Baldor Grinder.......Should I or shouldn't I

M

murraym

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Happy New Year everyone.
I am struggling with the idea of purchasing a used 1/2 HP Baldor Carbide grinder with a Baldor floor stand. It comes with a few extra wheels, a couple of them are diamond wheels and a couple green wheels. The guy is asking $635 for the whole package. It appears to be in really good shape and all the parts are there i.e. platens, drip trays and reservoir.
1st, does this seem like a reasonable deal? I believe it does. I kinda like it that I can actually see and run it prior to purchase as opposed to just buying one off the internet. I feel like there is a small value in that.
2nd, and probably the biggest problem I have is justifying the purchase. I use mostly carbide inserts with great success on my jobs so far. Here is the thing, when I bought the lathe it literally came with a 5 gallon pail of HSS. I think that this grinder would lend itself to allowing me to grind good sharp tools and it is a art that I would like to learn. I think that I would get great satisfaction from be able to do that.
Have any of you guys or gals out there had the same thoughts and followed through with any success?? Is this something you learn on your own through trail and error?
I just don't know what I might be getting myself into if I try to do this.
Any thoughts or insight you may have on the equipment or even attempting this myself would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all in advance,
Mike
 
I think that the price is OK, and you can touch up carbide inserts with it as well as brazed tools; also you can get a white grit wheel and use it on your HSS tools too. A guy can't have too many grinders, at least in my book!
 
Mike, for lathe tool grinding, a good bench grinder will certainly allow you to do that but it isn't the only option. I grind HSS lathe tools a fair amount and I would opt for a 2x72 belt sander instead. It will grind tools quickly and easily but more important, it will be much more usable for general fabrication needs. I own a belt sander and bench grinder and the belt sander is used far, far more often for so many things around the shop.
 
A belt sander is fine for many things, but in my opinion, tool grinding is not one of them and is not particularly an economic proposition; belts are expensive, and as an example, I bought a used Delta pedestal grinder about (at least) 25 years ago and it was in use in my shop on a daily basis with several employees, and still has the same wheels on it as when I bought it. As in my prior post, I believe I still can remain consistent; get a belt grinder too, a guy can't have too many grinders! If I could afford it, I'd buy another "Square Wheel" belt grinder like I had in the shop that I sold.
I think that with a Baldor type carbide grinder, it is easier to maintain specific clearance angles on turning tools than on a common grinder that uses ordinary grinding wheels such as those used on a common bench grinder or a belt grinder.
 
When 3M comes out with a belt that can grind carbide, now that will be the shizzle.
 
Mike:

When you look at the price of the used set-up you describe, I suppose $635 is a deal compared to what it would cost new. Plus you know it has been tuned up, to include having had the wheels balanced.

But you may want to think about alternatives:

1) You could look at the cost of an import carbide tool grinder plus the cost of a Green, CBN (or AOx), and Diamond Wheel. And then factor in the time you would spend tuning up an import machine and the balancing the wheels. Or

2) You could look at the cost of purchasing a decent 6-inch import bench grinder and converting it to a carbide tool grinder. Then buy and balance the wheels. This is what I did. It works great, plus there is the sense of satisfaction of building the machine -- for a lot less money.

Bill
 
I guess it cant hurt to take a look.....gonna go tomorrow or Thursday. Thank you all for your input and I will keep you posted......
 
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