Hi
I was discouraged after reading various almost good & mostly bad wet grinder reviews, I almost didnt buy anything from anyone. Customers complained that the wheel shook like mad & they couldnt dress the horizontal wheel that bobs up & down doing a hula they also comented about extreme vibration others complained about the tool / knife rest design being poor described it as useless.
I dont know & havent tried the other name brand horizontals & cannot afford buy to try everyone of them. There are variables in machine quality everywhere you look & personal experience using one. One customer may say great the other may totally dislike it.
I decided to go cheap under $99 & bought an off brand wet & dry grinder with 2 yr replacement it was available online only.
Well heres the scoop..
My best most accurate so far previous alternative to this machine is 12" smooth granite tile from a hardware store using duro areosal spray adhesive & general jig.
I will have my planer knives accurately sharpened having tried a horizontal wet wheel & read reviews about household grinders.
The machine is mostly aluminum. I got lucky my motor purrs quietly.
The motor 2 amps if ran for awhile will feel warm like a blanket warmer on lowest setting maybe a tad less but not hot to extremes. I'll do more rough white dry wheel work & back down on the tool pressure against the wheels. A cool down time should help the heat for both motor & tools.
Downside..the toolrest is plastic with a groove for a slide with no blade clamping ability. There are 3 5/8 holes near the edge of the water trough though with 1/4" 20tpi holes, but no accessory jig to go in these holes. i will try to make 1
I love the wide dry wheel & will make it even better with a veritas rest. Who wee!
It doesnt shake a heavy workbench while bolted down like another customer of major mane brand said. I like & prefer expensive name brands too. I just dont like bad reviews on them.
Suprisingly mine ran pretty good on its rubber feet.
The wheel is surrounded by foam to act as a splash guard. I forgot to replace it once after cleaning & rinsing. Whoops! red dots were everywhere. I cleaned up the mess before my wife noticed. lol
The plastic drip cup had plastic fuzz in its hole that I deburred. Also the water trough 1/8" drain hole drains ok but I think a slight bevel with a counter sink will help water flow along with the plastic 1/2" tube included.
It sharpens putty knives great! LOL The putty knives also help flatten or smooth out lines & grooves in the wheel too but dont really dress out the up & down bobbing motion. So theres really little wheel wasted & less cursing at a dull putty knife. My putty knife now shaves paper LOL!
Hand holding mortising chisels my first try I ended up with a 2 uneven bevels lol. Back to the white wheel lol practice on dollar store chisels ect or the equivelant.
A 1000 grit wet wheel 400rpm suprisingly removed metal faster than expected. Mmmmm..Shiny!
The white dry wheel feels smoother than 80 grit is 5" x 2" 3450 rpm
8" horizontal wet wheel 1000grit 400 rpm
I need instructions on how to dress thick imbalanced 8" horizontal wheel.
The 8" wet wheel is a good 1" thick even after my first light dressing. Yes it bobs up & down with a slight side to side hula. The wet 1000 grit wheel is bonded to a metal disc that attatches to the arbor/shaft.
When the wet wheel is totally gone I'll bond MDF or a thick nylon disc to it & try wet dry paper.
This bobbing up & down is mostly caused from a flange / washer (looks like a flat pulley with no groove) that slides over a shaft. The wet wheel rests on top of this bobbing washer/ flange. I checked it with a dial indicator & it goes up & down alone & together with the wet wheel secured.
The threaded shaft spins true with little or side to side run out & no up & down play.
Without a metal lathe I'm unsure if I can true up this aluminum washer..Meanwhile the customer service dept is sending me a new wheel & washer to hopefully correct everything.
Thanks for your time all. Any comments or improvements I would love to hear.
Sincerely
Al