Advice on small bench grinder please

David,
The footprint on the bench grinders is going to be pretty much the same for all of them. An 8" will give you a much better range of wheels to choose from. Something to consider with those smaller ones is the speed, (10 000rpm!). Put an under rated wheel on one of them and if it comes apart you will be lucky to survive.
The larger the dia of the wheel the better a flat surface can be achieved on your tools.
praxim said:
... I have never owned DeWalt. If it is comparable with the Bosch 'blue tools' series, trade quality, then I will certainly do the comparisons....
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I have a deWalt cord drill, 1/2" chuck, hammer, vari speed, reversible, about 15 years old, still going great. I have used a deWalt cut off saw a couple of times, and it was very nice, (but it was nearly brand new too)

Cheers Phil
 
Another thought is surface footage of the wheel; the greater the surface footage going by the subject being ground, the more effective the grind. I just replaced a 6" Jet w/an 8" Craftsman in super shape from an estate sale, world of difference with same grit wheel.
 
As suggested by a few people, I am looking into available wheels. At this point, it is about 150 vs 200 mm rather than the smaller ones. However, if I can get what I will need (having read that interesting thread on grinding wheels; thanks for the link) then I will go with the smaller of those two.

Nomad, your suggestion about fixing it to a small platform is also one I have in mind, thanks. I might be doing that with a small lathe as well, to broaden its platform given it would not be bolted to the bench itself. I think only the mill will get that honour, given its height and need for stability.
 
ok, going off on a slight tangent. i watched a tubelcain video recently where he used a belt sander for making tools. there wouldn't be any rounding of the tol since you're not using a wheel, but the flat of the belt. so what about getting a 4 * 36" belt sander?
 
Interesting thought, upTheHill. Would that provide a rest, though, or was tubalcain freehanding? If I am to get the right angles (7 and 10 degrees according to Joe Martin in Tabletop Machining) then given lack of any related practice I will need a tool rest.
 
he has it in video #98, he starts on a bench grinder, then goes to a belt sander.
he has a tool holder to get the 60 deg angle, but is holding it free hand


one of my side projects is going to build a sturdy rest for my belt sander, maybe one that bolts onto to both sides to give added strength /support for things like this, right now mine has a pretty flimsy support.
 
A belt sander is pretty much a shop essential. I do not sharpen tools on the belt sander because:

Unless it is a very good belt sander the belt tension allows the belt to pucker over the edge of the tool changing the top angle at the cutting edge. So if you close your fingers comfortably and make the back of the hand horizontal..That's what you get

A grinder wheel hollow grinds the tool so honing is at a minimal.

belts cost more than wheels for this kind of operation. You have a sharp edge trying to cleave abrasive off a .030" belt or from a wheel of 6" or more.

Steve (who will have people differ on this matter)
 
swatson144 said:
A belt sander is pretty much a shop essential. I do not sharpen tools on the belt sander because:

Unless it is a very good belt sander the belt tension allows the belt to pucker over the edge of the tool changing the top angle at the cutting edge. So if you close your fingers comfortably and make the back of the hand horizontal..That's what you get

A grinder wheel hollow grinds the tool so honing is at a minimal.

belts cost more than wheels for this kind of operation. You have a sharp edge trying to cleave abrasive off a .030" belt or from a wheel of 6" or more.

Steve (who will have people differ on this matter)
Click to expand...

I can definitely see your point, what I was thinking is that the bench grinder, no matter what size wheel you have is round, and will put a slightly round edge to your tool. If I were making one from scratch, I do 99% of the job on the bench grinder for all the reasons you state, but for the last little bit, I'd switch to the belt sander to make it perfectly flat, and true it up.

then again, I'm a basic newbie at this so take what I say with a very small grain of salt.
 
upTheHill said:
... but for the last little bit, I'd switch to the belt sander to make it perfectly flat, and true it up....
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Dave, The hollow grind is actually a benefit a lot of the time. Helps with clearances and reduces the amount of metal to be removed when honing an edge.

Cheers Phil
 
Apologies Praxim, don't want to hijack your thread here, but I'm in the market for a bench grider as well.
I'm wondering if anyone here has a site with good, unbiased reviews/rarings on grinders or other tools & tooling, for that matter.
Seems when looking for info on any potential purchase, the most troublesome and time consuming thing for me is finding good, truthful sources of information.
 
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