I have been getting by for years with a Grizzly bench grinder and a
couple of homeade tool rests. My neighbor has the Baldor bench mounted
tool grinder. I think he paid a bit under $500 for it. I go over to his
shop and use it when I need a bit that is dead on like for Acme threads
etc.

I don't usually buy machines from HF but they do have good prices on
some motors. I went in the other day to get a 1 HP TEFC motor and
forgot my blinders. On the way to the cashier I spotted a tool grinder
that looks for all the world like the Baldor for $169. Now, as Jimmy
Carter once said, "I have lust in my heart" for this thing.

You can't run machines in the Macon HF so I have a big question as to
the quality. Does the HF tool grinder run quiet and true? Will it last
in a home shop?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:HfsAb.83066$xV6.40427@lakeread04...
I have been getting by for years with a Grizzly bench grinder and a
couple of homeade tool rests. My neighbor has the Baldor bench mounted
tool grinder. I think he paid a bit under $500 for it. I go over to his
shop and use it when I need a bit that is dead on like for Acme threads
etc.

I don't usually buy machines from HF but they do have good prices on
some motors. I went in the other day to get a 1 HP TEFC motor and
forgot my blinders. On the way to the cashier I spotted a tool grinder
that looks for all the world like the Baldor for $169. Now, as Jimmy
Carter once said, "I have lust in my heart" for this thing.

You can't run machines in the Macon HF so I have a big question as to
the quality. Does the HF tool grinder run quiet and true? Will it last
in a home shop?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com



There was a huge thread about this back in June. The subject was "Tool and
Cutter Grinder fm Harbor Freight Tool and Cutter Grinder fm Harbor Freight
". Do a Google Groups search.

Here is one quote from it:
That isn't really a "tool and cutter grinder". A real tool and cutter
grinder
is a very different machine. That thing is mainly useful for touching up
lathe bits and other single point tools. It is not suitable for sharpening
end mills, dovetail cutters, Tee slot cutters, etc.

I bought the one sold by J&L Industrial a couple of years ago (their
price was $159). It is basically a Chinese copy of the Baldor, at about
1/5th the price. It accepts the same plate wheels as the Baldor.

Lane

lane wrote:

There was a huge thread about this back in June. The subject was
"Tool and
Cutter Grinder fm Harbor Freight Tool and Cutter Grinder fm Harbor
Freight ". Do a Google Groups search.

Here is one quote from it: That isn't really a "tool and cutter
grinder". A real tool and cutter grinder is a very different
machine. That thing is mainly useful for touching up lathe bits and
other single point tools. It is not suitable for sharpening end
mills, dovetail cutters, Tee slot cutters, etc.

I couldn't sharpen an end mill or a dovetail cutter with a $10,000 CNC
grinder. I have hard enough time with my drill doctor. :-) I send
all that stuff out. All I want to do is grind single point turning bits.

I bought the one sold by J&L Industrial a couple of years ago (their
price was $159). It is basically a Chinese copy of the Baldor, at
about 1/5th the price. It accepts the same plate wheels as the
Baldor.

I sometimes wonder if there is just one set of patterns for each machine
in China and all the foundries share them to make molds. Yours is
probably very close to the HF. How is it working?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

I ordered one a year ago. First it was backordered. Then when it came in both
wheels were busted, so I had to reorder wheels. Took almost 6 weeks to get
replacement wheels. Other than that, mine works fine, runs true and is heavy
enough to not move around on my bench, but too heavy to move to storage when I
don't need it. I say go for it! But try to pick it up yourself so you can
inspect it before you leave the store

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:HfsAb.83066$xV6.40427@lakeread04...
I have been getting by for years with a Grizzly bench grinder and a
couple of homeade tool rests. My neighbor has the Baldor bench mounted
tool grinder. I think he paid a bit under $500 for it. I go over to his
shop and use it when I need a bit that is dead on like for Acme threads
etc.

I don't usually buy machines from HF but they do have good prices on
some motors. I went in the other day to get a 1 HP TEFC motor and
forgot my blinders. On the way to the cashier I spotted a tool grinder
that looks for all the world like the Baldor for $169. Now, as Jimmy
Carter once said, "I have lust in my heart" for this thing.

1/2 hp 6" tool and carbide grinder 46727 on sale for $129.99?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46727

Joel. phx


You can't run machines in the Macon HF so I have a big question as to
the quality. Does the HF tool grinder run quiet and true? Will it last
in a home shop?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

I use it for lathe cutters and occasionally tweak the edge of a mill, but I
would not trust myself to completely resharpen a mill retaining the shape.
But this thing is useful for other tasks too: I had to cut holes in a bunch
of floor tile. Ever notice that things like RotoZip bits that say they are
good for cutting tile also say in the fine print wall tile only? The floor
tiles I had were dulling carbide cutters very quickly, then the dull cutter
would crack the tile. That is actually when I bought this grinder:
Resharpening the bits frequently got the holes cut, and I think I saved half
the cost of the grinder on that job alone.
Bob Wilson
"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:IUtAb.83180$xV6.76471@lakeread04...


lane wrote:

There was a huge thread about this back in June. The subject was
"Tool and
Cutter Grinder fm Harbor Freight Tool and Cutter Grinder fm Harbor
Freight ". Do a Google Groups search.

Here is one quote from it: That isn't really a "tool and cutter
grinder". A real tool and cutter grinder is a very different
machine. That thing is mainly useful for touching up lathe bits and
other single point tools. It is not suitable for sharpening end
mills, dovetail cutters, Tee slot cutters, etc.

I couldn't sharpen an end mill or a dovetail cutter with a $10,000 CNC
grinder. I have hard enough time with my drill doctor. :-) I send
all that stuff out. All I want to do is grind single point turning bits.

I bought the one sold by J&L Industrial a couple of years ago (their
price was $159). It is basically a Chinese copy of the Baldor, at
about 1/5th the price. It accepts the same plate wheels as the
Baldor.

I sometimes wonder if there is just one set of patterns for each machine
in China and all the foundries share them to make molds. Yours is
probably very close to the HF. How is it working?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 16:49:04 -0500, Glenn Ashmore wrote:
You can't run machines in the Macon HF so I have a big question as to
the quality. Does the HF tool grinder run quiet and true? Will it last
in a home shop?

HF has a good return policy, so if you don't like it, you can take it back.
I've got what is probably the identical machine, bought from J&L several
years ago. It is quiet and true, coasts for minutes when you turn it off.

Wheels are the big question mark with the Chinese machines. Some are
Ok, some are crappy. Wheels that fit the Baldor also fit the Chinese
machines.

Gary

Joel Corwith writes:

1/2 hp 6" tool and carbide grinder 46727 on sale for $129.99?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46727

I've had one of these for a few months. It does a fine job sharpening
carbide bits. Runs quiet and true. A great bargain at the price. It
needs several jigs (not included, I made some myself) to hold the bits
properly, depending on what you want to do. And a diamond dresser.

The water drizzler cup is a joke. I suppose you could fix it up to work,
but then you're slinging water all over the room. I use my mist cooler on
a heavy flow.

I have yet to try a diamond wheel in this thing, but I think that would
upgrade it to something quite nice.

I bought one on sale at HF for $119. There's not much wrong with it for
hobby uses.

The wheel mounting screws are metric shoulder screws of an odd size.
They have allen sockets, and are soft and ill formed. A good fastener
store could not match them with a better grade. I replaced them with
regular metric allen head cap screws, and made (minor lathe job) special
flanged washers to adapt the regular screws to the holes in the grinding
wheels. It's worked out well.

I did find the bolt circle in the HF grinder flanges to be NOT
concentric with the shaft by a small amount. There is enough slop in the
wheel holes that this is not a big problem. The wheels center by means
of their center holes against a shaft hub, so the off center holes do
not affect wheel centering. they DO contribute a to a minor balancing
problem described below.

My grinder had a slight vibration, no worse than an average bench
grinder. I dressed the wheels with no improvement. I traced this to
three problems. The out of center bolt circle described above. The shaft
flanges were out of balance (the back sides were not machined). I
removed these from the spindle and trued them up on my lathe, and then
balanced them. Big improvement. I also find that the steel-backed wheels
were out of balance. I bought a few spares of both Si-Carbide and white
aluminum oxide, one USA made. The new wheels were no better for balance
than the HF ones!

I checked the wheels on a balancer, and determined the light side. The
HF grinder has eight mounting holes for the wheels (two sets of four,
each of differing sizes), only four of which are used. I added screws of
appropriate weight in the holes nearest the light side of the wheel.
Washers under the screw heads can also be used. A little additional
trial and error with the washers also corrected the balance problem from
the bolt circle error. Result ... much improved balance and almost no vibration.

The minor balancing problems, while an irritation, do not seem a big
deal since I don't expect to be changing these wheels very often.

I keep a white aluminum oxide wheel on one side for HSS tools, and a
Si-Carbide wheel on the other for carbide tools.

I am pleased with mine, for what it cost. The same type grinders, even
other asian imports, are usually $230 or more, and I'm not sure they
wouldn't have the same problems. The probably better Baldor version is
around $750.

Dan Mitchell
==========

Glenn Ashmore wrote:

I have been getting by for years with a Grizzly bench grinder and a
couple of homeade tool rests. My neighbor has the Baldor bench mounted
tool grinder. I think he paid a bit under $500 for it. I go over to his
shop and use it when I need a bit that is dead on like for Acme threads
etc.

I don't usually buy machines from HF but they do have good prices on
some motors. I went in the other day to get a 1 HP TEFC motor and
forgot my blinders. On the way to the cashier I spotted a tool grinder
that looks for all the world like the Baldor for $169. Now, as Jimmy
Carter once said, "I have lust in my heart" for this thing.

You can't run machines in the Macon HF so I have a big question as to
the quality. Does the HF tool grinder run quiet and true? Will it last
in a home shop?

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

Checkmate writes:

My only complaint with it is the miter table slide attachment. It's got
a stud pressed and swagged from the back side, with a wingnut to adjust
the angle. If you tighten the wingnut enough to hold the angle, the
stud starts pulling out of the hole. I haven't figured out how to fix
that yet, because the part that the stud is pressed into is too thin to
support any other method of mounting a stud that I can think of.

Yeah, the slide is hardly more than a toy, and doesn't seem to adjust to
the angles you need. A little time with some scraps of aluminum and HDPE
or UHMW plastic should create something much better. The rest of the unit
is worth it.

Daniel A. Mitchell writes:

My grinder had a slight vibration, no worse than an average bench
grinder. I dressed the wheels with no improvement. I traced this to
three problems. The out of center bolt circle described above. The shaft
flanges were out of balance (the back sides were not machined). I
removed these from the spindle and trued them up on my lathe, and then
balanced them. Big improvement. I also find that the steel-backed wheels
were out of balance.

I think this must vary from unit to unit. Mine was quite good out of the
box. Typical Chinese quality control. Maybe the store will let you fire
up the inventory a pick a good one?

On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 11:30:14 -0500, "Daniel A. Mitchell"
wrote:


I am pleased with mine, for what it cost. The same type grinders, even
other asian imports, are usually $230 or more, and I'm not sure they
wouldn't have the same problems. The probably better Baldor version is
around $750.

I guess I should mention, that I have the Baldor version, and have
used the HF version in machine shops..and they are virtually identical
in operation.

Gunner

No 220-pound thug can threaten the well-being or dignity of a 110-pound
woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out. Is that evil?
Is that wrong? People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence,
they're begging for the rule of brute force, when the biggest, strongest
animals among men were always automatically "right". Guns end that,
and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make
it work.
- L. Neil Smith

On Mon, 8 Dec 2003 08:44:32 -0800, Checkmate
wrote:


On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 22:16:47 -0600, Richard J Kinch put forth the notion
that...

Joel Corwith writes:

1/2 hp 6" tool and carbide grinder 46727 on sale for $129.99?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46727

I've had one of these for a few months. It does a fine job sharpening
carbide bits. Runs quiet and true. A great bargain at the price. It
needs several jigs (not included, I made some myself) to hold the bits
properly, depending on what you want to do. And a diamond dresser.

The water drizzler cup is a joke. I suppose you could fix it up to work,
but then you're slinging water all over the room. I use my mist cooler on
a heavy flow.

I have yet to try a diamond wheel in this thing, but I think that would
upgrade it to something quite nice.

My only complaint with it is the miter table slide attachment. It's got
a stud pressed and swagged from the back side, with a wingnut to adjust
the angle. If you tighten the wingnut enough to hold the angle, the
stud starts pulling out of the hole. I haven't figured out how to fix
that yet, because the part that the stud is pressed into is too thin to
support any other method of mounting a stud that I can think of.

Silver solder or a fast braze or a dollop of weld and a bit of stone
work. I had to make my own as my Baldor was missing them when I got
it, and simply silver soldered the studs in after making them from cap
screws with the heads turned off.

Gunner


No 220-pound thug can threaten the well-being or dignity of a 110-pound
woman who has two pounds of iron to even things out. Is that evil?
Is that wrong? People who object to weapons aren't abolishing violence,
they're begging for the rule of brute force, when the biggest, strongest
animals among men were always automatically "right". Guns end that,
and social democracy is a hollow farce without an armed populace to make
it work.
- L. Neil Smith

I didn't mean that it was so bad as to be unusable. It was quite worth
the money right out of the box. I just wanted it better.

Dan Mitchell
==========

Richard J Kinch wrote:

Daniel A. Mitchell writes:

My grinder had a slight vibration, no worse than an average bench
grinder. I dressed the wheels with no improvement. I traced this to
three problems. The out of center bolt circle described above. The shaft
flanges were out of balance (the back sides were not machined). I
removed these from the spindle and trued them up on my lathe, and then
balanced them. Big improvement. I also find that the steel-backed wheels
were out of balance.

I think this must vary from unit to unit. Mine was quite good out of the
box. Typical Chinese quality control. Maybe the store will let you fire
up the inventory a pick a good one?

And its on sale right now in the retail stores for 119.00 or 129..
Garry

On 07 Dec 2003 05:33:39 GMT, (GMasterman) wrote:

I ordered one a year ago. First it was backordered. Then when it came in both
wheels were busted, so I had to reorder wheels. Took almost 6 weeks to get
replacement wheels. Other than that, mine works fine, runs true and is heavy
enough to not move around on my bench, but too heavy to move to storage when I
don't need it. I say go for it! But try to pick it up yourself so you can
inspect it before you leave the store