Homemade Grinder Tool Rest?

[Ozwelder]

You are right about the tool rests.
Most recently manufactured bench grinders seem to be fitted with those postage stamp sized pressed metal abomination tool rests with the tensile strength of dried peanut paste.
I opted for a larger working surface than most using 65 x 65 x 6 (2 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 1/4") angle iron screwed to a piece of slotted 25 x 6 flat bar (1"x 1"x 1/4" )
which bolts to the inner section of the wheel guard.

This permits horizontal adjustment for wheel diameter and angular adjustment on the single bolt pivot.

As most of my applications are for hand grinding of twist drills and HSS lathe tools, the combination suits me perfectly. All work was completed with hand tools and a drill press and linisher.

No pics until I go into the shed tomorrow morning.
Edit
As promised - pic of tool rest

 

[Rick Leslie]

Found the link for Lee Valley:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?c=&p=45938&cat=1,43072

 

[zman]

Ok, this is kind of crude, but I wasn't feeling well lately, and wanted to get something up before too long. But this gives a basic idea. I plan on notching out for the wheels to get a more "wrap-around" effect, and adding a third leg on the back with an angle gauge.



As far as the table my grinders are on, I came up with that because of the limited area in my shop. It uses two beefy bearings to smoothly spin the table, and set screws on T handles to hold it in position while in use.

 

[Dunc1]

Have a look at these
http://www.homews.co.uk/page146.html basic tool grinding rest
or here for an advanced version
http://www.homews.co.uk/page145.html

Another one here (Popular Mechanics, Aug 1953, p 191):
http://books.google.ca/books?id=8Ns...ce=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[randyjaco]

I made this one about 10 years ago. The grinder came with a really lousy rest. I wanted a rest that would be rigid and adjust with the diameter of the wheel. It is a little complex and was one of my first projects with my first mill. I have never found a rest that I liked better.

Randy

 

[blacksmithden]

I'm following this thread closely. I've got a lathe...a knee mill....an 8 foot long welding bench with a 1/4" plate top...and the crappiest little 6 inch grinder you could ever hope to never own. LOL. I got it on sale, brand new, for 25 bucks....I guess it works, but I'm looking for something a lot better before I start taking the trouble to make any kind of a custom rest.

 

[lotechman]

I used a chunk of one inch plate. The mass does more than anything else to provide a steady platform. I also machines a slot to take .25 inch keystock in case I want to have a sliding guide.

 

[Rick Leslie]

Here's a quickie of my rough grinding table. I copied the design, with a few liberties from Machinist's Workshop, so I can't take any credit. It's basically a tilting, keyed X-Y table with a tool holder on it.

View attachment 62308View attachment 62309 View attachment 62310 View attachment 62313View attachment 62314View attachment 62315
You still have to rough in the bit by hand, but this gives a much better finish and is repeatable. I hope you can make sense of my fuzzy photos.

 

[Splat]

Here's a quickie of my rough grinding table. I copied the design, with a few liberties from Machinist's Workshop, so I can't take any credit. It's basically a tilting, keyed X-Y table with a tool holder on it. You still have to rough in the bit by hand, but this gives a much better finish and is repeatable. I hope you can make sense of my fuzzy photos.

Thanks but try again Rick. I'm not seeing the attachments and get nothing when I click on them.