Anybody here make their own belt grinder? I have the Goddard Book, but those grinder he made look a bit too flimsy for me.

Blue

You might check Bob Dozier's website, I think that it's Dozerknives.com. He manufactures a sophisticated set of Knife making Belt Grinders.
For general work I have been using a Wilton for recoil pads and such and for this it works fantastic. Can't say how it would work for Knifemaking though.....DJ

Yes, you can build your own.

Take a loook in the tools section of our site. Mike Alexander has provided the drawings and notes for building your own.

Blue...we have talked before, But I have forgot where in Mn you live again...However here in Grand Forks ND about 2 years ago I faced the fact that I needed to get my own grinder. I looked deeply into just useing a left over washer motor I had and some other stuff I could get, and making my own grinder from the parts.



I went to BladeForums and I asked a few questions and I also went over the old posts and sent a ton of email on the topic.



I was all set to try to build my "first" belt grinder , when I chickened-out.



I found that the Grizzly was sold for under $300 and comes already with a built-in buffer. and so I got one of them.

http://eastof29.tripod.com/daqotahforge2/id7.html



.Over the years I have asked what type of grinder is best for new guys to get first, and the guys who answer seem to always point to grinders that are over $500 to $1,000 bucks!



Well when I faced this question , there just was NO WAY I was going to sink that kind of money into a grinder . It's just asking too much to be able to explane such a thing to my wife...LOL



HOWEVER:, I sould point out that now that I own a grinder and see how they work...if I wanted to, I could make one, and perhaps I could even make a better one that my Grizzly.



The key thing of the belt grinder is the motor. You have to have the raw power to keep it moveing when you start to really grind down on the sanding belts with the steel. I dont think my old washer motor would have worked now at all.



Im told that there are a few books that show you how to set up knife making shops for $50, but when you are done you have a belt grinder that is worth $50 too...



I wish you the best in your knife making, I hope if you do get things worked out for building your own that you finish something that will work for you. I tried but just didnt think I could end up with something worth the time to make...



Good Luck