New Grizzly Sander 2X48

[brimmergj]

Just came across this while researching belt sanders, as I'm at that stage of the knife journey. I'm thinking of picking one up, as it looks to be more functional than a 1x30.

Anyone familiar or have experience with this particular model?

https://www.grizzly.com/products/grizzly-2-x-42-knife-making-belt-sander-grinder/t32459

 

[ian]

Good price for a 2x48 with a VFD. Never used one, but I’m curious how it stacks up.

 

[Hockey3081]

I don’t think it’s a true VFD motor from what I read, but you can vary speed. I saw some chatter on this on a FB group. Few guys said they liked it and it doesn’t hog up when you put some pressure on it. Will likely be underpowered to work on steel, at least efficiently, but still better than a 1x30. Seems like it is good for handle work.

 

[ian]

Hmm, fair! I don’t at the moment understand variable speed motors well enough: anyone want to chime in on the benefits of VFD vs some other way to create a variable speed drive?

My guess is that this will be sufficient for someone just wanting to dip their toes in, e.g. if you’re not making knives in quantity, and it’s not such a huge investment (at least, if you have the money to be buying fancy knives on KKF) that you won’t be upset if you later upgrade to a serious grinder. I’m glad I bought my pathetic 1x30 before the 2x72.

 

[brimmergj]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Right now I've got a Ryobi 4x36, 1/2hp belt/disc sander. It was practically free and has been decent for handles and restoring pretty beat up blades. I'm quite patient and proficient, but it is far from great for bladework though.

I don’t think it’s a true VFD motor from what I read,

I had come across something about that as well. Like Ian, I'm not up to par on the intricacies of VFDs. I work on the mechanical side of an automation company, so I was going to get some info from the controls group, and see what they have to say.

this will be sufficient for someone just wanting to dip their toes in, e.g. if you’re not making knives in quantity, and it’s not such a huge investment (at least, if you have the money to be buying fancy knives on KKF) that you won’t be upset if you later upgrade to a serious grinder. I’m glad I bought my pathetic 1x30 before the 2x72.

That's exactly where I'm at; not going pro anytime soon, but looking to play some triple-a ball for a bit.

I think I'll grab one when they come back in stock. Thanks again guys.

 

[xsmx13]

I grabbed one of these for the variable speed and curiosity since they're so cheap compared to other knife-making tailored 2x48 and 2x72 offerings out there. I have a 2x72, but it's a single phase fixed speed so I wanted to try the variable speed for going up to some finer grits before moving to surface conditioning belts.

Tonight I attached it to a bench grinder stand, removed the guards on the front two wheels and threw a cheap 60 grit ceramic belt on it. After playing with it a little to get the tension and tracking where I wanted it, I was pleasantly surprised doing a little grinding on a small aeb-l petty knife. I only had a few minutes to really try it tonight, but initially I was pleasantly surprised. There was a little more wiggle in the belts than I'm accustomed to, which is probably due to the tiny tensioner strut, but the thing didn't seem to bog down at all.

For the price I think it's a big improvement on stuff like the 1x30, 2x42 (stuff like Delta, bucktool or Palmgren), or the 4x36 routes. I hope this inspires grizzly to make a 2x72 version to replace their current offering as I just can't justify a Broadbeck or Ameribrade between being just a hobbyist maker and having some custom slots coming up.

Small side note, it's nice having this on a portable stand so I can move it outside the shop or to the garage. I've never gotten around to putting AC in my workspace so it can get toasty in there in the summer (God I miss San Diego!). Being able to move this outside in the late afternoon will be a really nice option so I'm not confined to early morning hours for grinding.

Cheers!

 

[TB_London]

You typically want 1hp per inch as a minimum if you want to do any serious grinding- with 3/4 Hp this will we a bit underpowered so light pressure or lower contact area needed to avoid slowing it down.

I’m surprised it’s not got a vfd on it. It says the motor is single phase though in which case it could be a dc motor that varies speed by changing the input voltage. Doing it that way gives a reduction in torque so will seem more underpowered at lower speeds.

For the price seems worth it, and if the motor mounts are standard you could swap in a bigger motor and vfd for not much more if you went the cheap import route

 

[deltaplex]

Hmm, fair! I don’t at the moment understand variable speed motors well enough: anyone want to chime in on the benefits of VFD vs some other way to create a variable speed drive?

My guess is that this will be sufficient for someone just wanting to dip their toes in, e.g. if you’re not making knives in quantity, and it’s not such a huge investment (at least, if you have the money to be buying fancy knives on KKF) that you won’t be upset if you later upgrade to a serious grinder. I’m glad I bought my pathetic 1x30 before the 2x72.

In general it's about efficieny, VFD is going to have the least loss of power to other forms of energy, given the same power input. In functional terms for the application, VFD will have the same amount of torque available at every controlled speed (and it's more or less on demand), where other forms of motor control will have either lag in torque response or simply less available torque when they are running at less than their peak output.

 

[brimmergj]

It says the motor is single phase though in which case it could be a dc motor that varies speed by changing the input voltage. Doing it that way gives a reduction in torque so will seem more underpowered at lower speeds

It reads that way.
I did read in a few places that 1x30 grinders with variable speed tend to bog down at lower speeds.

if the motor mounts are standard you could swap in a bigger motor and vfd for not much more if you went the cheap import route

I was going to look into that when I eventually order/receive mine. The pattern looks pretty standard.

 

[brimmergj]

It's official, sander and belts are on order. High fives all around!

 

[Bensbites]

I am seeing mixed reviews of these on the blade smithing group. Tracking issues. Other things.

 

[xsmx13]

The tracking definitely took some fiddling around to get where I wanted it.

I've seen some of this as well, but I have to take some of it with a grain of salt. It seems like folks are expecting a perfectly setup out of the box grinder for under $400.00, are drawing comparisons with $2000-3000.00 2x72's, or self built plans that require sinking $700.00 into a motor/vfd combo and the ability for welding/fabricating. It's a pissing contest of people wanting to say how much better their 2x72 is, which isn't even an argument, this is just a middle ground between that 1x30 and a 2x72. To me this is about having a point of entry that's more affordable and doesn't require the skills to make your own. That of course is just my 2¢.

 

[brimmergj]

That's exactly how I'm going into this. Seems like a better option than 1x30s and will be less hassle than my current 4x36. It will get me into the game at a rather low cost, and if I go deeper down the rabbit hole, I can always add a 2x72 later. All-in-all, it's another tool to add to the shed, that I get to play with, and who doesn't like more tools?

 

[MSicardCutlery]

I'd consider a TR Maker 2x72. They can be had for a good price, free shipping, they're good machines, and in the long run your work/cost ratio for ceramic 2x72 belts will more than pay off the price difference between them.

 

[xsmx13]

I'd consider a TR Maker 2x72. They can be had for a good price, free shipping, they're good machines, and in the long run your work/cost ratio for ceramic 2x72 belts will more than pay off the price difference between them.

You'd know better than I if a TR Maker is a good 2x72 option and by no means do I mean to discount it. That said, the basic single speed is $1548.00 shipped to California or the upgraded model with vfd is $2130.00. That's a big bite for someone just testing out the hobby, but makes plenty of sense for someone more serious about making or has the disposable income.

 

[MSicardCutlery]

You'd know better than I if a TR Maker is a good 2x72 option and by no means do I mean to discount it. That said, the basic single speed is $1548.00 shipped to California or the upgraded model with vfd is $2130.00. That's a big bite for someone just testing out the hobby, but makes plenty of sense for someone more serious about making or has the disposable income.

Hmmm....I could have sworn it was cheaper. I think I was confusing the motor included price with the motorless. Oh and I missed the post stating he'd purchased the 2x48 already. Darn, sorry. There was a time when they made a much more basic grinder that could be had for all of $400 U.S without the motor. Sadly they discontinued it.

 

[xsmx13]

Hmmm....I could have sworn it was cheaper. I think I was confusing the motor included price with the motorless. Oh and I missed the post stating he'd purchased the 2x48 already. Darn, sorry. There was a time when they made a much more basic grinder that could be had for all of $400 U.S without the motor. Sadly they discontinued it.

That would be a nice option to hook up a motor to. I think OBM had something similar although it didn't have the greatest of reviews from what I saw. Now I think they've more than doubled the price.

I really hope that Grizzly takes feedback and experience with this 2x42 and makes a new 2x72 that is geared towards knife making. I totally agree that 2x72 is the gold standard, I just think it's a good thing to have options that are more accessible for people to try and decide if they want to take the deep dive.

 

[MSicardCutlery]

I'm somewhat shocked no one makes a cheap mount you can just use to retrofit a bench grinder into a 2x72. You'd really only need a mounting plate and tracking arm/wheel + platen.

 

[deltaplex]

I'm somewhat shocked no one makes a cheap mount you can just use to retrofit a bench grinder into a 2x72. You'd really only need a mounting plate and tracking arm/wheel + platen.

I think if you're going to the trouble of all that, you'd probably be opting to use a more purpose built motor for it.

 

[brimmergj]

Hmmm....I could have sworn it was cheaper. I think I was confusing the motor included price with the motorless. Oh and I missed the post stating he'd purchased the 2x48 already. Darn, sorry. There was a time when they made a much more basic grinder that could be had for all of $400 U.S without the motor. Sadly they discontinued it.

No worries Matt. Thanks for chiming in. I was just barely dipping my toes into the pool for 2x72 machines when the Grizzly popped up and kind of locked in on it. It's definitely a deep pool when just starting out. I hadn't even heard of OBM or TR Maker.
Much to learn, I have, but that's part of the fun

 

[MSicardCutlery]

No worries Matt. Thanks for chiming in. I was just barely dipping my toes into the pool for 2x72 machines when the Grizzly popped up and kind of locked in on it. It's definitely a deep pool when just starting out. I hadn't even heard of OBM or TR Maker.
Much to learn, I have, but that's part of the fun

I hope you have fun doing it, really. It's a pleasure to learn.

 

[MSicardCutlery]

I think if you're going to the trouble of all that, you'd probably be opting to use a more purpose built motor for it.

Maybe....I think it would take about 1/3 the time and material of building a full scale grinder. I've seen a few built off of bench grinders, they're a lot lower tech.