Thread: Bench Grinder Upgrade

P.S EDIT


NEVER use a wire brush on a bench grinder for a millisecond WITHOUT good eye protection. They are extremely dangerous and over the years I've had to dig bits and pieces of metal out of my body, so imagine what it would do to your eye.

I like this idea.
I need a new bench grinder as the one I have is woefully underpowered.

Do the tapered spindles just screw on to the existing shaft?

Jim, I had a setup like that for a while but I found an number of problems with it, the main one being the wheels are are just too close to each other and it seriously restrict what can be done around the wheels.

Another problem was that l ended up with metal dust and wheel grit all over the buffing wheels so when I went to use the buffing wheels they put fine scratches on the metal.

I still have a buffing wheel near my other three grinders and have had mixed success in covering the buffing wheels with plastic bags, thin ones tend to tear themselves apart very quickly.
A mate of mine uses a small tight fitting cotton bag with a drawstring and that seems to work better.

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

I like this idea.
I need a new bench grinder as the one I have is woefully underpowered.

Do the tapered spindles just screw on to the existing shaft?

The tapered spindles do just screw on the existing shaft (different spindles for different threaded machines) then you just put on different mops and polishing pads. They just hand screw on and off easily and you can use different polishing compounds with the mops and pads for different metals and applications and finishes.

The spindles though are meant to be used without the oxide wheels in place. Hence why I cut mine down approximately 40-50mm so that they now act as the nuts that used to hold the oxide wheel in place.

Originally Posted by BobL

Jim, I had a setup like that for a while but I found an number of problems with it, the main one being the wheels are are just too close to each other and it seriously restrict what can be done around the wheels.

Another problem was that l ended up with metal dust and wheel grit all over the buffing wheels so when I went to use the buffing wheels they put fine scratches on the metal.

I still have a buffing wheel near my other three grinders and have had mixed success in covering the buffing wheels with plastic bags, thin ones tend to tear themselves apart very quickly.
A mate of mine uses a small tight fitting cotton bag with a drawstring and that seems to work better.

Bob, its so easy to take the mops and buffing wheels off and because I have a fair few for different things, I keep them all in labelled cheap Tupperware.

I can just leave the grinder with the spindles exposed. This workbench with the grinders and the drop saw is under a 10' lean too off my shed, I don't have anything that makes a lot of gritty dust like these machines are capable of making in my workshop and it works well for me because my main workshop is on the small side!

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

I need a new bench grinder as the one I have is woefully underpowered.

Geoff my original (20 year old) 8" grinder will continue to spin for about 12 minutes when switched off. The new one goes for about 2 minutes.......bearing quality?

Mine gets up to speed OK and takes a while to spin down.
Problem is that when you touch anything to the wheel, it just about stops!

Originally Posted by BobL

Jim, I had a setup like that for a while but I found an number of problems with it, the main one being the wheels are are just too close to each other and it seriously restrict what can be done around the wheels.

Another problem was that l ended up with metal dust and wheel grit all over the buffing wheels so when I went to use the buffing wheels they put fine scratches on the metal.

I still have a buffing wheel near my other three grinders and have had mixed success in covering the buffing wheels with plastic bags, thin ones tend to tear themselves apart very quickly.
A mate of mine uses a small tight fitting cotton bag with a drawstring and that seems to work better.

hi as i read your post bob i thought of course.
lucky i didn't throw out all my grinders and gang
then all up.
not a bad set up if you only have one grinder.
aaron
very insightful. thanks

Originally Posted by Jim Ferrous

Geoff my original (20 year old) 8" grinder will continue to spin for about 12 minutes when switched off. The new one goes for about 2 minutes.......bearing quality?

Not so much bearing quality but the state of lubrication inside. The grease supplied in the old unit has probably long since done its dash and left the building, whereas the new ones are still packed with fresh(er) stuff. The balls pushing through the new grease require more energy to push through, hence they slow faster. But if one set has been in there for decades and one is relatively new, I know which set id think are in better condition (unless theyre very cheaply made).

Originally Posted by Jim Ferrous

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I can just leave the grinder with the spindles exposed. This workbench with the grinders and the drop saw is under a 10' lean too off my shed, I don't have anything that makes a lot of gritty dust like these machines are capable of making in my workshop and it works well for me because my main workshop is on the small side!

I agree workshop size restrictions are a severe limitation and removing the buffing wheels is easy enough and it depends on the sizes of objects being tackled, but even when removing the buffing wheels I found the buffing spindles getting in the way occasionally when grinding, and the grinding wheels always getting in the way of the buffing wheels and the operator, especially when the buffing wheels are smaller than the grinding wheels. To avoid clashing with the grinding wheels I inevitably ended up using only the outside edge of the buffing wheels which does not produce a high quality finish. High quality buffing requires polishing the metal across a range of angles e.g. +45º, - 45º, 90º and 0º so the wheel needs to be readily accessible from both sides.

Originally Posted by scottyd

Not so much bearing quality but the state of lubrication inside. The grease supplied in the old unit has probably long since done its dash and left the building, whereas the new ones are still packed with fresh(er) stuff. The balls pushing through the new grease require more energy to push through, hence they slow faster. But if one set has been in there for decades and one is relatively new, I know which set id think are in better condition (unless theyre very cheaply made).

For any one that has a nasty old bench grinder such as one of those a rubbishy GMF 200mm models that runs for 10 minutes after switch off, I would be happy to take it off your hands thin grease and all.

Better than that I''ll swap a brand new one like Jim,s for it.

Grahame

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

For any one that has a nasty old bench grinder such as one of those a rubbishy GMF 200mm models that runs for 10 minutes after switch off, I would be happy to take it off your hands thin grease and all.

Better than that I''ll swap a brand new one like Jim,s for it.

Grahame

That is a generous offer Grahame. Are you going to pay the postage as well?

Dean

Hi All,
Please, don't get off your bikes about this, & it has come up before.
Personally, I do not like any of the covers on " The Wire Wheel ".
I think it is Extremely Dangerous, especially with a rather Tinny Tool Rest.
You accidentally do the wrong thing & see where the object may end up.
My Covers have been off for many years.
Yes, it does happen, when the Wheel catches the Object, but they just whack the cement pretty hard, but not you.