Finished my NWGS grinder

[BrandantR]

Maybe not to your eyes, but to mine, she's the most beautiful of all tools I've ever beheld. Of course, that might be due to all the time, blood, sweat and tears that I have invested in her. It was a long road, not without a bump or two along the way, but she's finally purring like a kitten. And I mean, she really purrs!



I put the grinder through its paces today and found it working superbly. It runs smoothly, quietly and without vibration. I couldn't be more happy with how it works. It's sure a huge upgrade from the simple tools I've been using up until now. It has enough power when I put it in high gear to trip the breaker in the power strip that its plugged into. I'll have to plug it in directly I guess. I'm not terribly happy with the on/off switch and plan to make a few modifications to it, like remove the black electrical tape (wink, wink). I still need to put a little more paint on a few parts as well and the extension arm on my tool rest is not long enough to use with my contact wheel. But, all in all, I'm very pleased with its operation. Let me know what you think.

I have several threads on my blog, Robinson Edge, if you want to follow along with the build. The web address is in my signature below. Thanks for looking.

 

[Self Made Knives]

Looks great! It's exciting to use a grinder you built yourself, don't you feel sorry for all those guys that just went out and bought one?

 

[NC Biker]

Great looking build and I agree, there is a special connection with a machine that you built yourself.

 

[KenH]

Congrats on a good build - As Anthony says, it's more fun to build it yourself! AND save some money in the process.

Ken H>

 

[BossDog]

that came out nice.
it's a good feeling to put together a substantial tool like that.
t

 

[BrandantR]

Thanks for the comments everyone. You folks are so right that using a tool you made with your own hands is truly satisfying. Tracy, thanks for taking the time to put the plans together for the NWGS. They were certainly worth the small investment and I couldn't have made it without them.

 

[bubbas55]

very nice. im just starting on mine, hope mine looks as good

 

[Ed of all trades]

Looks like you did a good job on it. Hope it serves you well for many years. Ed

 

[BrandantR]

Hey, thanks, guys! I've had this beauty running for about 7 months now with absolutely no problems. I can honestly say that I don't know how I lived without it. It has reduced my build time per knife by at least 200% and and improved my precision by at least that much. It was definitely worth the investment of time and money. I've never used a commercially available machine, so I don't know how it compares to the $3,000 units, but it's light years ahead of what I was using before. I would recommend the NWGS plans to anyone interested in building their own. I can guarantee that you won't be sorry.

 

[bubbas55]

looks great to me. i just got started on mine yesterday. got the base glued up and the 4" x 4" drilled, except the pillow blocks which arrived just as i was closing my shop. do them tomorrow. im enjoying the process but no glitches yet... crossed fingers...

 

[BrandantR]

looks great to me. i just got started on mine yesterday. got the base glued up and the 4" x 4" drilled, except the pillow blocks which arrived just as i was closing my shop. do them tomorrow. im enjoying the process but no glitches yet... crossed fingers...

Good luck with your build, Bubbas55. Just stick to the plans and you won't go wrong. Be sure to show us some pics of your build. We here on the forum love pics!