Few Grinder Questions

J

jleiwig

Well-Known Member
Ok..too much research=brain overload. So that leads me to a few questions.

First question. Is the 8" contact wheel Tracy sells the same thing I'd get from sunray? I figured I'd ask here not to bother him at the moment.

Second. I think I could get the Grizzly 10" contact wheel bored out fairly cheap through some friends, but the price would probably end up being equal to the price of the 8" wheel from sunray right? Is it better than or equal to the 8" sunray wheel?

Third. Could I use the Grizzly idler wheels from their g1015 grinder? They are less than half the price of the beaumont idler wheels, and they actually take bearings unlike the Grizzly contact wheel.

That's all I can think of for the moment. Getting a little frazzled researching all this stuff, but I don't have a ton of money to invest so I want to shop wisely.
 
I can offer a couple of insights based on my experiences....

The Sunray wheels are going to be higher quality, and an overall better wheel than you will get from Grizzly....by that I mean that just about every aspect will be better....smoother surfaces, better balances, and MUCH better bearings. The other thing is that Sunray wheels will be urethane, where as Grizzly wheels will be rubber. I personally have been using the urethane wheels for a couple of years now, and have found them to not only be more economical, but also more durable than rubber contact wheels of the same durometer.

The idler wheel is no comparison in my mind. I was given an old Grizzly grinder and pieced together a deburring grinder for my blacksmith shop out of it.... one of the things that I had to fix was the idler wheel tracking and the bearings, both were in sad shape, and the bearing were about as "el-cheapo" as I had ever seen.

I know all these parts and pieces seem really expensive, and I understand because I've been where you are. BUT...I've also purchased the same thing a number of times because I refused to buy "the good stuff" in the first place, and wound up spending more money in the long run buying several of the cheaper versions because they either didn't work or did not last.
Do yourself a favor and although it might be difficult and even painful right now, save, and then spend a few more dollars now to purchase top quality parts, and you won't have to spend that money over and over like a lot of us have.

As I tell most folks who ask me about grinders....when your paying all that money, it's because your buying a high quality, precision, long lasting item, that you will likely not have to buy again. If you choose to purchase based on the cost alone, chances are that you will be buying the item again....and again.
 
I second what Ed said.

I just finished my 2"x72" grinder and it has improved my grinding by so much I can hardly believe it.

I tried all kind of cheap tricks to keep from buying the more expensive wheels. First I found out you can't cheat on the tracking wheel. I couldn't get it to track until I got a crowned wheel. Next I tried different cheap alternatives for a contact wheel. Could not find something that ran true so I ended up going to Sunray and buying a poly wheel. I did make my drive wheel but had a devil of a time truing it so my belt wouldn't move back and forth on the contact wheel. In the long run I could have saved money by getting the good wheels but I was willing to spend the extra money to find out if there was a cheaper way to go just so I would know. I ended up with the good wheels and I have a little over $300.00 in my grinder not counting the extra I spent experimenting for a cheaper way.

Buy the good wheels!!

Larry
 
I bought a Drive Wheel, a 6", an 8" and two 4" Wheels from Sunray and, although it was not cheap by any means, I wouldn't trade 'em for anything.

The Tracking Wheel I got from Tracy. cool 1
 
The poly wheels I have are from Sunray. They have worked with me on getting wheels more concentric (round) and with less run out (wobbly) than what they used to be. When I place an order now, I have maximum run out and concentricity tolerances as part of the quote. I have avoided picking up 10" wheels in the past due to wobble but they have gotten so much better I have placed an order for them and will be carrying them in the near future.
 
wait till we get the 10"x1" and 8"x1" wheels in....and the belt splitters also come in....
we are going to change how a lot of people grind knives...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top