What grinder/ sander should i get?

P

pugsrok

Well-Known Member
Ok so a little intro, i have a 4 inch angle grinder, and a set of 2 files, Chainsaw, mill, and half round. I would like to get a grinder or a sander and i had acouple in mind and i need some opinions on them

First up

Grizzly Belt sander 1X30
h3140.jpg

$55+sh

Second

Grizzly Belt sander and disk sander 2 inch belt 6 inch disk.
h7761.jpg

$100+sh

And their harbor freight equivalents,

Belt sander 1X30
02485.gif

$50+sh
Belt/disk sander 4inch belt 6 inch wheel
93981.gif

$75+sh

Which one should i get?
 
the 2 inch belt with disk i had a horrible time with tracking tearing it apart to make my own grinder i am using a 1 by 30 now it works ok free handed
 
Well to make knives :D, i have the angle grinder for cutting, and i tried to make a knife with it and i could not keep a consistant angle.
 
$100-ish (less if you find a coupon or special) Craftsman 2x42. Here's how I modded mine. The disk sander doesn't work very well but the belt tracks fine.

If/when you have a bigger budget, there are lots and lots of ideas here.
 
I started with a 1x42. You can get one for around $100 and ther is a good selection of belts in my opinion...
 
pugsrok said:
both the grizzly and harbor freight 1 inch ones are reasonably priced.
Click to expand...

There's a really good chance they're exactly the same except for the stickers. If that's what you want, get whichever one you can pick up locally and skip the shipping charges.
 
Yea, i am sorta impatient, and i think this steel is messing with my files, oh well guess it is what i earn for buying them from sears for 19 bucks.
 
Are you really financially limited to the $100.00 range? If you are going to do much with it you need to step on up but if that is the best you can afford it is better than not doing anything.

About the cheapest decent grinder is the Grizzly Knifemaker sander/grinder. About the cheapest good grinder is a NWG. Get the plans from www.usaknifemaker.com and build it,,,,, or attend one of my workshops to build one that is welded.

I'm sorry it that sounds flippant or self serving, that was not my intention.
 
That's not self-serving Wayne. I happen to agree with you. I'll be making a step up as soon as I can.

By all means pugs, if you can afford more, buy more. But if you can't or don't want to spend more, the 1x's or 2x's WILL remove steel for you. I strongly recommend against the 4" model, though. I had one and it was really a pain to work with. I call it a $75 learning experience.

What do you mean the steel is messing with your files? What kind ya got? Are you sawing with them instead of filing? You DID buy a file card and use it often, right?
 
Wayne Coe said:
Are you really financially limited to the $100.00 range? If you are going to do much with it you need to step on up but if that is the best you can afford it is better than not doing anything.

About the cheapest decent grinder is the Grizzly Knifemaker sander/grinder. About the cheapest good grinder is a NWG. Get the plans from www.usaknifemaker.com and build it,,,,, or attend one of my workshops to build one that is welded.

I'm sorry it that sounds flippant or self serving, that was not my intention.
Click to expand...

Not at all, i will have 250 saved by the end of the summer, but i was hoping to get steel too, when is the next workshop besides this coming up one?
 
james terrio said:
That's not self-serving Wayne. I happen to agree with you. I'll be making a step up as soon as I can.

By all means pugs, if you can afford more, buy more. But if you can't or don't want to spend more, the 1x's or 2x's WILL remove steel for you. I strongly recommend against the 4" model, though. I had one and it was really a pain to work with. I call it a $75 learning experience.

What do you mean the steel is messing with your files? What kind ya got? Are you sawing with them instead of filing? You DID buy a file card and use it often, right?
Click to expand...



My dad showed me the error of my ways :D, what is a file card?
 
Pug, I don't have anything scheduled after the New England School. Hopefully soon I will get something together. As soon as I get back from New England I have to buckel down and make some knives for the Blade Show.

Where are you?
 
I'm guessing your dad told you not to drag your file backwards? "Sawing" with a file won't cut any faster but can dull its teeth prematurely.

A file card looks like a wire brush, more or less. The bristles are short and stiff, and clean little bits of steel out of your file's teeth so it cuts cleanly and the swarf caught between the teeth doesn't make big nasty scratches in your workpiece. Mine hangs on a nail on the edge of my bench, so I bump into it often and don't forget to use it.

Wiki has a pretty good article on files and their use. See especially the part about draw-filing. Learn it, live it, love it.

What brand files are you using? DO NOT buy the cheapest ones you can find at Harbor Freight! They are made of junk steel which is case-hardened and will get dull very quickly.

I recommend Nicholson and Simonds brands. They are made of good-quality, high-carbon, fully-hardened steel and last a long, long time. They aren't "expensive" in my opinion... a good $15 USA-made file will far outlast a handful of junk files, and cut better and cleaner from the get-go, for the same overall cost.

(There may be other good brands I'm not aware of. These two have worked very well for me.)

A properly-made file or rasp that eventually gets dull can be made into a very good knife, but that's a whole 'nother topic.

pugsrok said:
...i will have 250 saved by the end of the summer, but i was hoping to get steel too...
Click to expand...

Forget the grinder for now! Sounds like you're willing to plan ahead and that's a good thing. At $250, you're getting tantalizingly close to the cost of a much better grinder (about halfway to a Grizzly 2x72). Buy steel and good files (and a file card, seriously, you NEED one) now, and get to work. You will make mistakes more slowly and remove steel almost as quick as you can on a cheap grinder.
 
Last edited:
I actually bought the most expensive files at sears, 20 bucks for 3 they seem to work well, the problem is that i would like a good sander to use in lieu of a file, i guess i could browse the garage sales for good older files.
 
The knife is coming along well, i am getting much better control with the file than i am with my angle grinder, i think i know how i will be doing knives from now on :D!
 
Pugs this is just me talking but I would go with the 1x42 right now. Tracy carries belts. I would get a ceramic platen. Ellis knife works carries different sizes and tracy does too. You can use it after you build or buy your good grinder. Right now I would make, buy or see if someone has a file guild it will help out alot. Ernie Swanson did his first with files only. If you decide to build one I will give you the plans I have after I finish building mine. You and your father need to talk to Wayne Coe about the modifications that he has done. They will help. But for right now if you really want to do this and stick with it a 1 x 42 will work. Or as James said the craftsman 2 x 42 works well. I have one but did put the glass platen on mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top