bench grinders

L

les warren

Member
i am working on outfitting my shop and seem to be finding deals on bench grinders. i have purchased or traded for three in the last 6 mos.
i have
harbor freight 1/2 hp - had it for years - bogs down sharpening a screwdriver - going in the next garage sale
red wing 1/4hp 2 spd - will be keeping as a polisher
baldor 1/3 hp - need guidance
wilton (rebranded???) 1/2 hp - need guidance

the baldor and the wilton are both nice, mia, bb, units . neither hardly used. i am sure i want at least one around , right? outfitted with wire wheel and Corse wheel?

how many and how do you have them setup.

i don't have too much space to work with. carport (dirty work space)about 7 ft - left to right - 2x72 (reserved) - 4 ft workbench with1x42, grinder (baldor or wilton), 4x 36 belt sander (or not), poorta-bandsaw (standup portaband bandsaw), arbor press, a cool 1x24 3 wheel cutlery belt grinder, oh and a big vise., then floor standing drill press, floor standing bandsaw, mig welder, gas welding tanks, well i think i'm at least 10ft "tight" now.
i have become sort of an equipment "whore" der. all these pieces seem essential to me. and i have my eye on more. most all of these things need to be bolted down to be used safely, and effectively which chews up space fast. what of the afore mentioned could i do without and sell to fund a 2x72 belt grinder?

thanks in advance for any and all response

i did a search using "bench grinder" and oddly not too many hits in the first 2 or 3 pages. would there be a better search term?

thanks for being indulgent of my lame requests. maybe it will save others find on topic content in the future


respectfully
-chuck
 
les warren said:
i am working on outfitting my shop and seem to be finding deals on bench grinders. i have purchased or traded for three in the last 6 mos.
i have
harbor freight 1/2 hp - had it for years - bogs down sharpening a screwdriver - going in the next garage sale
red wing 1/4hp 2 spd - will be keeping as a polisher
baldor 1/3 hp - need guidance
wilton (rebranded???) 1/2 hp - need guidance

the baldor and the wilton are both nice, mia, bb, units . neither hardly used. i am sure i want at least one around , right? outfitted with wire wheel and Corse wheel?

how many and how do you have them setup.

i don't have too much space to work with. carport (dirty work space)about 7 ft - left to right - 2x72 (reserved) - 4 ft workbench with1x42, grinder (baldor or wilton), 4x 36 belt sander (or not), poorta-bandsaw (standup portaband bandsaw), arbor press, a cool 1x24 3 wheel cutlery belt grinder, oh and a big vise., then floor standing drill press, floor standing bandsaw, mig welder, gas welding tanks, well i think i'm at least 10ft "tight" now.
i have become sort of an equipment "whore" der. all these pieces seem essential to me. and i have my eye on more. most all of these things need to be bolted down to be used safely, and effectively which chews up space fast. what of the afore mentioned could i do without and sell to fund a 2x72 belt grinder?

thanks in advance for any and all response

i did a search using "bench grinder" and oddly not too many hits in the first 2 or 3 pages. would there be a better search term?

thanks for being indulgent of my lame requests. maybe it will save others find on topic content in the future


respectfully
-chuck
Click to expand...
Personally I think you could do without the other belt grinders, that’s a lot of different belts to have to keep stocked and organized and a lot of space taken up. I don’t have a bench grinder in my shop, and honestly I can’t say that I miss one either. 2x72 and some angle grinders, and your portaband will take you a long ways
 
i was thinking more is better , but wasn't seeing the liability of having to keep up supply inventories

thank you good point
 
2x72, PortaBand, Drill press and a vise are what I use, plus a toaster oven for kydex work. Granite reference plate for a flat surface, and tools for setting kydex rivets and snaps, etc. I have a floor drill press (16" Jet I got for $175 many years ago!) and a HF 14" bandsaw, but I am thinking of just going with the Portaband instead of both. I rigged a table with a bar of thick steel under it so I can clamp it to the tool arm bar of my 2x72, so it doesn't take up work bench space. It's in a corner out of the way until I need it.
 
Keep the Baldor. It’s dangerous, but it has applications. I would never tell someone to buy one, however you already have it. I’m sure the Wilton is probably very nice, but I haven’t been able to destroy my Baldors. One is 40 yrs old and the other is about 30 yrs old. They have sat in the rain (only partially covered) for 2 years. Both still function as if they were brand new out the box.... smooth as glass. Just my two cents. Z
 
MTBob said:
Now that, right there, is funny, and I can certainly relate
Click to expand...
not so funny man, i got a real problem here
today ... at the swap meet ..... got me again .... brand new dayton 1x42 x 8 . ... i could just see it there on the workbench .... the guy accepted $45 for it ... i justify by believing i'm gonna sell it for $145 lol
 
I'll offer some thoughts for your consideration:
I rarely use my traditional bench grinder since my several belt grinders are much better for most grinding requirements.
But, I do have a heavy duty pedestal grinder that I use a lot, but not in way you might think. I've mounted a 7" flap disc grinding wheel on the shaft for general deburring / light grinding applications. Is is my go-to grinder for quickly smoothing edges, etc. I rarely use the grinding wheel on the opposite end. Flap disc wheels grind with a much smoother feel, have a larger grinding area, and will not explode if used improperly.
1619452714871.png
1619453173835.png
But, I have another bench grinder that is setup with wire wheels for cleaning stuff. This a tool that gets a lot of use too.
1619452928318.png
Note the almost worn out wire wheel on the right - I use it for cleaning delicate things (while also getting porcupined with wires flying off... eye protection mandatory). This is likely THE most dangerous piece of equipment I have in my shop. Wire wheels will really tear you up if not careful.
And, here's something you might find useful. Often it's really difficult to work a large piece of material around a grinder / wire wheel - so I made an extender track to move the grinder / wire wheel out away from the bench to give it more clearance - I use that feature a lot.
1619453132391.png
 
Mt Bob...there you go again! Sweet grinder set up.

I personally feel that if you have room more grinders than less. I have four and need another. Some are set up with 3M abrasive wheels thin and thick...soft and hard...some small buffing wheels. I also take 3M hand pads cut them square and poke a hole in the middle and mount them. the real soft grey ones are amazing for fine details.

Bench grinders and drill presses...can't get enough. (unless you enjoy doing EVERY detail by hand...)
 
i've always had bench grinders around. never really thought of them as more dangerous than other shop equipment. but i am of a generation that had shop classes in elementary schools

right guys
this is pretty much what i was thinking

i'm not really expecting to do much "grinding" with them

figured i'd have the two speed set up for polishing

one with a scothbrite drum and pad

one with wire wheel and flap wheel

i like the pull out solution. i have seen them mounted on a receiver hitch (as in car / trailer) for interchangable "stationary" tool stations. i don't have the room to have them side by side , i might have to do something like that


i
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top