shop use. My homebuilt grinder is multi-speed with step pulleys, and I mostly use it at the full-tilt, screamin' boogie speed. That's about 5800sfpm on mine.
The Grizzly machine has a contact wheeel, platen and can be used slack-belt as well. It will run eithe rvertically or horizontally, which is nice. It runs direct drive off one motor spindle and the other has a buffing wheel, a nice feature. For the $425 price tag it's a good deal, I think.
As I said, I built my own grinder. On balance, I doubt I saved any money versus buying a Grizzly, but it sure was cheaper than the big boys. It works fine for me. I built it "on the fly" so to speak, so I don't have any plans. I believe I once saw a place that had plans for sale, but the price was a bit steep I thought at the time. If you do decide to build your own, you can get all the parts from Rob Frink at KMG, and Sunray has great prices for contact and drive wheels - better than anyone else I found by a big margin. http://www.sunray-inc.com/index.html
That should be enough to either get you started or confuse you completely (grin). Ask any questions you have and I'll try to help.
Bob, Definitely, evey metal
Bob,
Definitely, evey metal worker should have a decent 2x72 belt grinder. The type you would be best off with depends on what you'll mostly be doing with it. If you're planning to make knives, then I'd recommend the Bader B-3 (the one I was using at Gichner's), or the KMG from Rob Frink. Both are top of the line belt grinders, and both are priced accordingly. The B-3 at Dave's farm was brand new and I believe it cost around 2 grand or a bit less. The KMG in similar configuration is about the same. For a pro, they're worth the money. For a hobbyist, they're probably overkill and more machine/money than is appropriate.
Grizzly Tool makes a decent 2x72 belt grinder they sell for knife making, and several guys I know have them and say they're fine. They're a single-speed, rather than variable like the Bader or KMG, but that isn't much of a problem for hobby knifemaking or general-purpose shop use. My homebuilt grinder is multi-speed with step pulleys, and I mostly use it at the full-tilt, screamin' boogie speed. That's about 5800sfpm on mine.
The Grizzly machine has a contact wheeel, platen and can be used slack-belt as well. It will run eithe rvertically or horizontally, which is nice. It runs direct drive off one motor spindle and the other has a buffing wheel, a nice feature. For the $425 price tag it's a good deal, I think.
As I said, I built my own grinder. On balance, I doubt I saved any money versus buying a Grizzly, but it sure was cheaper than the big boys. It works fine for me. I built it "on the fly" so to speak, so I don't have any plans. I believe I once saw a place that had plans for sale, but the price was a bit steep I thought at the time. If you do decide to build your own, you can get all the parts from Rob Frink at KMG, and Sunray has great prices for contact and drive wheels - better than anyone else I found by a big margin. http://www.sunray-inc.com/index.html
That should be enough to either get you started or confuse you completely (grin). Ask any questions you have and I'll try to help.