Bench Grinder Options - I don't Grind

[DesertG]

I got my first ever bench grinder. I don't know why I waited 30 years. In my home shop, I don't grind metal. I mostly clean rust off bolts, tools and car parts. I've been using a dremel and wire wheels on a drill.

So I pulled the grinding wheels off and want to do like a wire wheel on one side and one of those Scotch scuff abrasive pads on the other side. I may want to get a polishing wheel too. Having trouble deciding what to buy.

What wheels do you have on your bench grinder.

Thank you!

 

[Nessism]

I use all of them. Fine and coarse wire wheels, thin cut off disc, 3M deburring wheel, and of course the regular grinding wheels. For heavy buffing, a sisal wheel with black cutting compound. Stitched or fluff wheel with fine grit rouge for bright polishing. I don't typically use my grinder for this, but you could for small parts.

 

[lilredex]

I got my first ever bench grinder. I don't know why I waited 30 years. In my home shop, I don't grind metal. I mostly clean rust off bolts, tools and car parts. I've been using a dremel and wire wheels on a drill.

So I pulled the grinding wheels off and want to do like a wire wheel on one side and one of those Scotch scuff abrasive pads on the other side. I may want to get a polishing wheel too. Having trouble deciding what to buy.

What wheels do you have on your bench grinder.

Thank you!

Mine....

 

[RoninB4]

-I would really urge some caution with a wire wheel. The wires come out under use and become airborne needles that can/will lodge in your hands/body/eyes. The quality of the wire wheel itself has a lot to do with how soon those wires will launch. Even the heavy duty industrial grade ones lose the bristles periodically. A wheel guard and eye protection is high on the safety list and maybe some heavy leather gloves as well. I'm not a huge fan of the OSHA safety nazi requirements either but I've seen what these can do. At work I watched a fellow worker get sucked into a large wire wheel and it put him in the hospital for a couple of weeks. You've been advised, plan accordingly.

 

[DesertG]

Where do you buy your stuff. Amazon only seems to have a few. Have you seen the Prymemx stuff?

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

You may have bought the wrong tool.
For buffing and polishing I prefer a slower speed. Longer shafts and no guards allow more room to be able to move the part around and access more the surfaces. For polishing you may want different wheels for different grits.

 

[rd65]

-I would really urge some caution with a wire wheel. The wires come out under use and become airborne needles that can/will lodge in your hands/body/eyes. The quality of the wire wheel itself has a lot to do with how soon those wires will launch. Even the heavy duty industrial grade ones lose the bristles periodically. A wheel guard and eye protection is high on the safety list and maybe some heavy leather gloves as well. I'm not a huge fan of the OSHA safety nazi requirements either but I've seen what these can do. At work I watched a fellow worker get sucked into a large wire wheel and it put him in the hospital for a couple of weeks. You've been advised, plan accordingly.

You watched someone get sucked into a wire wheel yet you recommend heavy leather gloves?? We were taught it shop class to not wear gloves or other clothing that could get caught in a wheel. I wear nitrile gloves when using wire and grinding wheels. They offer more protection than you would think while also being easily torn away keeping your hand safe.
I wear safety glasses at work but will still add a face shield when using our big wire wheel. It has a blue tarp behind it to keep anyone behind it safe. I will try to take a pic of the tarp, looks like a porcupine.

 

[rd65]

There is a huge variety of wire wheels for bench grinders. You almost need to go see/touch one in order to get the correct one for your needs. You could wind up with something way to fine or stiff enough to remove more material than you are wanting to.

 

[rd65]

A couple shots of the backing tarp.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

I had an old Buffalo Brand grinder that I bought at a flea market. Used it for over 30 years then sold it, still working, when I moved. Came with a coarse and fine wheel. I replaced one of them with a wire wheel. Not something I used that often but when you need one, you need one.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Two bench grinders. One has an aluminum oxide wheel for sharpening drill bits and HSS tool bits with a silicon carbide wheel on the other side for sharpening carbide tool bits. The second grinder has two wire wheels, one average softness and one a bit stiffer. If you really want a versatile tool, find a water pump motor with a 1/2-20 threaded shaft and install a 1/2 capacity Jacobs chuck on it. Mount the motor to a stand or bench and let you imagination determine what it can power. Buffers, wire wheels, abrasive blades, countersinks for deburring, flexible shafts, etc.

 

[RMERR]

I don't grind either, at least with grinding wheels. Belt sanders only, haven't used stationary grinding stones in years. To your post, I do have grinders with wire wheels. I have a large 10" wire wheel on a Burr King with a 10" deburring wheel. I love it, but for cleaning bolts and screws I needed something smaller to avoid wire wheeling my fingertips. I picked up a used 6" Baldor and put a medium and a fine wire on it. I probably use the fine wheel the most, great for cleaning up dirty threads. Have another Baldor 7" with deburring wheels for deburring smaller or odd shaped pieces. It's a rare project that I don't use some or many of my metal finishing pedestal machines. You almost can't have too many in my overkill mind. In fact I'm looking to add a 2" scothbrite belt as soon as I get my current project done. Here's my little metal finishing area.

 

[ZRX61]

-I would really urge some caution with a wire wheel. The wires come out under use and become airborne needles that can/will lodge in your hands/body/eyes. The quality of the wire wheel itself has a lot to do with how soon those wires will launch. Even the heavy duty industrial grade ones lose the bristles periodically. A wheel guard and eye protection is high on the safety list and maybe some heavy leather gloves as well. I'm not a huge fan of the OSHA safety nazi requirements either but I've seen what these can do. At work I watched a fellow worker get sucked into a large wire wheel and it put him in the hospital for a couple of weeks. You've been advised, plan accordingly.

#1 Item; Leather apron!! (no, I'm not posting that story again, it still makes my eyes water just thinking about it)
#2 Item: Pliers!! to remove errant wires from sensitive places.

 

[LopezBart]

I'm not a huge fan of the OSHA safety nazi requirements either but I've seen what these can do. At work I watched a fellow worker get sucked into a large wire wheel and it put him in the hospital for a couple of weeks. You've been advised, plan accordingly.

OSHA rules are indeed written in blood.

 

[whitesco]

I switch between grinding wheels and a wire wheel, I really should get a second machine because it’s annoying to change, the wire wheel doesn’t quite fit right inside the guard and rubs so it’s even noisier. So I either run it without the guard which I prefer not to, or I know it’s rubbing, slowing the wheel down and all that. A buffer would be a good buy I think when I get around to it.

Also if you can get a good used medieval suit of plate armor, it helps with the projectiles.

 

[Doozer75]

OSHA rules are indeed written in blood.

In the blood of morons who were stupid and got hurt.
Save it.

-Doozer

 

[LopezBart]

In the blood of morons who were stupid and got hurt.
Save it.

Somebody piss in your cornflakes this morning?

 

[DesertG]

Is there a consensus for removing the guard when you use a wire wheel. I want to remove 50 year old paint, grease and rust from car parts. Also, for the the other side, I was looking at this.

 

[LopezBart]

Is there a consensus for removing the guard when you use a wire wheel. I want to remove 50 year old paint, grease and rust from car parts. Also, for the the other side, I was looking at this.

For steel or iron parts, I find the electrolytic method a lot easier and it doesn't spray all that **** into the air in the shop. I've used wire wheels both with and w/o guards; the face shield and leather apron are really good ideas. Pulling those wires out of one's legs just hurts.

 

[goldtang]

I have two bench grinders. One for sharpening drill and HSS tool bits the other for carbide tool bits and TIG tungsten , the other has wire wheel and a belt sander attachment , I am with RMERR I can’t remember the last time I used a grinding wheel for grinding steel
I have the guards on for grinding wheels any thing else not fussed

 

[gatewaysysop]

I run three older Craftsman block style grinders side by side. Picked them up over the years, cheap enough and plenty of power for my meager needs. One has coarse and fine stone wheels, one has brass and steel wire wheels (I use Weiler brand, good quality so far) and the third one I have a Scotch Brite "EXL Pro" deburring wheel on one side and a Scotch Brite radial bristle wheel (red/200 grit) on the other. This suits just about all my needs as a hobbyist and home gamer. Beats the **** out of swapping wheels.

 

[Doozer75]

Somebody piss in your cornflakes this morning?

No sir. Not meaning any disrespect, but promoting osha in a home garage forum
is a political statement that really applied to no one here. There has been good
benefits where osha has stopped employers from having a dangerous environment
or dangerous work methods for people, but having osha rules for direct actions of
workers is personally invasive. I tend to think the individual person is smarter than
the cooperate conglomerate, so the individual being safe tends to take care of itself.
No one wants to get hurt. Just things happen when corporate directs someone to
do something in the name of short term profit. Making a statement like words
written in blood is being snarky and slick with your words, and seen as trying to
dominate the conversation with a lordly point of view. That rubs me wrong on a
friendly forum. That is why I said save the osha talk. You may be absolutely right
about osha rules, but smart and free men don't like to suffer public statements
proclaiming allegiance to the rules of the hierarchy. Hence the reason of my protest
to your post. Have a nice day sir.
--Doozer

 

[RoninB4]

You watched someone get sucked into a wire wheel yet you recommend heavy leather gloves?? We were taught it shop class to not wear gloves or other clothing that could get caught in a wheel. I wear nitrile gloves when using wire and grinding wheels. They offer more protection than you would think while also being easily torn away keeping your hand safe.
I wear safety glasses at work but will still add a face shield when using our big wire wheel. It has a blue tarp behind it to keep anyone behind it safe.

-What you were taught in shop class about gloves is a basic rule for beginners, and a good one too. Gloves, rings, watches, necklaces, and even long sleeves should not be worn around machinery with moving/rotating components. That applies to the drill press, lathes, mills, VTL's, or anything with a traveling table/carriage. A wire wheel (pedestal mount or hand held) presents a different situation. Stationary machinery has the operator at a somewhat safe distance from the danger zone, you just need to keep yourself (and clothing) out of the danger zone. The wire wheel has an immediate proximity to the operator during every moment of engagement. It's quite common to have your hands in the danger zone during certain operations with the lathe, mill, and even the surface grinder. But the wire wheel, even under "normal" operating usage can/will hurl needles at random. Heavy pressure promotes launching sooner than later. The suggestion of thick leather gloves (apron and face shield are also good suggestions) is about protection. Getting macro-punctured by a wire bristle is indeed quite painful but it also has the potential for serious infection. Metal particles imbedded in the skin have given me some of the nastiest infections I've ever had.

The leather gloves also offer some protection from the heat that often builds in a piece getting the wires. It can burn bare fingers as the piece gets rotated to a new area and the heat can loosen your grip, allowing the wheel to control the workpiece. That's what happened to my co-worker, the wheel had more control of the workpiece than he did and it pulled both in.

I also have to advocate keeping the wheel guard on. Yes it reduces and restricts access to the wheel (I've removed it too) but the safety factor is a gamble that's a personal choice and the newcomers need to hear the safest habits. If they choose to ignore/bypass and get injured they were at least warned of the danger.

The members that suggested removing as much rust as possible BEFORE going to the wire wheel are spot on. The wire wheel will throw a cloud of red rust into the air, very bad for your lungs. My apologies for preaching to the choir but that are clearly several members here that either don't know or have questionable safety habits. I'm just as guilty as anyone sometimes but the uninitiated need to hear what the dangers and good safety habits are. I hope this helped someone.

 

[Doozer75]

-What you were taught in shop class about gloves is a basic rule for beginners, and a good one too. Gloves, rings, watches, necklaces, and even long sleeves should not be worn around machinery with moving/rotating components. That applies to the drill press, lathes, mills, VTL's, or anything with a traveling table/carriage. A wire wheel (pedestal mount or hand held) presents a different situation. Stationary machinery has the operator at a somewhat safe distance from the danger zone, you just need to keep yourself (and clothing) out of the danger zone. The wire wheel has an immediate proximity to the operator during every moment of engagement. It's quite common to have your hands in the danger zone during certain operations with the lathe, mill, and even the surface grinder. But the wire wheel, even under "normal" operating usage can/will hurl needles at random. Heavy pressure promotes launching sooner than later. The suggestion of thick leather gloves (apron and face shield are also good suggestions) is about protection. Getting macro-punctured by a wire bristle is indeed quite painful but it also has the potential for serious infection. Metal particles imbedded in the skin have given me some of the nastiest infections I've ever had.

The leather gloves also offer some protection from the heat that often builds in a piece getting the wires. It can burn bare fingers as the piece gets rotated to a new area and the heat can loosen your grip, allowing the wheel to control the workpiece. That's what happened to my co-worker, the wheel had more control of the workpiece than he did and it pulled both in.

I also have to advocate keeping the wheel guard on. Yes it reduces and restricts access to the wheel (I've removed it too) but the safety factor is a gamble that's a personal choice and the newcomers need to hear the safest habits. If they choose to ignore/bypass and get injured they were at least warned of the danger.

The members that suggested removing as much rust as possible BEFORE going to the wire wheel are spot on. The wire wheel will throw a cloud of red rust into the air, very bad for your lungs. My apologies for preaching to the choir but that are clearly several members here that either don't know or have questionable safety habits. I'm just as guilty as anyone sometimes but the uninitiated need to hear what the dangers and good safety habits are. I hope this helped someone.

Having a guard around a wire wheel will trap the object you are cleaning
between the wheel and the guard if you loose grip on it. If it does not
stall the motor, and it is the right size, the wheel can take the object
and accelerate it between the wheel and the guard, and the grinder
acts like a tennis ball pitching machine, launching your object into the sky.
If you have leather gloves on, it can **** them in too, between the wheel
and the guard, and stall the motor, if you are that lucky.
But you are a grown man, and I am just some azzhole on the internet.
Best of luck when they are sewing your finger back on.
It makes for a great bar story.

-Doozer

 

[Steve_P]

No sir. Not meaning any disrespect, but promoting osha in a home garage forum
is a political statement that really applied to no one here. There has been good
benefits where osha has stopped employers from having a dangerous environment
or dangerous work methods for people, but having osha rules for direct actions of
workers is personally invasive. I tend to think the individual person is smarter than
the cooperate conglomerate, so the individual being safe tends to take care of itself.
No one wants to get hurt. Just things happen when corporate directs someone to
do something in the name of short term profit. Making a statement like words
written in blood is being snarky and slick with your words, and seen as trying to
dominate the conversation with a lordly point of view. That rubs me wrong on a
friendly forum. That is why I said save the osha talk. You may be absolutely right
about osha rules, but smart and free men don't like to suffer public statements
proclaiming allegiance to the rules of the hierarchy. Hence the reason of my protest
to your post. Have a nice day sir.
--Doozer

Sheesh. Lighten up with the conspiracy theory nonsense.

 

[RMERR]

Is there a consensus for removing the guard when you use a wire wheel. I want to remove 50 year old paint, grease and rust from car parts. Also, for the the other side, I was looking at this.

I doubt there's a consensus on this, just depends on the type of stuff you're doing. I'd start with the guards on and see how often they get in your way. I've got the guard on my 10" but off on the 6" wheels. LopezBart made a good point with getting stuff off first. Buy yourself a gallon of EvapoRust if you haven't already for rusty parts, works like magic. If you're in a hurry and want it right now (been there done that) at least grab a shield and mask, as mentioned rust dust is very fine and tends to float in the air longer.

 

[dnschmidt]

Where do you buy your stuff. Amazon only seems to have a few. Have you seen the Prymemx stuff?

Lehigh Valley Abrasives. Top quality at reasonable prices: https://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/
Abrasives for Sale: abrasives4sale.com

 

[Doozer75]

Sheesh. Lighten up with the conspiracy theory nonsense.

So please tell me, from what I wrote, who are the persons I am organized with
and what subversive and illegal act have we carried out? And of said act, what
makes it nonsense in your mind? Please articulate your grievance with me and
my conspirators.

-Doozer

 

[seber]

As to the wire wheel, If you are removing rust, you want the finest wire you can find. The coarser the wire , the more it will damage the surface. Also, better (more expensive) wheels will shed far less. I'm currently running a Walter that is wearing down to needing replacement soon. I haven't noticed any wires flying off at all. That doesn't meant there haven't been though. I keep the guard on and just turn the tool rest backward. That may be why I have not had flying wire problems.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Here is the water pump motor with a drill chuck that I mentioned in post #11.

 

[1982fxr]

ALWAYS wear a face shield and apron with a wire wheel. Most today are dogshit.

I prefer nitrile gloves as well.

 

[Taboure]

ALWAYS wear a face shield and apron with a wire wheel. Most today are dogshit.

I prefer nitrile gloves as well.

Plus one on this one. I totally agree about the face shield and apron – safety first, especially with a wire wheel. I’ve had a few close calls myself, and those precautions are essential.

Don't you worry that nitrile gloves might get caught in the wire wheel?

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

I have an old all steel black and decker i got a few years ago and i run a grinding stone on one side and a wire wheel on the other. I also have another grinder but it’s under powered and rarely gets used

 

[rd65]

Plus one on this one. I totally agree about the face shield and apron – safety first, especially with a wire wheel. I’ve had a few close calls myself, and those precautions are essential.

Don't you worry that nitrile gloves might get caught in the wire wheel?

They tear away super easy. Not like a cloth or leather glove that could pull your hand into the wheel and they offer a surprising amount of protection.