Thread: Finally bought a grinder / It arrived!

Originally Posted by Wintchase

Yea, but you will never be able ro use it because the instructions are in some weird language...

This machine was made for manly men. It didn't come with instructions of any kind. Because we wouldn't read them anyway.
And as far as safety instructions go, there is a small yellow sticker on the motor drive, showing a pictogram of fingers caught between the belt and drive wheel. Anyone operating this machine should be able to understand that you should watch yourself when the belt is running.

If your going to use the vac then please empty the collection container everyday and do not mix wood dust in with it. I have seen a fire ignited on the shop floor at Doc Molenaars in Cannon Falls, MN more than one time.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

If your going to use the vac then please empty the collection container everyday and do not mix wood dust in with it. I have seen a fire ignited on the shop floor at Doc Molenaars in Cannon Falls, MN more than one time.

Of course. And it helps that don't like working wood.

Just wait untill you get around to ordering some Ceramic belts....you won't believe how you were able to cope with Zirconium Oxide.

Where do you get the ceramic belts?
I was pretty impressed by the zirconic belts. The alox belts otoh are pretty tame.

I order them from a guy in England. They're a bit more expensive (150% or so) than the ZO belts but they last a LOT longer. And you won't BELIEVE what a 40 grit belt of the stuff will do to a billet. (you can PM me if you want his e-mail) But I'm hoping to be checking out 3M's new line of belts at the Dutch Knife Exhibition on the 20th. They're supposedly having a grinding workshop/demo there.

I suspect it'll also be possible to buy or maybe order belts from them.

Keep us posted on the new belts, i should b ready to make dust in the next few days myself...new motor on the way.

That grinder looks more than first class I am envious.

Keep a close eye on the dust collection. I caught my plastic dust collector hose on fire.

Congrats on the new grinder

Charlie

Now that I've been using it for a while...

I removed the tool rest for grinding and sanding. I freehand. You see, if you're grinding, it is possible for the belt to catch an edge or corner and push the piece downwards. If there is nothing there, the workpiece and our hand will just move a couple of inches and you can resume sanding after figuring out why that happened. If there is a toolrest there, it is possible for the workpiece to get lodged between the rest and the wheel, and the added pressure will cause it to get rammed through. Depending on where exactly your fingers were, this may end badly.

I also had to true my rubber grinding wheels.
Given that this thing is designed for knifemakers, I had assumed that the wheels would be true. Yet I never got the belt to track 100% reliable under pressure. and I also noticed that I had a tendency to grind slight divots where the edge of the wheel touched the blade. To true it, I just held a piece of sandpaper to a piece of flat stock, and then gently touched it to the back of the wheel while the belt was running medium speed. This removed a lot of fizz from the edges of the wheel, and not it tracks true and has a very even grinding profile.

Oh, and that wooden table is now some sort of indistinct mottled grey

Enjoy your grinder! It will entertain and satisfy your needs for razors!!

Ray