Seeking Bench Grinder Opinions

[Gofor]

I am currently on "light duty (lift no more than 5 lbs) with 4 more weeks of a 6 week sentence. So, to occupy myself, I have started going through my inventory of cutting tools with the objective of getting them sharp and ship-shape. In doing so, I realize that I do not have a basic machine that resides in most shops and garages: Namely a bench grinder. It would surely speed up the preliminary steps in the sharpening process.

I do have a 1" belt sander that also has a small grinding wheel on it, but the rest is atrocious and the small diameter is a bit extreme. I also have an old Delta wet grinder (very slow speed) that is impossible to get a decent wheel for, as well as it is so slow that it can do it by hand faster.

So, with a month before I could even put a new grinder into service, decided I would ask about which ones people have had the best experience with. It will mainly be used for establishing primary bevels and shape, as well as sharpening and dressing edges for brush cutting tools, shovels,etc. as well as the other side would most likely hold a felt wheel most of the time.

I am thinking a variable or dual speed, 8" diameter one with a solid adjustable rest would fill the bill. A rest configuration that would allow me to use various sharpening jigs would be a big plus.

Is 8" a good diameter?
What RPM range would be best?
Which ones to stay away from do to poor bearings and excessive ply in the shaft.

Or would I be better suited with a stationary belt sander? If so, what size belts would be most efficient.

Thoughts, please

Go

 

[KenOfCary]

The Rikon Slow Speed grinder is a good deal at around $99 on sale, but I prefer the Grizzly Wet Grinder. It is slow but fast enough and has the advantage of not creating sparks in an environment that is full of sawdust usually.

The Rikon I'm speaking of is this one:

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/rk80805/

The Grizzly:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-G...97A?utm_campaign=zPage&utm_source=grizzly.com

The griz will take all of the Tormek accessories and is sometimes on sale for $79 which is cheaper than a replacement wheel for others.

 

[Gofor]

Thanks Ken.

The grizzly does look like it might fit the bill. The tool rest also looks more suited to my finer woodworking tools.

On that same page, they show a grizzly wet sander (model G1036) that looks identical to the Delta I have. It worked fine with the first wheel that came with it, but the replacement wheel was very soft and would not stay in round, as it absorbed water differently around the wheel. The tools ate the wheel instead of the wheel sharpening the tool. Did not work wet or dry. Have you had any problem with the wheel on the Grizz T10097A?? Are the wheels standard arbor size, or do you have to go back to Grizzly for replacements? Is the 120 RPM fast enough to grind the primary bevel on a 2" wide A1 steel plane blade in a reasonable amount of time?

That Rikon looks like it may be more suited for the crude tools (i.e shovel edge, lawn mower blades, bush ax, etc) at 1750 rpm.

Thanks for giving me some ideas

Go

 

[MarkE]

You can step up to the Grizzly 10" wheel wet grinder for $20 more.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-...ANV?utm_campaign=zPage&utm_source=grizzly.com

I have this grinder and have used it on O1, A2 and PM-V11 plane irons with no problems at all. It also works good on my chisels.

 

[ehpoole]

Generally, when shopping for a shop bench grinder focus upon the 8" models as their greater diameter produces less of a concave arc in the grind and that are either slow speed or which support variable speed to avoid overheating the cutting edge (slow speed capability is more critical with 8" grinders than 6" due to their greater surface speed for a given RPM). Beyond that you may wish to take a look as to how convenient wheel changes are (toolless?), but they are otherwise little more than a motor, switch, capacitor, and, optionally, a speed controller, so not a whole lot to one as long as it is balanced to reduce vibration. One will nearly always want to replace the factory tool rests (I used the Veritas tool rests) with aftermarket alternatives if wanting to do accurate grinding as most factory tool rests tend to be lacking and geared towards rough shaping and grinding operations. For tool grinding you will typically want to get the more friable white, pink or blue aluminum oxide wheels rather than using the coarse gray silicon carbide wheels that typically come with most grinders.

However, you will need someone to lift and setup the grinder for you as a good one will certainly be well over your five pound limitation. That said, I really do not use my grinder all that much for shop tools so a lot will depend upon your workflow as to how well one will fit your shop needs.

 

[KenOfCary]

The Rikon Grinder is targeted for turning tools, but will work for other items. You might want a standard 3500 RPM grinder for axes, mower blades and such.

Never had any problems with the wheel on the Griz. As Mark mentions they also make a 10" version of the 8" wet grinder if you want a less hollow ground, but 8" seems fine to me and that unit is on sale about once a year for around $80 if you can wait for that. The Rikon comes on sale occasionally also for around $99.

Not completely sure about Arbor size of the wheel, but if I needed a new one, I'd just get it from Grizzly as they have very good prices on such things and then I'd know it will fit perfectly and be the same quality as what I already have.

 

[scsmith42]

Mark, I have a Tormek, an 8" Baldor bench grinder, a 10" Grizzly bench grinder, and a couple of 6 x 48" combination belt and disc sander. One of the combo machines is in the wood shop for wood work, and the other is in the metal shop.

The Tormek is the bomb when it comes to sharpening and is my first choice for precision wood chisels.

The belt/disc sander is probably the most versatile of the group, and prior to my acquisition of the Tormek it was my go-to machine for sharpening chisels. I usually keep a course belt on it and a fine disc.

The 10" grizzly is extremely smooth and would be my second choice if I did not have the Tormek.

The 8" Baldor has a wire brush on one end and a medium grit stone on the other. It is primarily used for metal working and automotive type work.

 

[Gofor]

Wow. Thanks everyone. Lots of good info.

Looks like I might end up with a couple of machines to cover everything. One slow grinder first and a belt/disc combo later.
.
Scott: Is your 10" grizzly the wet grinder MarkE linked to? Right now I am leaning toward the 10" Grizzly, because I see they have planer blade jig available for it. (Even though it costs 50% more than the grinder, with one good set on my planer, and three more dull ones in the drawer, it would pay for itself if I can resharpen each set just one time. I have not had much luck trying to fabricate my own jig). The jig would be a later purchase.

Total cost would still be less than the Tormek, especially seeing the price of its attachments. Although the Tormek appears to be the super machine, I am not in a business where time is money, and I do not intend to fully go power in my sharpening. I still enjoy putting that final edge on by hand, and do not want to lose that ability. Just looking to minimize the more tedious aspects of the procedure in the future.

I'll still be using my Spyderco for my knives and broad heads, and my Veritas jigs to true up my plane irons and chisels at the end of a project, and my DiaSharp stones to dress the edge while working.

Because of the current lifting restrictions, this isn't a "need it now" purchase, so please keep adding info if anyone desires to.

Go

 

[KenOfCary]

Don't limit yourself to what Grizzly has as accessories for their 8" and 10* wet grinders as all of the Tormek accessories also work with the Grizzly units and I've found some of the Tormek accessories are better than what Grizzly sells.