From the shop
I write down the setups, abrasive choices, tracking adjustments and maintenance checks I use at the grinder.
Articles 49–60 of 127
Archive page 5
Filed by what you are doing at the machine — grinding, sharpening, heat treat, maintenance, or running the business side of a shop.
Your first 2×72 just arrived. Here is what I tell every new owner: bolt it down, learn tracking before you touch steel, buy these belts first, practice on scrap, and avoid the mistakes that cost beginners blades.
Micarta and carbon fiber shape beautifully on a 2×72, and their dust is the worst thing in the shop to breathe. Here is how I grind both safely: respirator and dust collection, sharp belts, low speed, heat control, and finishing.
A forged blank that goes into the oven twisted comes out of the quench twisted, only now it is hard. Here is how I flatten and true a forged blade on the Torus 2×72 platen before heat treat.
Everybody botches a bevel. The question is whether the blade is scrap or salvage. Here is how I assess a bad bevel, re-establish the centerline, regrind it on the 2×72 and finish it so nobody can tell.
A longer platen supports a chef knife and keeps a flat grind flat. A shorter one gives control on small blades. Here is how platen length changes the grind, the trade-offs, and how to pick for the knives you make.
Carbon steel, stainless, tool steel and damascus all grind differently, and a VFD lets you match belt speed to each. Here is how I set speed by steel on the 2×72, and why thin stainless wants slow.
Every time you re-set the rest angle you risk a mismatched bevel. Here is how a common 1.5-inch tooling arm lets you swap platen, contact wheel and small wheel on a 2×72 without touching the angle.
The small wheel attachment opens up finger grooves, choils and inside curves. Here is how I install it on a Torus 2×72: power off, slide the arm in, set height, track the belt over the small wheel, test on scrap.
A belt change should take ten seconds, not a hunt for washers. Lathe-turned spacer sleeves keep every wheel at the right offset so the belt drops on and tracks. Here is how I make and size them.
A mower blade is a big, dull, dirty knife, and a 2×72 sharpens it in three minutes. Here is how I do it on the Torus grinder: cleaning it up, holding the factory angle, keeping it cool, and balancing it.
Every blade I make follows the same path on one 2×72: profile, bevel, heat treat, finish, sharpen. Here is the one blade, one grinder workflow, the belt order, and the checks that keep each edge as good as the last.
A twig handle has bark, knots and no flat faces, and it burns the second you lean on it. Here is how I shape irregular natural handles on the 2×72: sharp belts, slack belt and small wheel work, light pressure.
Built to order
I answer my own email. Tell me the work you do and which grinder you are considering.
