Flat Grinding Jigs Are Done!

I did some turning this evening, but it's boring and not worth showing off. The important task tonight was to get my flat grinding jigs into working condition.

First order of business was to bust out my new tap holder!!! My current small tap holder is a piece of junk, so I replaced it with a Starrett. I love Starrett tools, I wish I could afford more of them. Most of the ones I have are vintage, but this one is brandy new.

Work Rest For My Grinder

I got most of the work done on a special work rest before being called away on my day job...I'll be able to finish it later this week.
The idea is to be able to grind a slight taper onto each side of a blade...as opposed to just a flat blade with a primary bevel. It'll all make sense once it's done. I hope. Or I've wasted a lot of time, and aluminum.

The center of the rest has a 2 degree ramp milled into it. The far side is .070" above the main surfaces.

EERF...(some details)

Here's a few bits that were glossed over along the way while I built my EERF grinder.

Tension spring. This is a pretty important detail. Too much tension and the belt is over stressed. Not enough tension and the belt will wander. A little research and I found that approximately 40 pounds was the right amount of tension.

Belt Grinder Is Done!

All done! We'll take a more detailed tour later today. I have some other work I need to jump on for a bit.

Bolted down to the grinding table and ready to rock!

And from the other side.

EERF Grinder...still working...

Continuing on the grinder...

Fitting the two major frame parts.

Back To My Grinder

My grinder parts are here.

1.5 hp motor, 5" drive wheel, 4" tracking wheel, 5" contact wheel. The drive and tracking wheels are from Wilmont.

These are fresh from the water jet shop. They were just a little too big for me to make at home. I'll be getting all of this fitted up over the next few days and then time for some paint.

EERF Grinder (cont.)

Continuing work on my EERF grinder:

This part was the largest, so I left it for last. It required a lot of hack saw work before being milled. The original design has this as two separate pieces of 1/2" steel sandwiched together at assembly. I elected to make it from a single 1" thick piece of aluminum.

EERF Grinder

Although I quite like my Kalamazoo grinder, it is limited when it comes to knife making. My problem is funding. A good, dedicated knife grinder can easily go from $1400 to $2000. I can't justify that kind of money.

I need an alternative.

The preferred size for a knife grinder is a 2x72. Like I said above, these get to be pricey. I ran across Wilmont a while ago: here. Wilmont makes grinders for sale, but also provides free plans for the "EERF" grinder. Hmmmm...right up my alley. A basic 2x72 grinder that I can build myself. Now we're talking.

I had a local machine shop that I've worked with for several years with my current job and my previous job quote me for making the basic parts. That came out to a bit over $600. That would send the overall cost of the project over what I can afford. Instead, I'm going to have them make the couple of parts that are too large for my mill. The remaining parts will be made by me. I'm modifying the design just a bit as I go to suit me.

The first few parts are already underway:

The tracking wheel pivot. I enlarged the pivot holes to accept bronze bushings.