Bench grinder stations - Show them off

[Jswain]

Hey as the title says show off all your bench grinder stations. Any jigs that you have for sharpening, what you like or what you would change. Looking for some ideas for mine just finished cleaning it all up and painting it, putting it all back together tomorrow.

 

[Jswain]

Well I guess I'll start! Haha, just took it all apart and painted the base inside and out. Wire wheeled/sanded off the top then gave it a light oil/wipe. Still need to make a wheeled base for it, and I'd like to make a drip tray to hold some water, and some hooks to wrap the cord up with.

It was an old Rockwell table saw that I got for free with a good motor, but the arbor setup itself sucked & wobbled so I junked all that and picked up the belt driven bench grinder for free as well with no motor. New belt & a wire wheel and it runs awesome.

 

[jakemac]

That's a brilliant idea ! Good job.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I never really thought of it as a station. I've got a small garage, so both my bench grinders and my bench sander all got fit together on a small steel table.

It also holds my angle grinders.

And yes, that's my table saw nested underneath it.

The bench grinders are bolted to the steel table surface. The sander and band saw can be moved when the material requires it. The table saw comes out and I have two support pieces for it that bring the table part up to the same level as the rest of the work benches.

 

[Jswain]

That's awesome I love it. I'm jealous of you every time I need to switch from a grinder disc to a wire cup on my angle grinder!!!

 

[arms1970]

That's awesome I love it. I'm jealous of you every time I need to switch from a grinder disc to a wire cup on my angle grinder!!!

LOL. I thought the same thing. TIRED of changing to hard wheels to flaps to wires. Thanks JACK. Now I need more grinders.

 

[Beachside Hank]

This is a work in progress, I'll do a full report in a separate post but thought I'd take the opportunity to do a preview. Not really a bench grinder, or is it?

 

[KamiCrit]

Jack Olsen, what's the make and model of the batch of angle grinders you seem so fond of?

 

[Jack Olsen]

I think there's one Harbor Freight model in there. But the rest are Metabos -- a few different models, but only the German-made ones. They're stupid expensive if you buy them new, but I got all of mine second hand. One batch was in a box sold 'for parts,' and I didn't figure I'd get as many functioning models out of it as I did. So I probably have a couple more than I absolutely need. But like others have mentioned, it's a pain in the neck to change from grinding wheel to cutting wheel to flap disc to wire wheel when you're in the middle of something. My goal was to have four 4-1/2" models, two 6" ones and one 9" brute.

Up top, one of the bench grinders is still a Harbor Freight. It works, but I'm keeping an eye out for a good second-hand Baldor. Haven't found it yet.

 

[BJ42LX]

Here's my grinder on a pedestal before I moved it into its permanent home. Technically not a "bench" grinder, but...

 

[SweetD]

Nothing special, but my two bench grinders mounted on a removable plywood base with c-clamps, to a small vintage "TOMLEE" table saw, on a stand with casters.

If I use the grinders for any length of time, I cover the saw motor with a cloth to prevent grit from penetrating the motor / saw crevices.

I'm just a hobbyist, so I don't use the grinders a lot. I now have the C-Man block grinder completed as well.





Happy New Year -

Dave

 

[drivesitfar]

BJ,
some of the most impressive eye shields I've seen and clean as a whistle too. I've seen them that size before on some really big grinders, but you couldn't see through them because they were so scratched up and dirty. I really like the stout shields and rests too.

I tried to blow up the picture of your grinder to see if it was a Baldor or what brand and it looked like a Stanley or what brand is it? is it a 10 inch and maybe a 2HP? nice stand too which should qualify yours as a bench grinder.

 

[Jswain]

Here's my grinder on a pedestal before I moved it into its permanent home. Technically not a "bench" grinder, but...

That stand looks awesome, nice setup!

 

[bluebolt]

Jswain cool idea with the old table saw.

Jack Olsen, you have a lot of angle grinders just like me LOL. I thought you had more so I just went and counted. 3 Dewalts, 3 Craftsman including a 19.2volt C3 cordless, 2 Black and Deckers including a vintage 7" monster and a Makita. 4 were new and 5 came from garage sales and Craigslist.

Beachside Hank nice belt drive buffer!

BJ42LX I need to steal that idea for adding the bigger base to one of my grinder stands. Nice Stanley grinder!

Sweet D, that is another good idea and I have thought of trying something similar.

 

[69supercj]

Well I guess I'll start! Haha, just took it all apart and painted the base inside and out. Wire wheeled/sanded off the top then gave it a light oil/wipe. Still need to make a wheeled base for it, and I'd like to make a drip tray to hold some water, and some hooks to wrap the cord up with.

It was an old Rockwell table saw that I got for free with a good motor, but the arbor setup itself sucked & wobbled so I junked all that and picked up the belt driven bench grinder for free as well with no motor. New belt & a wire wheel and it runs awesome.

Just curious, why did you mount the grinder so far inward, wouldn't it be easier to reach if it was on the edge of the table/stand? Am I missing something here?

 

[drivesitfar]

I think Jswain is using an old school grinder that is using the motor from the old table saw he mounted it on and that is where the belt comes out of the hole. not a perfect situation for some jobs, but I am impressed that he made it work and maybe he'll design something better later if he finds the need. or keep it as is an buy another grinder that has it's own motor and stand.

 

[BJ42LX]

BJ,
some of the most impressive eye shields I've seen and clean as a whistle too. I've seen them that size before on some really big grinders, but you couldn't see through them because they were so scratched up and dirty. I really like the stout shields and rests too.

I tried to blow up the picture of your grinder to see if it was a Baldor or what brand and it looked like a Stanley or what brand is it? is it a 10 inch and maybe a 2HP? nice stand too which should qualify yours as a bench grinder.

Finding bulbs for the eye shields was a pain. Each shield has two lamps. I ended up paying about $20 for 8 or 10 bulbs, so I've got backups.

The unit is a Stanley 3/4 hp with 7" wheels. It has an inventory sticker on it from Roswell Park cancer research center in Buffalo, NY. It probably lived in a maintenance shop its whole life seeing low to moderate use.

I re-wired the lights and motor and pained the stand. The rest cleaned up with some Simple Green.

Oh, the water cup was rusted out - not pictured. It's a simple sheet metal cup, so I welded a new bottom in and I'm good to go.

 

[Jswain]

Just curious, why did you mount the grinder so far inward, wouldn't it be easier to reach if it was on the edge of the table/stand? Am I missing something here?

I think Jswain is using an old school grinder that is using the motor from the old table saw he mounted it on and that is where the belt comes out of the hole. not a perfect situation for some jobs, but I am impressed that he made it work and maybe he'll design something better later if he finds the need. or keep it as is an buy another grinder that has it's own motor and stand.

Bingo, it is a belt drive grinder so the belt runs through the table and the motor is mounted underneath. I could have turned it around and still can if I ever need to but it is quite nice to use and have some elbow rests while sharpening drill bits and wire wheeling small parts(two most common things I do). I also have a freestanding bench grinder across the country from me that I will be flying home and Uhauling back along with the rest of my stuff.

 

[1982fxr]

here's mine, the 6" doesn't actually sit in that spot when I use the 8". I use the 8" 90% of the time. Have an 8" c-man block grinder waiting to go to work when this pos ryobi finally kicks the bucket.

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

Jswain;

Does the Arbor have a stepped pulley? If so, did you mount a step pulley on the saw motor to allow speed changes?

Nice adaptation I might add.

 

[Jswain]

Jswain;

Does the Arbor have a stepped pulley? If so, did you mount a step pulley on the saw motor to allow speed changes?

Nice adaptation I might add.

No it doesn't currently but there is definitely room for one and now that you mention that there may be one in the future. Id like to slow the rpm down for certain tasks/speed it up for others. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

Jswain;

You're welcome.
I have an arbor like that and it has the stepped pulley on it.
So I'm just passing it along.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Just reactivating this thread....... as I am looking for grinder location ideas that do not involve taking up valuable bench top space. Yeah, yeah, I know they are called "bench grinders" for a reason LOL. My workbench is only 14' long, so not much room for any extras......

 

[zkling]

Just reactivating this thread....... as I am looking for grinder location ideas that do not involve taking up valuable bench top space. Yeah, yeah, I know they are called "bench grinders" for a reason LOL. My workbench is only 14' long, so not much room for any extras......

pedestal grinder stand?

 

[drivesitfar]

Chevy: you can make a plywood base for your grinder with maybe a 2 x 2 screwed to the bottom of it and place it in a wood vise if you have one on your bench. another idea is to make a trailer hitch type and make a plate on the male end to attach your grinder to sort of like this Wilton vise owner did. then when not in use the grinder can sit on a shelf.

 

[jakemac]

pedestal grinder stand?

That's fine if it's only 1. But when it gets to 4, you're talking about a 9' line.

 

[nine4gmc]

awesome line up Jake and I love the table saw transformation OP!!

 

[Chevy-SS]

Chevy: you can make a plywood base for your grinder with maybe a 2 x 2 screwed to the bottom of it and place it in a wood vise if you have one on your bench. another idea is to make a trailer hitch type and make a plate on the male end to attach your grinder to sort of like this Wilton vise owner did. then when not in use the grinder can sit on a shelf.

Thanks for all replies gents.

This one (with the trailer hitch) is exactly the kind of idea I was looking for. I only use the grinder about once a month, but I hate to have it occupying valuable real estate all the time. This trailer hitch is a great concept. I can absolutely build something similar and then tuck the grinder away when not in use.

Again, many thanks to all!

 

[Shootingblanks]

Here is mine:

 

[drivesitfar]

Shootingblanks: i'd say the interbreeding would be inappropriate except you put a 1 HP block grinder on that old B & D stand. I can't say I've seen that base before so nice find and heckuva grinder sitting on top of it.

Chevy: happy to help and if you do get that hitch idea built for your grinder i started a vise and grinder stand thread a while back that could use a few pictures of yours. here's the link in case you want to see a few other ideas. good luck

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=237524&highlight=vise+stands

 

[Grinder Bill]

and mine...

 

[jaker10]

Here's mine, grinder was made in 1955 so I'll date the stand the same.

 

[exmaxima1]

Not very purdy, but gets the jobs done

 

[Squashfest81]

Started with a side of the road metal three drawer desk thing, replaced the plastic fronts with wood, used some scrap angle and wood, topped it off with the 3/4 block. The motor came off a table saw that I will clean up at some point so I tossed it and a new HF wheel on it and bolted it down. A cheap woodworking vise rounds it out.

 

[Chevy-SS]

Well, you guys inspired me, so thanks for making me think. Unfortunately, my new garage is just under 1,000 sf, so I don't have a ton of room. My workbench is only 14' long, so I've got to preserve every square inch.

But I need a grinder, so where to put it? Well, I found some dead space - a perfect spot to tuck it away - by building a folding shelf.

Here it is, tucked away:

Here it is, ready for action:

Here it is, folded down:

Many thanks to all for helping me solve this issue!

 

[WhoWhatNow]

Not very purdy, but gets the jobs done

Got some more pics of the belt grinder next to the drill press? I'm building one now.

 

[-Brent-]

Here's mine a while back, as I was organizing my shop.