Well, I got me a carbide tool grinder finally!

[Finster]

I'm not sure how happy about it I am. I got this China grinder on E-bay for a total of $217 shipping included. I made him an offer that apparently, he couldn't refuse. Here it be:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/132132924348?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I'm not expecting some awesome machine but I figure it will work once I put good wheels on it. After all, I'm not grinding tools in some industrial setting. I can tweak and play with it and probably make it pretty decent. I know the average China grinder from grizzly is $350 I think this is probably as good. What ya think? Be honest, I can take it. Yea, it's no Baldor, I know.

 

[brino]

Finister,

I do buy some import tools of lower quality, it's all about knowing what quality you need.
It sounds like you've gone into it with your eyes wide open.
You have set your expectations reasonably.

That grinder looks reasonable and quite complete.
I agree you should have a very useful tool with some minor tweaking.
...and you saved over $100 to buy new wheels for it.

Please let us know!
-brino

 

[Finster]

Finister,

I do buy some import tools of lower quality, it's all about knowing what quality you need.
It sounds like you've gone into it with your eyes wide open.
You have set your expectations reasonably.

That grinder looks reasonable and quite complete.
I agree you should have a very useful tool with some minor tweaking.
...and you saved over $100 to buy new wheels for it.

Please let us know!
-brino

Thanks brino, Yep, it will be a little project I'm sure. I would love a Baldor but that's way over my price range at the moment and I have a real use for one because of the cutting I do. However, I don't make that many chips so this may just get me by.

 

[Mach89]

Looks like a decent machine. As you said, you can always tweak it and make it work for you. I do that with a lot of stuff.

 

[woodtickgreg]

I think I saw a video on youtube where a guy totally tweaks on of those Chinese grinders and fixed the few faults that they have. With a little time and careful set up it will serve you well I'm sure. I always think about what we would like to have and what we as hobbyist can afford to have. I think about myself in this mostly, I am not a pro, don't know half of what some of the great folks here know. But I like this craft and it serves me well in so many ways. I try and find good deals on stuff and not buy absolute crap. Some of the Chinese stuff is ok and some is crap, Taiwanese stuff is usually better especially when it comes to machines. So I wouldn't second guess your purchase, it looks new, can be tweaked, and I'm sure it will serve you well. Congratulations on finding a good deal that puts another useful tool in your shop.

 

[royesses]

That is exactly the same grinder I purchased from Enco. I got it for $220 on sale. If you need parts you can get them from Grizzly, they sell the same grinder and all of the replacement parts for it. I use Shars cbn and diamond wheels on mine. I made a lot of improvements to get the grinder to run smooth. There are many YouTube videos on the grinder mods, here is one;

I found the wave washer was missing on the shaft bearings causing it to howl from excessive end play. They assembled it with the bearings not pressed on all the way and used the motor end bells to push the bearings on the last bit so it would have no end play. It quickly developed end play. I replaced the shaft bearings with Nachi bearings and put in a wave washer I purchased from McMaster-Carr. I made new nuts to hold the wheels on and turned new bushings to keep the back plates running true. Lots of filing and fitting on the work supports and angle brackets to make them tilt easily and smoothly. I milled the wheel cutouts on the support plate to be parallel to the miter gauge slots. The grinder is now vibration free and a great addition to the shop. The base was rocking on its stand and had to be cut .125" to true and level it. I used a belt sander to true it up as my mini mill was too small to accommodate the base. I turned the wheel plates on the lathe to true them up. It's a lot of work to do for a new grinder but it was actually fun and a lot cheaper than a used Baldor. This grinder is the same as the harbor freight grinder and in fact the instruction manual that came with mine says to call harbor freight if you have problems. They must have forgot to remove that from the manual. The Chinese tools are more of an unfinished kit than a working tool when you get them.

Roy

 

[Finster]

That is exactly the same grinder I purchased from Enco. I got it for $220 on sale. If you need parts you can get them from Grizzly, they sell the same grinder and all of the replacement parts for it. I use Shars cbn and diamond wheels on mine. I made a lot of improvements to get the grinder to run smooth. There are many YouTube videos on the grinder mods, here is one;

I found the wave washer was missing on the shaft bearings causing it to howl from excessive end play. They assembled it with the bearings not pressed on all the way and used the motor end bells to push the bearings on the last bit so it would have no end play. It quickly developed end play. I replaced the shaft bearings with Nachi bearings and put in a wave washer I purchased from McMaster-Carr. I made new nuts to hold the wheels on and turned new bushings to keep the back plates running true. Lots of filing and fitting on the work supports and angle brackets to make them tilt easily and smoothly. I milled the wheel cutouts on the support plate to be parallel to the miter gauge slots. The grinder is now vibration free and a great addition to the shop. The base was rocking on its stand and had to be cut .125" to true and level it. I used a belt sander to true it up as my mini mill was too small to accommodate the base. I turned the wheel plates on the lathe to true them up. It's a lot of work to do for a new grinder but it was actually fun and a lot cheaper than a used Baldor. This grinder is the same as the harbor freight grinder and in fact the instruction manual that came with mine says to call harbor freight if you have problems. They must have forgot to remove that from the manual. The Chinese tools are more of an unfinished kit than a working tool when you get them.

Roy

"The Chinese tools are more of an unfinished kit than a working tool when you get them." LMAO! That is a great way to put it!

 

[coffmajt]

I'm not sure how happy about it I am. I got this China grinder on E-bay for a total of $217 shipping included. I made him an offer that apparently, he couldn't refuse. Here it be:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/132132924348?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I'm not expecting some awesome machine but I figure it will work once I put good wheels on it. After all, I'm not grinding tools in some industrial setting. I can tweak and play with it and probably make it pretty decent. I know the average China grinder from grizzly is $350 I think this is probably as good. What ya think? Be honest, I can take it. Yea, it's no Baldor, I know.

I have a grinder that looks very similar to your picture that came from enco. It was not very true when it arrived but all it took was to remove the rotor and put it in the lathe, indicate it in and then face the aluminum grinding wheel mounting plates true ( they were running out about .oo5) I also removed the guards and made my own so that I could use the tool and cutter grinder attachements that I had built for sharpening end mills and drill bits. Overall I have been happy with the unit and it was $900 cheaper than a Baldor == Jack

 

[Finster]

So what two wheels do you reckon I should put on this? One side I will need for grinding brazed on carbide. The other side Maybe HSS lathe tooling when I'm trying to get that perfect angle. I would like to stay reasonably priced. I'm not made of money and I could hear my wife's eyebrows raise over the phone when I told her I bought this.

 

[ghostdncr]

That looks like a fine score, and it also looks like there are plenty of options for fixing any shortcomings you may find with it.

I've never had a grinder like this at home, but most of the shops I've worked in kept one of the Baldors around for carbide. Without exception, they've always ran the green silicon carbide stones on the left for roughing and a finer diamond wheel on the right to finish the edge. Not sure about grit on either wheel, though. I've kept a fine diamond bench stone of some sort in my tool box for years and find if I keep the cutting edge honed (not truly "honed" but a much finer edge than what's left by the diamond wheel), I don't do much actual grinding on carbide cutters.