KMG Questions...

[TikTock]

Hello,
I have, after about 50 people told me the single most important tool to increase my quality, speed and overall knifemaking experience, decided that a KMG is in order. I should have the money after selling a few knives that are almost complete. I am trying to stay within a 1000$ budget.

Im getting the KMG with a platen, no contact wheel (no hollow grinding for me), replacing the upper platen wheel with a small 2" contact wheel. That will end up running me somewhere around 700$. After pulleys and possibly the baseplate, Im around 800$...

My dilemna is with the motor. I have zero (read: ZERO) knowledge of motors. I do not currently have the funds to make this thing a true variable speed and if I did, I would want to do it right. I don't want to half-attempt that with inferior parts and would rather upgrade motor to varibale when i had the 650$ at a later date to upgrade with the setup on the KMG site.

My question is: If I plan to use the pulleys on the KMG website to give me effectively 3 different speeds, What kind of motor should I be getting. Ima ssuming base RPMS should be around 1750? Here is what I know:

1. I have a regular volt plug constraint. This is an apartment shop and I cannot re-wire anything. So that means no 220 utility plugs or dedicated breakers....I need to be able to plug this into a standard socket.

2. I am looking for 1-1.5 hp. I have a 1 HP 2X42 right now and never lean in enough to bog it down at all. I dont hog huge amounts of steel at any time.

From what I gather, i need some kind of 110V single phase motor. Every time i go to look, I get way too much info and have no idea what I should be looking for.

How can I in the most cost effective way, get the KMG running with 3 working speeds with a cheaper motor with the intent that months or a year down the road, I may upgrade to a higher end variable motor and controller?

Another question i had was overall size. I know the base footprint, but what is the space footprint I need to have available?

Lastly, How quiet does it run? Im sure this is partly a function of the motor I get and the table it is mounted on, but is it a particularly noisy machine, or is it butter smooth? Only thing I have to comapre it to is my 2X42.....

Thanks! I did a lot of searcing forums but could not find information that was specific to my situation.

[Don Cowles]

Talk with Rob Frink- he is very helpful, and will be glad to walk you through it and make recommendations.

[SteveA]

I agree about talking with Rob. And he's a good source for the step pulleys you'll need. I use a 1.5 hp motor with step pulleys on mine - a homebuilt using Rob's pulleys and wheels. It's a GE model, one that Tractor Supply sells as a "farm duty" motor. It can be wired to run on either 110 or 220. I think mine came wired for 110 and I swapped it to 220. You might just find the three speed system is all you need.

Steve

[Drac]

Don is absolutely right, Ron can answer your questions with the patience of a saint, and he spent quite a bit of time helping me.

I got the 1.5hp single phase 110 AC motor with pulleys when I ordered my KMG. The foot print fits nicely on the plate, everything lines up great when bolted down. I've had no problems with it. The noise is a lot less than my 1x42. How loud varies on what belt you are using and what you are grinding. Thick coarse belts hogging make a huge amount of noise. Fine belt cleaning up are pretty low on the noise. I run mine in a spare room I've converted to a shop and as long as my door is closed it doesn't bother my wife much. I'd recommend getting a ceramic platen when you set it up. There are several threads on this and it does make a big difference.

The whole setup weighs about 200lbs (with plate) so you will need a good place to put it and unlike the 1x42 you won't be able to move it around much.

Hope this helps,
Jim

[TikTock]

Thanks!

I suppose once i have the actual 1000$ in my account, I will just walk through it with him. Enough people have done it that I am sure I can handle it once I have a little information.

Good news on the noise! Thanks!

I am really looking forward to a quality machine but have no need to rush things. It would be nice to raise the last 500 in the next two weeks to avoid the 9/1/05 10% price increase, though....Time to finally sell the Paul Chen orchid Wakizachi ive been sitting on for five years with no real need for.....that alone would put me over the amount I need.

[Jeremy Krammes]

I have my KMG for about a month now, and it is a whole new world... I ordered the 10" package, and a pair of step pullys. With shiping ($85.00) it came to $990.00. I got my motor from Granger. It is the exact same specs as the 1.5 HP on Robs site, but mine was only $175.00, and I picked it up so there was no shiping costs. Total was about $1200.00. In my opinion forget about the base plate, and get the 10" contact wheel instead.

Jeremy

[McAhron]

over on Blade forums there is a thread titled a kmg on a shoestring budget and it gives a parts list and instructions for making a variable speed kmg from old treadmill parts and even includes a suppliers and cost list,it has been awhile since the thread ran so you will have to search and i think the total cost was less than a hundread dollars