Thanks crashdive, that video was pretty helpful. That 2x72 grizzly looks like a great grinder. Do you use a 10" wheel for hollow grinds only?
PW what did you have to make for yours?
As for Kilns, Jantz has the 22.5" KF series Evenheat, also a 24" Paragon that is in the max price range I'd like to spend. They would need to be 240 hardwired, but I can do that.
With the Grizz, you might need to add a few wraps of tape to the center of the tracking wheel to make the belt track straight when pressure is applied. Some of them track fine, others need a bit of tape. The tape works great and shows no signs of needing replacement after many belt changes.
The platen is covered with some adhesive backed graphite. This will last about 3 minutes and then you will need to replace it. To replace it, remove the graphite and then clean the platen well, and use some strong epoxy (I used JB Weld) to attach a ceramic glass platen liner from USA Knifemaker Supply. The glass is extremely hard and perfectly flat so it doesn't wear unevenly like the graphite (or even bare metal will eventually). You might want to add a brace to stiffen the platen on the grizz itself before gluing on the glass liner, because any flex in the platen when you tighten the bolts will crack the glass liner.
And finally, the tool rest is pretty small on the grizz. I drilled 4 holes in mine and bolted a 4" wide, 18" long flat bar to it to give a nice big working surface.
The grizz has a pretty fast belt speed, and it is a single speed unit. Unless you are doing hollow grinds, I would actually stick with the smaller wheel. The larger drive (contact) wheel will increase the effective belt speed even more. I find the included wheel is the perfect size for making the inside curve on "coke bottle" knife handles. To aid in this, it's also a good idea to mount the grinder on the right edge of a work bench to allow the contact wheel to overhang the edge, allowing you more access.
Beyond that, there are other things you can do to modify the grinder, but at some point the cost and time put into modifying it might mean you are better off buying a top end grinder if you haven't already invested in the Grizzly.
If you already have committed to a Grizz, you could get a shaft, some pillow blocks and pulleys, and offset the motor from the belt drive assembly. this would allow you to change speeds using a belt and pulleys, but depending on where you mount the motor, it might make it hard to access the buffing wheel. (Unless you make the shaft extend past the pulley far enough to install the buffing wheel on the new shaft.)
Upgrading the tool rest to a more "beefy" design is another project you might consider. The current one works fine, but it is a little "fiddly". And another project I had planned to do was to make a small "surface grinder" attachment that would use ball bearing drawer glides, a hinge, and a few other bits of hardware to allow you to slide a piece of stock along the contact wheel at an even distance in order to put a perfectly even finish on it. And with the correct angle wedges, you could do tapered tangs effortlessly.
