| Review by JuniorJoiner | posted 197 days ago | 1971 views | 5 times favorited | 20 comments |  |
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Vintage Grinder-hand powered.
If you do much sharpening, you know how valuable a hollow ground tool is. Using a low speed grinder is a way to grind your tool safely without losing the steel’s temper. Also, it is easier to grind accurately at low speed.
Anyone who has attended inside passage school of fine cabinetmaking knows about hand crank grinders, and how wonderful it is to have a hollow ground blade to sharpen.
the problem has always been finding a good quality grinder, as the hand crank style went out of vogue long ago. Used vintage grinders can sell for a broad range of prices online, but you never know if they are going to last. I personally went through three in two years, broken shafts when trying to change wheels, and gear mechanisms that just give out.
All of this is fixed by sourcing a new grinder.
Meadow Valley machinery of Barker New York, produces a Vintage grinder of fabulous quality. I have not been this impressed with the quality of a tool since i first saw a Lie-Nielsen plane a dozen years ago. High quality materials, fit and finish, and most importantly , Great results.
Heavy duty wheel guard, oil impregnated bronze bearings, and 60 cranks per minute equals 540 rpm, so true low speed. and made in the USA.
I use The Veritas grinder tool rest that i have, so I did not try the included tool rest. I am using the included grinding wheel.
The price is a bit steep at $355usd(shipping incl) plus duty, but i weighed this against the price of the dozens of tools i will sharpen with it regularly. easily justified.
The company (Meadow Valley Machinery) is a small family run business without a website or e-mail address, so i was a little apprehensive purchasing a costly item sight unseen.
Now that i have received the grinder and experienced the quality of their product, I am excited by the other woodworking items in this company’s catalog.
I expect to get a lifetime of use from this grinder, and any other tools i purchase from this company.
-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.
20 comments so far
Beginningwoodworker
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13225 posts in 1844 days
#1 posted 197 days ago
Cool Grinder!
-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker
Manitario
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#2 posted 197 days ago
Wow, this is pretty cool! I have a Tormek grinder, but I find I don’t use it very often because it is a hassle to pull out and set up. I’ve seen a few vintage hand-crank grinders and thought it would be a neat idea to sharpen with one.
-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
zosomagick
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3 posts in 1148 days
#3 posted 197 days ago
This is awesome. Every hand crank grinder I’ve seen has had “issues.” A quality new production hand grinder is something that is very appealing to me. Did a quick Google search. Is Meadow Valley Machinery in Barker, NY? I want to get one of those catalogs! Thanks for the review!
Tim
ChuckC
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548 posts in 1106 days
#4 posted 197 days ago
Do you have to crank with one hand while holding the tool with the other or do you get enough speed going where you can get 2 hands on the tool? I know nothing about these grinders.
JuniorJoiner
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441 posts in 1611 days
#5 posted 197 days ago
you have to use one hand to crank and one to move the blade. it is easy once you try it. you could theoretically still blue a blade if the blade is very small and you crank very fast. but would not normally be a worry. I grind all my spokeshave irons with this and they can be quite small.
-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.
a1Jim
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87312 posts in 1748 days
#6 posted 197 days ago
Unique grinder
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
MattinCincy
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128 posts in 1325 days
#7 posted 197 days ago
I like this concept a lot, except for the part about holding the blade with one hand. It seems like it would be a really simple adaptation to make this work with a foot treadle – you could attach it directly to the offset handle and free up both hands to guide the blade.
-- Wag more, bark less.
Manitario
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1862 posts in 1054 days
#8 posted 197 days ago
Foot treadle…that’s an awesome idea. Once I have the space this will be at the top of my “want” list.
-- Rob, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
JuniorJoiner
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441 posts in 1611 days
#9 posted 197 days ago
the foot treadle is easy to rig up, but takes away from the mobility of the setup. i prefer to hand operate.
-- Junior -Quality is never an accident-it is the reward for the effort involved.
CyberDyneSystems
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76 posts in 360 days
#10 posted 197 days ago
..and of course, foot treadle grinders are a real thing too, if you want one of those, you can find them on occasion. I don’t know if anyone makes them now, but the two I’ve used were amazing, and spun HUGE wheels. 24’ diameter by 4” wide on the bigger one.
Dusty56
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10532 posts in 1859 days
#11 posted 196 days ago
24’ diameter….wow , that IS huge !!
-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.
MattinCincy
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128 posts in 1325 days
#12 posted 196 days ago
24’ diameter wouldn’t give you much of a hollow grind though, would it? :) ........ I’m guessing he meant 24”?
-- Wag more, bark less.
Dusty56
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10532 posts in 1859 days
#13 posted 195 days ago
LOL , just playing with Junior : )
-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.
mrpedal
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28 posts in 710 days
#14 posted 191 days ago
Ironic relevance, or this guy surfing this site?
Dusty56
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10532 posts in 1859 days
#15 posted 191 days ago
“19205” era ? What era are these people living in ?
-- When did quiet and quite become the same word ? I'm guessing about the same time as your and you're did.
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