Hello all,
I was hoping for a little help here. I am looking to buy a bench grinder, and I’ve spent a bit of time looking through the archives on this topic. Most of the posts are pretty old and I’m hoping someone can give me some updated advice.
This subject is almost as talked about as the last one I asked a question on, dust-collecting, but I don’t mean to stir things up! I am looking for a 3450 rpm or 1725 rpm (I don’t really care which) 8″ grinder, which I will put an Aluminium-Oxide white wheel on. The thing I don’t know is, which grinder? It seems that this could be an area where simple is better. I don’t want two wheels, (and most seem to come with two) I don’t see the point since all I want to do is put a hollow-grind on my edges with a 60 grit, then head to the water-stone station. I just want something as small as is reasonable for an 8″. Of course, I don’t want to spend a bunch o’ money (I should say that I plan on getting an after-market tool-rest/guide so that’s not a real concern).
Again, it seems like with my goals for a grinder, less might be more if all you want to do is hollow-grind and maybe make a custom scratch stock now and then. I guess what I really want to do is complain about the fact that I can’t seem to find that “simple” machine out there locally. BUT, I hate to complain… 🙂
Any thoughts? Thanks everybody for your help!
Erich
p.s. – I’m probably not the best person to go out and buy a second hand motor and make my own, I wish I was!
Replies
You might want to consider the craftsman variable speed grinder.
" There'll be no living with her now" - Captain Jack Sparrow
A friend of mine and I recently bought General grinders. I bought a 6" 1800 RPM and he bought a 10" grinder. Both of us like them.
http://www.general.ca
Erich,
A week ago I went to the local dealer of woodworking machines and they had a big display of the new Steel City Tools. The Steel City Grinder was quite impressive and was on sale for $139, it came home with me.
Variable speed, smooth operation, heavy duty tool rests, and a plastic tray to hold water to cool the tool being ground. It comes with a stone truing tool and a buffer wheel. It has sharpened a quite a few tools in the first week and I am very happy with it.
Have attached a picture of the grinder and the sharpening bench in my shop.
Moksha
Now this is going to sound very Bizzare. But my Grandfather used to use His lathe, He had a #2 morse taped 5/8" arbor that had a center drill hole on the outside end and would mount an 8" grinding wheel on it then bring up the live center to the center drill hole to keep it secure in the head stock. And had an attachment that he stuck in the tool post just as you would for a regular grinder. The advantage is that he had a four speed grinder at minimal expense. (He lived through the depression)
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Bruce, that is not Bizarre at all- it is good , because you have a speed choice and a very good, steady tool post which is adjustable for height and angle.
The only drawback is the question of a suitable guard.
I had this arrangement in my early days , but on the outboard side of the lathe, so I could grind/ sharpen lathe tools without stopping the lathe. The wheels were unguarded, but I never have been in the habit of standing in the way of sparks anyway. For that matter neither do I stand in line with the table saw blade, thus having never saluted that saw. And for that matter neither am I putting parts where the radial arm travels....Philip Marcou
Although this used to be a common practice, it isn't a good idea. The problem is that the grit from the wheel gets into places it shouldn't, like the head stock bearings, and causes very rapid wear.
Also any sparks thrown off can start a fire in shavings, sometimes a slow smoldering fire that won't flare up until hours later when no one is around.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
John, Grandpa also used to use that same arbor and put a saw blade on it along with a home made table. In the fashion of a Shopsmith. Now that is really Extreme !! Trust me, I don't do either one. Just the way it was done during the great depression when money was scarce. Just a History lesson Folks, not advocating it.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Hi Erich
There are a couple of choices you can make. Firstly, there is the choice of bench grinder speed. I have a basic high speed 6 " machine, and I am satisfied with this. With the correct set up (I use a Nortons white 60 grit wheel, but there are many others, some better no doubt) and correct technique (tickle the iron on the wheel only(, then you will not burn an edge. A half speed machine is also capable of burning and is generally much more expensive. I also have a Scan Grind, which is Tormek-type slow wet grinder, but lack the patience for this (It is like watching paint dry).
6" or 8" wheel? The 6" will give a deeper hollow, which means a little less grinding. I don't think that there is a lot in it. For the second wheel I have a hard felt disk, which is used as a power strop with Veritas green rouge. This is fairly new, so I can't say much about it (other than I am still struggling to achieve what others rave about).
I use the Veritas grinder rest. It replaced a Chinese-made cheapie. A world of difference. It is rock stable. I use it without the sliding blade holder, prefering to freehand the blades. I find that the greater feel that one has here is a lot safer than when using a blade holder.
For bevel down plane blades and non-laminated chisels I prefer to hollow grind before freehand honing on waterstones.
View Image
For bevel up plane blades (which depend on the bevel angle to create the cutting angle, unlike BD blades) I prefer a flat grind and a micro bevel using the Veritas Honing Guide Mk II. For laminated blades (such as Japanese chisels) I will also flat grind (but no microbevel) and then freehand hone. For flat grinding I use a stationary belt sander (mine is 6" wide). This is a near foolproof system. The belt sander runs coolest of all. FWW is due to publish the toolrest I designed for it in the January magazine (as a result I cannot post pictures yet). If I were to have just one of these machines, it would be the belt sander.
Hope this helps.
Regardsfrom Perth
Derek
Edited 10/31/2006 5:24 am ET by derekcohen
Derek,
What grit or grits do you use on your belt sander for grinding? I have a 1" belt sander which I use. I have heard of one guy who only uses 80 grit because the course belt doesnt heat up the blade as much as a fine belt. Others tell me they only use a worn 220 belt. I guess the answer is as always "If it works for you, use it." What is your choice?
Have you tried a charged leather belt on the belt sander for honing?Thanks,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hi Mel
I have grits for the belt sander (6" wide) from 80 - 1300. For grinding I will use either a 80 (if there is a lot of metal to remove) or 120 (which leaves a much smoother finish). Generally for BU plane blades I go to a microbevel on waterstones from there, so I don't need to use higher level grits. However, if I am preparing a Japanese chisel from scratch I will hone all the way to 1300, then finish on my waterstones.
One advantage of the belt sander I have is that it has a heavy cast iron bed that is flat and wide. The bigger the belt, the cooler it runs.
I would not use a worn 220 belt (yes I know that Tage Frid used to do so) as this will generate much heat for less cutting.
I do use a powered hone, and have a very effective one using the disk sander section of the belt sander combo. This consists of a piece of chamois leather stretcher overand contact glued to a velcro-backed sanding disk. I use Veritas green rouge on this. It is an easy task to hold the bevel against the revolving flat surface. I find this works better than the hard felt wheel on my grinder.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek,
Well said. Thanks a lot. The 120 grit (or so) belts sound good. I have them. I also bought some very fine sanding belts from Lee Valley but haven't used them yet. I had read that they cause a lot of heat. I will give them a try. Like you said in an earlier post, I try to just kiss the belt. Your idea of a charged leather circular strop sounds good. The fact that you find it better than the hard felt wheel was a surprise. I had a post from a professional carver the other day which said that he used a medium felt wheel for years before he switched to a firm. He felt that it was easier to learn how to hone on a medium wheel, and then move to a firm.
Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Thanks Derek and everyone,I really appreciate the suggestions and comments. I have continued to look at the tool brokers and I haven't been able to come up with the simple grinder that I'm looking for (i.e. no frills, with only one wheel). So, I guess I'll have to go with the two-wheeled configuration, not the end of the world I guess. I thought I could mount a strop on the other side or maybe keep the tool rest on that side set so the I can grind a flat on the front edge of my tools then switch to the business side for the hollow-grind up to the flat reference. Does anyone have any thoughts on the more inexpensive brands? I saw a Ryobi 8" that I might like to stay away from for 59$, but I like the Grizzly 3/4 HP 8" with a nice small foot-print for the same $59. Any down-sides to buying these less-expensive machines so that I can put my money into a good wheel and tool rest? Thanks again everybody!Erich
I replaced one of the wheels on one of mine, with a leather strop wheel and the other with a cloth wheel charged with honing compound
" There'll be no living with her now" - Captain Jack Sparrow
I have a Delta 1725 industrial model and like it very much. It is well balanced and does a fine job of sharpening my lathe tools. I use a Oneway tool jig with this grinder.
Ray
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