Could anyone share ideas for bench grinder rests?

493mike

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I have an older Sears 7" bench grinder (my first power tool purchase) and it is equipped with very rudimentary material rests. I would like to easily dial in rest angles for lathe cutter grinding. Has anyone here solved this issue? Thanks for sharing!
Mike
 
I have the Veritas grinder rest and it is very good. They ain't cheap and not heavy duty but have been holding up fine to standard grinding jobs. MOF, I now have two of them. If you have the time and can build something like them then go for it.
 
Search Harold halls projects , he has a very nice grinder rest. I'll search myself and see if I can find it.

"Billy G"

Get this book if you can.

https://www.bookdepository.com/Tool-Cutter-Sharpening-Harold-Hall/9781854862419
That is a very good book on the subject. I was disappointed, however, as an owner of an inherited tool & cutter grinder to find that it didn't teach me much at all about my machine of nearly the same name as the book title. Worthwhile to read and own for reference anyway.
 
I am pretty sure there is plans on projects in metal web site.
 
To be fair Jon,
......I was disappointed, however, as an owner of an inherited tool & cutter grinder to find that it didn't teach me much at all about my machine of nearly the same name as the book title.....
Tool and Cutter grinding is a pretty broad subject. I too have a T&C grinder but because it is called that, it doesnt make it "nearly the same" as something referenced in a book title. Manufacturers make so many different, subtle changes to their equipment, (perhaps to give them the sales edge), that one book could not possibly cover all operations or aspects of the subject. Otherwise half the "specialized" machinists would be out of a job!

Cheers Phil
 
A 6" vise is overkill for a RF45 style mill. A 4" is more appropiate for that size mill & IMO 5" max. I have a 5" GMT vise on my PM45 & it's slightly too big. Not enough Y axis travel to make use of the 5" full capacity. Better to save your money rather than getting something too big & most importantly the weight. I take my vise of the table quite often, a 6" is still light enough for me to be carried by hand but I'm glad I have a 5". I also have a 4" vise as well. I prefer the 5" though.

But those GMT 6" Premium vises are pretty nice. I'd love to have one but don't need one on my current mill. But if you plan on upgrading to a full size knee mill in the future than the 6" will be perfect.


Here's what the 5" looks like on my mill.
Img_1921.jpg


I couldn't even complete this cut without my bellows & DRO scale getting in the way. Not enough Y travel & the 5" vise is not even maxed out.
Img_7597_zpscb8b5dd7.jpg


Here's what a 6" vise looks like on another PM45 (gt40's)
View attachment 253544

Grinding%20Platform%20jpg.jpg
 
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To be fair Jon, Tool and Cutter grinding is a pretty broad subject. I too have a T&C grinder but because it is called that, it doesnt make it "nearly the same" as something referenced in a book title. Manufacturers make so many different, subtle changes to their equipment, (perhaps to give them the sales edge), that one book could not possibly cover all operations or aspects of the subject. Otherwise half the "specialized" machinists would be out of a job!

Cheers Phil
You are reading assumptions into what I said. The name of the machine and the name of the book are very nearly the same. That is all I said.

Incidentally, even machinist textbooks I've found scarcely make mention of T&C grinders. The most "complete" I've found had a single photo of one and a single paragraph which said approximately, "You should also be aware that this kind of grinder also exists."
 
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