Thread: Vicmarcs New 1/2 Speed Grinder

Good looking set up Brendan. i assume it is designed for CBN wheels??

I forgot to mention that the grinder cam with 2 al ox wheels; a 36 and 60 grit. I took the 36 off and put my cbn wheel on which meant I couldn't put the cover back on without making some minor adjustments. Don't know where it is made but I suspect China.

our club has had one of those for about 6 months and it is really amazing we all love it

I'll come check it out at the show

I used to have a grinder with extra wide wheel and it came with a guard to fit, wish I kept it!

Ahem!

https://www.tradetools.com/products/TTBG8HD
Notice any similarities? Or more to the point, it is much quicker to list the differences - three that I can spot - the go fast Orange, which apparently works as it is precisely double the speed of the Vicmarc, and the VM is 1500 watts, this one is 900. Other than that, they are identical in every way that can be seen

Not saying anything here, just interesting what can be turned up.

Originally Posted by BobL

I think you mean the other way around?

Oopsie . Edited.

Carbatec used to sell an 8" slow speed (1425RPM) grinder that looked identical to these 2, except it was white. It had the same shields with magnifier, but it also came with a light.

It was 900W, had 30mm wide wheels and the one I looked at had so much vibration that it almost walked off the bench in the shop!

Model no was AW8SRGand price was $219 when I looked at it a couple of years ago.

DC posted a pic of his Carbatec ½speed here. The body shape is different (but probably still out of the same Chinese factory or street). The pricing must have been different too - in the Sydney shop they were over $400 IIRC which is why I didn't buy one then. This is so often the case with Carbatec - they think we aren't smart enough to check the pricing at the different stores. The franchised stores had or have much higher pricing on many things. A set of Colt Forstners was the classic - $299 in Sydney et al, and $169 in Melbourne and Brisbane.

It was actually a search for a ½speed grinder that lead me to these forums in the first place.

When I inspected the Carbatec AW8SRG ($219.00) they also had another slow speed grinder, the CTG-8431 and it was priced (then) at $419.00. It was a much more refined bit of machinery, no vibrations etc, but I wasn't prepared to spend that sort of money, opted instead for the Scheppach 2500 wet grinder.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

.....
It was actually a search for a ½speed grinder that lead me to these forums in the first place.

Have you purchased one yet or you still looking?


https://www.woodworkforums.com/f127/spark-grinder-choices-sharpening-182658

No, not yet Christos - been too busy in the forum since then

Waiting for Jim's report on the VM for mop etc use.

Originally Posted by chuck1

I used to have a grinder with extra wide wheel and it came with a guard to fit, wish I kept it!

Unless it is for dust control of the metal grindings off the tool, I wouldn't bother refitting a guard over an electroplated CBN wheel.

Unlike vitrified alox and silicon carbide wheels, or the resin bonded component of a diamond or CBN wheel, which are are all prone to catastrophic failure, an electroplated wheel will not fail in that way.

Originally Posted by NeilS

Unless it is for dust control of the metal grindings off the tool, I wouldn't bother refitting a guard over an electroplated CBN wheel.

Unlike vitrified alox and silicon carbide wheels, or the resin bonded component of a diamond or CBN wheel, which are are all prone to catastrophic failure, an electroplated wheel will not fail in that way.

Neil, I don't think I would like to be in front of a grinder that has a catastrophic wheel failure, with or without guards. The guards may stop some of the flying debris but it has to go somewhere.

One of the reasons it is recommended to stand out of the firing line.