Grinder for lathe cutters

Yeah, saw that one. It's basically the Sears belt sander under a different brand. It is a 1/3HP grinder and trust me, I can stop the motor dead just grinding wood. I own the 1/3HP Sears model and it will not grind tool steel without bogging down. My old belt sander is 1/2HP and it is vastly superior, although the chassis is the same.

Hi Mikey, I'm bidding on a Craftsman like yours. It is an older unit looking exactly like yours but it is a 1" belt. I now have three belt sanders, a HF, 1" sander from MSC purchased years ago and a 4" Craftsman mostly used for sharpening wood turning tools. Not sure If I'll win the bis or not but worth trying.
 
Hi Mikey, I'm bidding on a Craftsman like yours. It is an older unit looking exactly like yours but it is a 1" belt. I now have three belt sanders, a HF, 1" sander from MSC purchased years ago and a 4" Craftsman mostly used for sharpening wood turning tools. Not sure If I'll win the bis or not but worth trying.

Good luck, Les! The only difference between the 1" and 2" models are the wheels. If you win it and wish to use 2" wide belts, Sears still carries the wheels for their 1/3 HP model sander so you can just change them and use 2" wide belts. You can certainly grind tool bits on a 1" belt but the 2" belt gives you more stroke and they last longer since you aren't concentrating all the cutting in a small space.

My brother owns a 1/2HP, 1" sander like the one you're going to win. He doesn't know it yet but if my sander ever dies, his is coming to my house!
 
Yeah, saw that one. It's basically the Sears belt sander under a different brand. It is a 1/3HP grinder and trust me, I can stop the motor dead just grinding wood. I own the 1/3HP Sears model and it will not grind tool steel without bogging down. My old belt sander is 1/2HP and it is vastly superior, although the chassis is the same.


Good to know, I was considering it as a future purchase. I find it really odd how difficult it is to find an adequate belt sander for this purpose since it does seem to be a better way to grind tools. Even that Grizzly that might work seems to be hard to get.
Unless I get lucky and stumble onto an old Sears sander like yours on ebay or a garage sale, it may become a future DIY project.
 
Unless I get lucky and stumble onto an old Sears sander like yours on ebay or a garage sale, it may become a future DIY project.

Look hard, Aaron, look really, really hard for one. They are good sanders, which is why they're so rare on the used market. Lots of newbie knifemakers own them. Your best bet is some guy who doesn't know what he has.
 
hope i'm not hijacking this thread, but i've seen rikon mentioned once or twice on the forum.... anybody have experience or suggestions with using these for shaping metal cutting tools?

https://woodturnerswonders.com/coll...-hp-grinder-with-two-4-in-1-design-cbn-wheels

(https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/rikon-grinders)

That is what I decided to do. I went with the Rikon 1hp grinder with the idea of upgrading to cbn wheels down the road.
I just got it and haven't had a chance to use it yet, I haven't even been home since it was delivered so can't offer any opinion of it.
 
Do these Rikon grinders have guards? I think they wouldn't be safe with conventional wheels.
 
Stock they do come with covers, and tool rests. The ones Woodturners offers for use with wide CBN wheels do not.
 
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hope i'm not hijacking this thread, but i've seen rikon mentioned once or twice on the forum.... anybody have experience or suggestions with using these for shaping metal cutting tools?

https://woodturnerswonders.com/coll...-hp-grinder-with-two-4-in-1-design-cbn-wheels

(https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/rikon-grinders)

If I was to buy one, I would email Ken Rizza and discuss it with him regarding grits he recommends for shaping and finishing. I would also buy wheels without a radius on the corners for tool grinding; you need a sharper edge to grind the rake angles.
 
Picked this up in like new condition for $600.

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