Yet another grinder thread ....

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nailcreek1

New Member
After looking through more than a few posts here, talking with quite a few makers, I've narrowed the list down to KMG-TX, TW-90, Wilmont, Reeder or Northridge.

The TW-90 only has one tool arm slot, 1.25" arms and tracking adjustmentat the motor, which seems to make it an outlier in the market, which seems pointed towards 1.5" and multiple slots. The build quality is consistently described as outstanding - and a solid value. Do the apparent downsides cancel out the positive?

The KMG-TX seems to have all the features I'm looking for, but ... some have stated that their quality is questionable (build precision, bearings, wheels).

Reeder and Wilmont are both solid, great reviews and features - but spring tension - and many have stated that ratcheting is really a gotta-have on a grinder. Finally, Northridge was my hands down first choice, but very sadly they've gotten out of the grinder business.

So ... thoughts from the esteemed members of this board?

Sent from my SM-T870 using Tapatalk
 
nailcreek1 said:
After looking through more than a few posts here, talking with quite a few makers, I've narrowed the list down to KMG-TX, TW-90, Wilmont, Reeder or Northridge.

The TW-90 only has one tool arm slot, 1.25" arms and tracking adjustmentat the motor, which seems to make it an outlier in the market, which seems pointed towards 1.5" and multiple slots. The build quality is consistently described as outstanding - and a solid value. Do the apparent downsides cancel out the positive?

The KMG-TX seems to have all the features I'm looking for, but ... some have stated that their quality is questionable (build precision, bearings, wheels).

Reeder and Wilmont are both solid, great reviews and features - but spring tension - and many have stated that ratcheting is really a gotta-have on a grinder. Finally, Northridge was my hands down first choice, but very sadly they've gotten out of the grinder business.

So ... thoughts from the esteemed members of this board?

Sent from my SM-T870 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Sad to see Northridge get out of the grinder business. I have one and it's such a solid machine.

Can't comment on the others, but I hear great things about the Reeder.
 
Do you have any knifemakers local to you that you can visit and try out their setups? You may find some features others insist on don't mean much to you. I run an Ameribrade. That uses 2" tool arm bars, but I don't have all that many accessories. I have their combo platen with 2 and 6" rubber contact wheels and I run a magnetic platen face system. I also have a small wheel attachment and that does what I want it to for me. I can always modify attachments/accessories for other machines to fit mine as well, but I like the robustness of the thicker arms.

I had a KMG pulley drive 2x72 many years ago with a VFD and it worked fine. I never felt under gunned with it. It may not have been as smooth, but I didn't notice a difference. I sold it to Matt Parkinson (FiF Season 1, Ep 1 winner) right after he won the show and he has been using it ever since. He has a TW-90 in the shop with all of the accessories and it rarely gets used. They run Pheer 2x72 for their knifemaking classes. It's a personal preference thing!

All of these grinders I have used have coil springs for tension and I haven't run into any issues, but I haven't tried a gas piston or ratcheting to see how it feels in use and if I really NEED it or not. For some people, it's a must have. For others, they don't like it.

See if you can find someone near you that has it. You will find many of us are particular to the brand, especially when it comes to support and accessories and like to support that brand that works well for us! Brodbeck makes an awesome grinder, too with lots of attachments!
 
I've posted this ask a couple other places ... and the answers are pretty interesting. People are obviously partial to the grinders in their shop, and at the price point I'm at, you can't really end up with junk. The TW-90 is mentioned more than once as a benchmark machine with Northridge getting out (very sadly) of the business.

Ameribrade and Brodbeck have their supporters due to the cost and packages offered. I'm looking to start simple and buy up stuff when needed. My starting package would be a flat platen, articulated work rest, small wheel setup, 10" contact wheel.

I'm really interested in build quality - precision alignment and industrial grade components. Buy once, kind of thing.

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Do you have any welding skills or know someone who can weld? Housemade.us has various kits/packages to build your own grinder and they get rave reviews.
 
nailcreek1 said:
many have stated that ratcheting is really a gotta-have on a grinder
Click to expand...
Some folks like the ratchet tension, other folks prefer a spring (gas, etc). I use spring, but did try a fixed tension (like ratchet) and while it was "ok", I did go back to spring. From my perspective ratchet vs spring isn't a deal breaker. I sorta tend to lean toward the Reeder, one of the least expensive to get a base unit, then build up from there.
 
I love my Reeder grinder, though I've not use other brands.
Among the basic requirements of: 2 tool arms and direct drive with VFD, I put a lot of value in Don Reeder's many years experience in the machine tool design business. He knows how to design and build quality tools.
For instance, unlike (all?) other grinders, the upper tension arm incorporates a roller thrust bearing in the pivot pin, providing a smooth / constant tension on the belt.
The platen mounting design is much superior to other grinder and that allows for a lot of alternate positions.
 
Hi. I'm a bit late to this discussion but figured I'd chime in. I own Torus CNC and have a couple 2x72 grinder models to choose from. I make them in Illinois. I've been selling them for the past 2 years so don't have a wide audience yet. The VERT is my more budget friendly option and is a vertical only; Unless you fabricate a tilting table top to mount to. The M-90 is my tilting 2x72. The VERT frame with flat platen and 4in drive wheel starts at $399 plus shipping The M-90 frame with flat platen and 4in drive wheel starts at $695. I have package deals as well. I'm new to the the forums so I hope I haven't violated the rules by providing this info. Anyway. Thanks for checking out my shop if you choose to do so. I have them listed on eBay, Etsy and my website toruscnc.com

Rich
 

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I'm sure I'm a outlier, but I'm a retired hobby maker not full time. I have an OBM and I searched for quite a while and decided on this one partly due to price point. I'm really glad I have a variable speed VFD, flat platen upgraded with a ceramic flat platen, a small wheel attachment with rubber wheels (USAknifemaker), & an articulating tool rest. I also got a surface grinder made by OBM as well. (I kind of wish I got the Ameribrade one with Magswitches). Bottom line is you have to learn to deal with both your budget and your needs. I mounted mine on a wheeled cart, so I could grind outside, reducing the dust in my garage, and I do wonder about the value of the Ameribrade stand and storing all my expensive accessories in the metal dust laden area below my grinder. All in all I'm rather happy with my choice and I've earned to deal with it's quirks (I'm quite sure they all have a quirk or two), and I'm a daily grinding fool, working hard and enjoying the rabbit hole that is knife making. I do think it's important to get 1 1/2" tool arms to allow for interoperability between this seemingly standard.
 
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