Grinder for lathe cutters

[Z2V]

That's a sweet deal there. What maybe 3hp? Probably 3 ph? You stole that for 6

 

[ezduzit]

Single phase.

 

[Z2V]

Even Sweeter!!!
Great find, I can never get that lucky

 

[ch2co]

Mmmm Baldor, me likes Baldor.
Great buy, congrats.

 

[Z2V]

I just made these rests for my 8" Craftsman. The rest itself is steel but the remainder is aluminum. I originally made the whole thing aluminum, it didn't take long to realize that mistake. Adjustable up, down, in, out and any needed table angle.

 

[Aaron_W]

I got home last weekend and had a chance to set up the new Grinder. It is considerably larger that I expected. Although the wheels are the same diameter the overall machine is much beefier than the 3/4 hp Dewalt grinder I had looked at. Factoring the better quality grinding wheels it comes with and overall quality (more power, more solid construction), I think the Rikon grinder was worth the extra $100.

 

[DHarris]

For the low rent end of the spectrum - Eastwood makes a small machine - has a 2 x 28" belt on one side and an 8" grinding wheel in the other. Motor is 1/2 hp. Site says they stock belts too - don't know what the selection of grits might be though. Price is listed just going on sale as $89.97

edit to fix photo & update Sale price

 

[mikey]

The Eastman sander won't work for tool grinding if that's what you're looking for. The platen and tracking mechanism are integrated and you cannot put a Pyroceram liner on it. In addition, the platen extends beyond the belt so you cannot grind the rake angles on it. Sorry, Dave, but not a good candidate for tool grinding. What's worse is that I don't have a better option beyond the Grizzly combo we discussed.

 

[Desolus]

So, I want to make bits. I have a harbor freight bench grinder. Not a great tool to be sure, but can it be made usable?

I've seen the threads talking about modifications to a belt sander. That's another option. Any suggestions on what to look for?

I use a wrongfu harbor freight bench grinder to make my tools, I freehand everything, holding the tool steel with a visegrip. I'd advise you to get something that will turn a grindy bit for the cheapest price to hp ratio you can find IF, all you want to do with it is grind lathe tools; if you want to use it for anything else I'd still look for cheapest price to HP ratio, but with a few more qualifiers added depending on what else you want to do with it. With that said, I would buy the absolute best grinding wheels money can buy, if you can afford them or not. Abrasives will pay you out in spades if you get good CONSISTENT ones. It's a huge deal to get a consistent abrasive, so much so that the range of particle sizes in most grinding wheels is actually quite large, and for wrongfu wheels can be several orders of magnitude in either direction from the grit size, causing gouging or painfully inefficient cutting. Any manufacturer of precision tools will be proud enough of their product to list the abrasive particle size range somewhere in the tec sheet; and you can always just ask.

Something else to consider is the abrasive particle shape, in the better wheels the particles are sorted not only by size, but also by shape, and only the particles with better cutting geometry are used. In the best wheels, care is taken to align those particles in a specific direction for the most efficient cutting possible.

 

[waynecuefix]

So, I want to make bits. I have a harbor freight bench grinder. Not a great tool to be sure, but can it be made usable?

I've seen the threads talking about modifications to a belt sander. That's another option. Any suggestions on what to look for?

I use a Black and Decker BT3500 6" bench grinder with coarse and fine stones, which is about as cheap as they come. I have used it for grinding bits mostly 5/16 and smaller for several years and it does a decent job. I first ground bits holding them in my hand against the rests which I adjusted for the desired angles. Then I purchased a small cheap Chinese quick change tool holder for 10.00 on Ebay to put the bits into for grinding. Now I am seeing these for 5 bucks. Later I found a tool bit grinding holder for 25.00 on ebay which can hold the bits at different angles on the grinder rest for shaping the bits. There are diagrams on the internet which show how bits are ground. You may be already beyond all this and way ahead of me but I thought it might help someone. I am strictly amateur and this is my limit LOL. Wayne.

Here is a current quick change bit holder like mine available directly from China for 5 bucks. Holds up to 1/2" (13mm) bits. I use one for holding bits when sharpening. I didn't cut off the height adjust stud on mine but it could be removed to get it out of the way.


Here is the other holder I found on Ebay. The slot holds a 5/16" bit. I don't have a source for these, it is an old one. I wonder if any like these are even still made. As you can see there are various slope possibilities for making the rake angles and even the bit slot is sloped.