Grizzly G2790 Universal Knife Grinder High expectations, lousy results

Grizzly G2790 Universal Knife Grinder

Max blade length 20"

Knife holder angle adjusts from 15 Degrees to 90 Degrees

Overall length is 24"

120-grit stone raises and lowers

Overall height is 13"

Grizzly G2790 Good Value The G2790 is a good value for the money. Not the highest quality as far as machine tools go. I needed to do some fine tuning to get it to work well. I had to use gringing paste to flatten the knife guide and take some rock out. I also had to devise a way to take the slop out of the devices that hold the knife holder to the table. After my reworking the grinder performed well.
High expectations lousy results I priced having my three sets of 15 planer blades sharpened $90 and called a friend to ask what he did and ended up borrowing his 2790 Grizz sharpener. It looks and feels impressive but that's where the honeymoon ends. There is way too much slop in the angle mechanism on the work table that I had to fiddle with shimming the gaps with .005 brass shim stock to get it tight. Fair enough but fussy. The main problem with this unit is the way the work table is raised and lowered in relation to the stone. The stone is stationary while the work table is mounted on a cast iron sleeve that slides over the motor an supposedly has a tight fit but when you change from raised to lowering by the handwheel and large threaded rod on the back the sleeve/table/your expensive knife cocks and changes the height and angle drastically. Forget repeating your setting and changing the height without checking and rechecking. I learned this the hard way when I probably ruined my 15 planer blade by overheating it and blued the thing. It is awkward to slide the knife holder along the work table but gets better with practice. But it's very easy to let the knife holder move into the spinning stone with undesirable results. Want more? The dressing stone is a nice touch until you use it. There is no easy solid way to keep the stone from tilting down and gouging the hapless grinding wheel with out making absolutely sure that you keep a viselike grip on the holder. But with practice After ruining another knife I thought I'd have more luck with a 6 jointer knife I had to put it down and walk away. I've had decades working and tweaking old machines and tools to make them perform and take a great deal of pride and satisfaction with being able to take something marginal and getting a good result but this time I failed.

Max blade length 20".Knife holder angle adjusts from 15 Degrees to 90 Degrees.Overall length is 24".120-grit stone raises and lowers.Overall height is 13". This dry-type Knife Grinder is ideal for sharpening planer and jointer knives. High quality cast iron construction, together with large capacity (will sharpen up to 20" planer blades) makes this grinder an excellent investment. Heavy-duty motor is 1/2 HP, TEFC capacitor start, 110V, with pre-lubricated ball bearings and runs at 3450 RPM.