I've been working with some new-to-me tools in my new-ish shop. One of my favorites it my TW-90 2x72" belt grinder. It's made my Travis Wuertz in Casa Grande Arizona and, at the time I bought it, it was one of the most expensive tools I'd ever purchased. My milling machine actually eclipsed it in terms of cost, but I have gotten a ton of good use out of my grinder. I just started using the 8" contact wheel to sharpen HSS tooling for my Clausing lathe and it works great. I turned my first barrel recently and used it along with my barrel spinner and a blue scotchbrite belt to apply the final finish. Nice feature, the speed is highly adjustable via included VFD power source, so at 25% it gives a nice finish but the spinning is easily controllable. No gloves required, just light thumb pressure. My mentor had a Baldor 2x48 that was just too fast, IMHO, for barrel spinning.
The TW-90 is easily changeable from vertical to horizontal and comes with a nice assortment of wheels, work support options and a great flat platen. Travis also has a surface grinding attachment he offers and it's pretty great, too. Mostly I've used it for knifemaking, but it has proved very useful for resurfacing galled sprue plates and bullet mould surfaces. It's a very useful item and allows me some surface grinding capability, although I'm sure you more experienced folks would find it limited compared to a stand alone unit. Still, for those with fewer square feet than more, it's nice to have both functions in the same footprint.
Those of you who follow the History Channel show "Forged in Fire" will remember Travis. Every time he's been on the show, he's won. Very talented and innovative guy. Raised on a ranch but with an engineering degree and an amazing amount of energy.
The TW-90 is easily changeable from vertical to horizontal and comes with a nice assortment of wheels, work support options and a great flat platen. Travis also has a surface grinding attachment he offers and it's pretty great, too. Mostly I've used it for knifemaking, but it has proved very useful for resurfacing galled sprue plates and bullet mould surfaces. It's a very useful item and allows me some surface grinding capability, although I'm sure you more experienced folks would find it limited compared to a stand alone unit. Still, for those with fewer square feet than more, it's nice to have both functions in the same footprint.
Those of you who follow the History Channel show "Forged in Fire" will remember Travis. Every time he's been on the show, he's won. Very talented and innovative guy. Raised on a ranch but with an engineering degree and an amazing amount of energy.