Has anyone used the Wilton Square Wheel Grinder?

After considering doing everything by hand, I have come to the conclusion that with school and work.... I'm not sure I would have time for such endeavors. I would like to thank everyone for their help with the last post and, having weighed all my options, I've decided to save up for a decent sander/grinder and splurge a little bit for something that will last longer and work more effectively than the cheap standard bench grinder from Home Depot.

With that in mind, the Wilton Square Wheel Grinder from Southern Tools or Burr King seems to be viable considering it has a lease option - which is a bonus considering I'm financially limited at this point. Has anyone tried this? Is it suitable for hollow grinding?

In any case, if that doesn't work out, does anyone have any suggestions? If I'm paying in one go, I'm considering anything < $1000 which I can slowly save up for. Anything more is just burning a hole in my pocket... :boohoo:

(If something is going over my head, please let me know. Assembly might not be a option for me as it usually turns my brains to mush...)

And again, thank you :)

You would want the variable speed machine, which lists for over $3000. If you are just restoring razors, there are cheaper options. If you plan on making your own razors from scratch, you may want a belt grinder, like the Wilton. You probably would still want to have a good buffer/polisher as well. Check the library for tools to restore razors. I think there was a post a while back about necessary tool inventory for restoring razors.

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Originally Posted by skipnord

You would want the variable speed machine, which lists for over $3000.

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That might be accomplish-able with leasing... what speeds would I need for making my own razors from scratch?

My setup uses a 3 phase 1750rpm motor with a phase converter. I have run it anywhere from 10% (of 1750) to 200%. I don't know what that is is feet per minute. I'm not sure what extras are available for the Wilton. I have 8, 4 and 2 inch wheels and flat platen. The really good guys probably have smaller wheels for working around the tang. American Knifemakers sells a pre-cut kit, and a set of 4 step pulleys would give you all the speeds you would need with a 1.5 to 3 hp motor. KMG and Baldor make a great belt grinders - pricey, but worth it. We ran a workshop here in Minnesota several years ago to make your own grinder - around $650, plus motor and pulleys. Lots of possibilities. Good luck on your journey.

I do not own one, but have used several Wilton grinders. They are industrial well built machines. If you get one that you can vary the speed and get the size contact wheel that you would want it would work great. A Wilton square wheel grinder without variable speed running fast is a metal eating machine not well suited to razors.

Charlie

You need variable speed for post-H grinding which is the most heat sensitive step.
Without speed control, you'll burn up razors. Also in terms of wheel size, I find that 4" is the size I use most. 8" is something I use occasionally. 12" virtually never. The 12" was included by default.

I know very little about this topic but I do remeber one of the pro razor makers saying he used a 2" wheel for something or other and seemed to think that was interesting to the forum readers. I cannot remember the particulars beyond 2" wheel.

A 2" wheel is useful if you want to hollow grind. The easiest approach is to first grind the razor using a larger wheel, and when the bevels are ok, you switch to the smaller wheel to scoop out more metal from the hollow.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

You need variable speed for post-H grinding which is the most heat sensitive step.
Without speed control, you'll burn up razors. Also in terms of wheel size, I find that 4" is the size I use most. 8" is something I use occasionally. 12" virtually never. The 12" was included by default.

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What range of speed are we looking at?

Attachment 173085

Here is what I am running & you can pick up some wheels from Sunray. All said and done you can get running for about $1,000.

Polar Bear Forge

Cousin bought a Wilton Square Wheel back in the 80's. Well built machine, just wasn't that great for knife grinding.

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Originally Posted by shooter74743

Attachment 173085

Here is what I am running & you can pick up some wheels from Sunray. All said and done you can get running for about $1,000.

Polar Bear Forge

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Thanks shooter74743! Seems plausible... but I was wondering if you can change the wheel sizes and speed?

You see that square horizontal tube? I have a solid stock tube that replaces my "flat platen" that mostly keeps my 8" wheel on it. You can also attach a flat grinding "table" to the tube.

I had fits with this build. Putting together the grinder was a cakewalk. My first motor AND VFD were bad, drove me crazy. The 2 hp motor is a 3phase 1700 rpm (don't remember exact & it's raining out or I would check exact) and I can slow it down to a crawl with the vfd and it still has plenty of torque to profile blades. The drive is 3.5" IIRC.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I will take some time and slowly think about which works best for me :)

I've been using a Coote 2x6x48 belt grinder for about 20 years. It is a great heavy duty machine. I simply change pulley sizes to vary the speed. Even though it is "small", I have made everything from bowie knives to small pairing knives to razors with it. They are about $400 plus the motor, shipping and mounting. If you pick up a used motor, you can have everything for under $500.
Coote Belt Grinder