bench grinder

[whelenfan]

I am looking at buying a bench grinder for my shop and I am a little confused whether to get a 6" or an 8" grinder. What are the benefits of one over the other? Keep ion consideration that I am just a tinker around the house kind of guy and it would only see light duty use. Here's another question; my bench is wooden, should I be concerned about sparks igniting? If so, would I want to get some steel and place that on top of my bench where I will install the grinder?

 

[Uncle Buck]

I am looking at buying a bench grinder for my shop and I am a little confused whether to get a 6" or an 8" grinder. What are the benefits of one over the other? Keep ion consideration that I am just a tinker around the house kind of guy and it would only see light duty use. Here's another question; my bench is wooden, should I be concerned about sparks igniting? If so, would I want to get some steel and place that on top of my bench where I will install the grinder?

For what you describe get the highest HP 6" grinder you can afford and it should last you a lifetime. Keep the coarse stone on one side, remove the fine stone and replace it with a 6" wire wheel (not a knotted one either, they are abrasive as hell, but not too fine either or it will be worthless) and don't give another thought to your wood bench, you will never have any problems with it at all.

 

[whelenfan]

Thanks UB.

 

[Uncle Buck]

You are welcome.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

For what you describe get the highest HP 6" grinder you can afford and it should last you a lifetime. Keep the coarse stone on one side, remove the fine stone and replace it with a 6" wire wheel (not a knotted one either, they are abrasive as hell, but not too fine either or it will be worthless) and don't give another thought to your wood bench, you will never have any problems with it at all.

Unless it's soaked in kerosene or gasoline. Then, you'll have a problem!

 

[cdent]

I wouldn't worry too much about the wood bench either, but keep a little watch for sawdust, paper, rags etc. I've put out two small fires that smoldered and didn't show until fifteen or twenty minutes later. One must have been twelve or fifteen feet away from the grinding. Just passing along a couple of instances that bugged me for a long time.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Wilton 17205. LOVE it. As for fire, no worries about the wood itself. I can make a 1x.125" piece of strap iron glow 3/4" up, never started the bench on fire. Heck, I had a wood chopsaw table for years.

 

[Kevin54]

For what you describe get the highest HP 6" grinder you can afford and it should last you a lifetime. Keep the coarse stone on one side, remove the fine stone and replace it with a 6" wire wheel (not a knotted one either, they are abrasive as hell, but not too fine either or it will be worthless) and don't give another thought to your wood bench, you will never have any problems with it at all.

What UB states is right on, but one way to get extended life out of your wire wheel is to change the direction of it every so often. Once you find that it is taking a little longer to clean off rust, etc, just flip it around. It will work just like a new one. When it starts taking a little longer again, just flip it back around. I have an 8" at work that gets used almost daily for cleaning rust and crud off of dies. I think the last wire wheel was put on maybe three years ago.

 

[Shepoutside]

What UB states is right on, but one way to get extended life out of your wire wheel is to change the direction of it every so often. Once you find that it is taking a little longer to clean off rust, etc, just flip it around. It will work just like a new one. When it starts taking a little longer again, just flip it back around. I have an 8" at work that gets used almost daily for cleaning rust and crud off of dies. I think the last wire wheel was put on maybe three years ago.

Wicked Advise

 

[Uncle Buck]

What UB states is right on, but one way to get extended life out of your wire wheel is to change the direction of it every so often. Once you find that it is taking a little longer to clean off rust, etc, just flip it around. It will work just like a new one. When it starts taking a little longer again, just flip it back around. I have an 8" at work that gets used almost daily for cleaning rust and crud off of dies. I think the last wire wheel was put on maybe three years ago.

Thank you, I just learned something. I never thought about reversing the direction of the wheel, great thinking I will have to try that!

 

[rsanter]

6'' is fine, 8'' if you can afford it

bob

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

I prefer an 8" slow speed, if your going to be using it for larger blades like handplanes. That said, another option that a lot of people choose, is a belt sander. It all depends on your uses (a grinder won't work as well as a polisher, for polishing uses, etc).

 

[Major Ramifications]

I would say don't mount it on the workbench. They make everything on the bench vibrate onto the floor, they put the grinding dust all over the bench, and it's harder to maneuver large items with the bench in the way. Grinder pedastals are super cheap, and a joy to use. They also don't take up any space on the workbench.

Also, I would say a good 8" over a good 6". Do not waste your money on a cheap bench grinder. Look at the current draw.

 

[HandyManny]

6'' is fine, 8'' if you can afford it

bob

I agree. For use on projects around the house, for smoothing out burrs in metal, for rebeveling or sharpening garden tools (lawn mower blades, hedge shears, loper/prunner blades, etc.) a 6" will work just fine. I own both sizes, Both are Delta grinders, 8" one I used to use on the job and the smaller 6" one has always been for home use. Get one that has variable speeds. You'll likely use the low speed setting for most everything. Bolt it down snug just so it doesn't get knocked over accidentally, but it doesn't need to be toqued down tight like a vise or anything. When mouted on top a solid well built workbench you should have no problem with the bench or grinder vibrating. If the bench vibrates when the grinder is bolted down then you have a severe unbalancing of your grinding wheels or are using those unbalanced wheels at too high of a speed.

As far as sparks go and fire danger, it's always something to keep an eye on. I'd be more aware not to have fuel containers near or anything else that emits flamable vapors. Basically clear the area of anything flamable. Wear goggles or a faceshield too.

For use on edge tools like garden tools, plane blades, and chisels, just keep in mind that it's a grinder. Use it to establish a bevel and get an edge on it. For final sharpening and fine tuning you'll need to smooth things out by hand with a medium/fine grit honing stone or an 8" ******* file depending on the edged tool.

 

[Jim Stabe]

... That said, another option that a lot of people choose, is a belt sander.

I second the belt sander idea as long as it has enough hp. It will cost you more money than a bench grinder but worth it IMHO. I built mine http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41867 but there are machines available in the $400 range.
http://www.ickler.com/products_and_services/belt_sander.html
http://grizzly.com/products/Knife-Belt-Sander-Buffer/G1015

Since I finished mine I never use my bench grinder. I also have a small 1" belt sander for deburring etc.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I would say don't mount it on the workbench. They make everything on the bench vibrate onto the floor, they put the grinding dust all over the bench, and it's harder to maneuver large items with the bench in the way. Grinder pedastals are super cheap, and a joy to use. They also don't take up any space on the workbench.

Also, I would say a good 8" over a good 6". Do not waste your money on a cheap bench grinder. Look at the current draw.

I cannot imagine not mounting the grinder to the bench. Too much vibration tells me one of several things, 1)bench not heavy enough, or better still tie the bench to the floor or wall. 2) Wheel unbalanced or other such issue. I use an old beat up paint brush and my shop vac to clean up around the grinder in my shop, no big problem.

 

[whelenfan]

Thanks for all of the great ideas guys. I was looking at getting a used Baldor, but the new Daytons look decent. I am not sure about 6" or 8", but I think that I'll budget around $200 or so and see what comes out. I am going to start checking local yard sales. You never know. I do think that I will mount it onto my work bench though.

 

[Kestas]

I too switched one side to a wire wheel. I've used fine wire wheels and coarse wire wheel. You'll want the fine wire wheel. IIRC, the wire diameter should be roughly 0.008".

 

[wyndycity]

Related to this topic: I was wondering what exactly are the majority of you guys using as a wire wheel on your bench grinders....steel or brass?

What's the reason for using one or the other?

 

[HandyManny]

Related to this topic: I was wondering what exactly are the majority of you guys using as a wire wheel on your bench grinders....steel or brass?

What's the reason for using one or the other?

If you need to clean anything made of steel or chrome, brass wire brushes are much softer than steel and reduce scratching to a minimum while still being hard enough to clean off caked-on grime and oxidation.

Steel brushes tend to wear down finishes and scratch the steel or chrome.

If your are into guns, you'll also now know why most standard bore cleaning brushes and breach brushes are bronze phosphore. It's because they scrub and remove fouling without scratching the bore or rifling inside the barrel. Well same goes for steel tools that get brushed.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Related to this topic: I was wondering what exactly are the majority of you guys using as a wire wheel on your bench grinders....steel or brass?

What's the reason for using one or the other?

Personally I would never consider anything other than a steel wheel, but that is me. Also another personal note, I really do not have any issues tearing anything up with my wheel, but then I guess part of that comes from using them on stuff I should not have years ago.

Steel wire wheels are really a learning curve, once you understand the working parameters you do not tear things up, however, it is not like every other thing you consider wire wheeling should be damaged by the wire wheel, if that is the case, you have a long row to how learning the do's and do not's of wire wheeling with a bench grinder!

The reason I use steel wheels instead of brass is I want to clean the tool/part, not luv it up!