Jig options for my Harbor freight 8' bench grinder

[zippy1981]

Bought a never harbor freight 8" bench grinder for $25. Well worth the cheap cost. I turn it on, put metal objects against it and it removes metal. I do want to upgrade the wheels, and I'll follow this guide when I got the money and time:

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=49738

I did buy one of those T-shaped diamond dressers for now to see if it will reduce the vibrations. Honestly though vibrations are pretty minimal. I'm sure as my skill grows I'll grow more annoyed at the slight imbalance.

Anyway, do I have any cheap or easy to fabricate options to replace the built in tools rests? Basically I'd like brackets that I could bolt a piece of flat stock to that goes across both wheels that bolts into the wheel guards like the current rests do. that I can adjust the distance to the wheel of as well as the angle. I'd like it it had a protractor. The wheel guards are aluminum, but I don't care the material. I could use nylon bushings and washers to prevent galvanic corrosion.

Before I go crazy fabricating this, did someone already do something similar I could buy? I just want something relatively true so I could reface chisels, redress drill bits and clamp jigs to with the confidence that it will be true enough.

Or do I really just need to get those tool holders that get clamped to the table next to the grinder?

 

[gungatim]

theres a million plans out there to diy something, or you can buy them from several sources...

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=bench+grinder+jig

do you have the orange 8" grinder? I have one. it *****. takes way too long to spin down and vibrates like an out of round tire. of the 5 bench grinders I have, the cheapo Taiwan and Craftsmans together don't vibrate as much...

let us know what wheels you use and if it really reduces the vibration.

 

[zippy1981]

Well basically I wanted a big enough tool holder to clamp all those fancy jigs to. Well I mainly want to clamp a chisel sharpening jig and a drill bit jig to them.

But I guess my best bet is to get a tool holder I bolt to the bench.

 

[zippy1981]

do you have the orange 8" grinder?

No its green and was manufactured 12/22/96. I didn't realize till today this was sitting in the previous owners garage for 20 years. It seems to have similar issues as the orange once. Definitely poorly threaded hole for receiving the bolts that hold the tool holder in place.

The left wheel is an A36 and the right wheel is an A60 which apparantly contains aluminum. Better make sure I wear a respirator or cotton mask when I use it. The wheels are working fine for the steel I've used on them so I'll wear them down before replacing them. After watching some videos on youtube I realize that a bench mounted jig is actually fine.

I don't run it for hours at a time, but it doesn't seem to overheat.

 

[jimreed2160]

I suggest the Wolverine grinding jig.

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product/125676/wolverine-grinding-jig.aspx?gclid=CIClz8LmjNECFUYlgQod6igKvg

I made my own and purchased other jigs but the Wolverine is the only one that stood up to daily grinding. Not only is it tough, it is easy to adjust.