surfice grinder from 2x72

While I've not used that same attachment, several of us have made our own copy and they work really good. I use my SGA more than I ever expected. If I were wishing to actually "buy" a ready to go SGA I would be at all concerned about buy OBM's version. As you can see he's sold 72 of them. If there were any big problems I'm sure we'd be hearing plenty on the forum.
 
I have one and i really like it. Much cheaper than the tw version. As long as you use fresh belts it can hold a half thousands over 8 inches. It is not compatible with every grinder. I can say it works on a kmg. The belt isnt perfectly centered on the wheels but its not a problem. You just need to adjust the tracking a little to make everything line up. No modifications required. I highly recommend it. I have used it to make fixed blades with removable scales and slip joints. Both have been gap free.
 
KenH said:
While I've not used that same attachment, several of us have made our own copy and they work really good. I use my SGA more than I ever expected. If I were wishing to actually "buy" a ready to go SGA I would be at all concerned about buy OBM's version. As you can see he's sold 72 of them. If there were any big problems I'm sure we'd be hearing plenty on the forum.
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What did you use for a mag base. Did you find plans for it. Have you seen anything for a bader3.
 
The concept of turning our 2x72 into a surface grinder has been around for a while. I built this one back in 2016 from some square tubing I had laying around the shop. It uses a welders magnet JB welded to a drawer glide to hold the piece of steel being ground and allow for the linear movement. It uses a screw to adjust the thickness of the piece as it's being ground down. I was able to maintain about 0.005" tolerances over a small 4" folder blade. That was a great improvement over what I could accomplish by hand.

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I used the above setup until last summer when I built an upgraded model of a surface grinder similar to the one you show. I'm able to keep the tolerances down to 0.0005" over the same 4" folder blade. I'm very happy with the new setup.

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The point is, if you're into making your own tools, a project like this is very doable. The commercial ones are very good as well for those who are not inclined to build one. You're not going to get the tolerances that you would on a dedicated surface grinder, but for those of us who don't have the room in our shops, these attachments can get the job done just fine.
 
Looks like you did a good job Brandant - those SGA are really nice. I've been impressed with my SGA and use it more than I ever thought I would.
 
I have a travis wurtz model...works great. Had I the time I would have built one along ken and one armed's wip...

I use it to finish grind the flats on the blade before final polish. Quick and easy...and makes it visually perfect.
 
I've wanted a SGA for a long time. Almost bought a big old used surface grinder at some point. The only reason I've never pulled the trigger is that I was concerned that it just wouldn't do what I want it to do. Basically I would want to surface grind both sides of my ricasso. The problem I'm wondering about is how that would work with my forged blades. I always do tapers. Tang is tapered to the end and the blade gets tapered out to the point. These things use a magnetic plate. In my mind, when I put my blade on it, it's going to pull down to one of the longer tapers instead of just staying on the flat ricasso. I'm sure I could shim it up but shimming the other side to match if my grinds aren't absolutely perfect might would be challenging.

Ive never used one but I've envisioned it being more trouble than it's worth for my situation. I just don't know.
 
C. Killgore said:
I've wanted a SGA for a long time. Almost bought a big old used surface grinder at some point. The only reason I've never pulled the trigger is that I was concerned that it just wouldn't do what I want it to do. Basically I would want to surface grind both sides of my ricasso. The problem I'm wondering about is how that would work with my forged blades. I always do tapers. Tang is tapered to the end and the blade gets tapered out to the point. These things use a magnetic plate. In my mind, when I put my blade on it, it's going to pull down to one of the longer tapers instead of just staying on the flat ricasso. I'm sure I could shim it up but shimming the other side to match if my grinds aren't absolutely perfect might would be challenging.

Ive never used one but I've envisioned it being more trouble than it's worth for my situation. I just don't know.
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You can get a small vise and clamp on the ricasso. Put the vise on the mag base. That might work for you? I have one. I'll send you a pic.
 
You can buy a vise in all different sizes. I use this one for inspection.
 

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That is a tiny vise! That's a really good idea. I'll have to keep it in mind and get back to shopping for a surface grinder, haha. Thanks for the tip.
 
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