Ordered my Grizzly grinder today! Have a few?'s.

[Exude]

Just placed my order for a grizzly grinder but have a few questions on what to get as far as belts and buffers. The buffer on it has a 5/8 inch arbor but none of the buffing wheels in my Trugrit cataloge have that size. Can I make a different size work? Maybe get a 1/2" and drill it out to 5/8?

For belts I was going to get a Norton Hogger or two and some 3M Gatorbacks. Is this a good choice? How many blades will a hogger do so I know how many to order? Thanks a bunch for the help.

P.S. For anybody interested it was $275 on sale and the sale ends Sept. 1st so order now if you plan on getting one.

[SKIVIE]

Harbor freight has some buffers that will fit it if you have one near. As far as belts goes, The norton Hoggers are good and the 3m belts are also good. Just give the guys a call at trugrit and tell them what your doing and they will take care of you. I prefer the Softer backed belts on my higher grits. You can get the hoggers in say 80, 120, 220 but they will have a hard back. Youll find that as you get going your going to aquire a LOT of belts. I think I have atleast 10 of each grit from 80, 120, 220, 400, 800. You will go through the 80 and 120 a lot faster than you go through the 400 or 800. Maybe only get a couple of those and more of the coarser grits. Hope I just didnt confuse the heck out of ya. I received an order today from trugrit and if you want to know the exact belts I got just shoot me an email and when I get home Ill email them back to you.

Shane

[Ray Rogers]

You can get your buffs from Tru-Grit if you want to. Get a buff that is as close to your arbor as possible (but smaller) and then use a sharp knife to make a series of small cuts around the arbor hole. After that, you can thread the buff right onto the arbor.

The Norton Hoggers are great for doing your initial grind but after that you'll need finer grits to remove the 60 grit marks. Gator belts will not do this - they are for finishing only. I have some 80 grit Gators and even that coarse a grit will not remove any significan metal. Get some 120, 220 and 400 to start and see what you like. As Shane said, you'll end up with a lot of belts. I must have over $1000 worth of belts hanging on my shop wall....

[combs6136]

__________________
carl

[Exude]

Thanks for the tip on the Gators Ray. I was just going to go with the hogger in a coarse grit, how coarse should I get? Is 36 grit to coarse?

What belts should I get for 120, 220 and 400? Are the Ceramics worth the extra bucks? Do they last 3 times as long? Time isn't an issue for me, just durability.

Do the Gators work good for finishing (400 grit) or should I stay away from them? Sorry for all the questions and thanks again.

[SKIVIE]

Im sure a lot has to do with personal preference but heres what I like.

I start out with a 80 Grit.....Norton Ceramic Hoggers. #SGR981Y
120 Grit.....Norton Ceramic Hoggers. #SGR981
220 Grit....3M Ceramic # 707 JE
400 Grit....Hermes #RB406JF
800 Grit....Hermes #RB346MJ


I actually thought to try maybe a 36,50, or a 60 Grit Norton but still havent yet so maybe someone else can chime in on that. Heres something for you to try. Throw the belt on that comes with your grizzly (They will send one with it) Try it, then try a Norton Ceramic Hogger. You will notice a HUGE difference. The cut better, faster and last a lot longer.

Hope this helps you out.

Shane

[DiamondG Knives]

I use 36 grit belts only for removing rough forging marks and doing my initial profiling. Be leary of doing too much grinding on your flats with this grit, it will leave grind marks that look like canyons! I start my initial blade grinds with an 80 grit belt, sorry I cant remember what brand, they are the heavy weight blue ones, I think they are trizac, but not sure.
One thing I found myself doing, and try to stress for guys grinding for the first time is to leave things PLENTY BIG, or by the time you get to the finer grits, you wont have much knife left!! One thing I do to help me know when to change grits is to blue the blade with layout fluid after each grit, this will let you know when you have ground thru the ble, you have removed the scratches from the previous grit, also lets you keep track of your grind lines.
Like Shane said, I tend to use more of the courser grits than the finer grits, I buy all of them 10 at a time, and when Im out of 80 and 120 grit belts, I have several 320,400,600 belts left.

I have had good luck buying on ebay thru a seller named "Barbcat" with Snyder Abrasives, they have the course to medium grit belts usually @ $1.80 each with shipping, be sure toi check out their other auctions if someone starts to bid you up, because they usually have several of the same going at the same time.

Hope you enjoy your Grizz as much as I have mine! They are a great machine for the $$, Id get a ceramic glass platten for it, it makes a WORLD of diffrence! Steve Pryor, and Darren Ellsi both have it for sale.

Good Luck and God Bless

Mike

[Ray Rogers]

The 400 grit Gators do work well for finishing but I still use the RB406 400's for some knives. Like Mike said, beware the 36 grit as the grooves are very deep. I use the Norton Hoggers in 60 grit. Other than that, I use the same belts as Shane specified. It will all come down to personal preference eventually....

[Exude]

Thanks guys. That helps out a lot. Now what do I need as far as buffing wheels and compounds go? Thanks again

[Ray Rogers]

Depends on what you plan to buff. There are several different compounds available for each type of steel, wood, plastic, horn/antler/bone, or base metal. Loose buffs are recommended for some compounds, stitched for others. The best way to get all that info in one place so you can make your own informed decision is to get a catalog from the major knife suppliers like Sheffield's, K&G, and Texas Knifemakers. They explain what componds they sell, what the compounds are used for, and what wheels to use them on.

There have been some threads on the subject which might be helpful. Use the Search key to look for them....

[whv]

also check with koval's - they will give a quantity discount on buffs and compounds. be sure to get a separate wheel for each compound (so as not to cross contaminate them) and keep them in heavy-duty ziplock bags along with the appropriate compound.

[Exude]

Thanks for the help guys. My Grizz is comming in tomorrow morning so hopefully the sparks will fly soon!

[Nalis]

Just remember to go SLOW!!! When I got my Grizzly I ate up a few peices of steel very quickly. Also get a GOOD pair of safty goggles if not a full face shield. An apron is also a good idea unless you want your clothes covered with little tiny pieces of metal. Have fun with it, I have. Dont forget to post som pic's of your 1st knife on your new grinder.

[Exude]

Well I got the grizz and the end of the box it came in was all smashed to hell, arbor sticking right out but the thing is tough as nails and doesn't seem to be any damage to it. Motors runs fine and nothing is bent. Still haven't put it together yet but hopefully soon.

Grinding Question....When I am grinding the sharp edge of the blade do I grind it till it is sharp? I thought I read somewhere that if you grind till the edge is sharp it will cut all the grit off your belt and dull it real fast. Can somebody clear this up for me and tell me how you do it. Greatly appreciate all the help.

[Ray Rogers]

No, you don't grind it until it is sharp. If you did that, you would then be working on a sharp blade, trying to put a finish on it and so on - and that's a big no-no. You start with an old 60 or 80 grit belt and, with the edge down, grind the corners off of the profiled blade edge down to near your center lines. Then, change to a new sharp belt, turn the blade edge up, and grind your bevels. This is done because the sharp corners on the square edge of the profiled blade would take the grit off a new belt.

There have been many, many discussions of grinding techniques in previous threads. Some of the methods people use can be quite a surprise and make for interesting reading. Use the Search key to find some of them, it might save you from some of the frustration that we all experience when learning to grind....