I'm in the market for a bench grinder and am looking for some feedback on
good choices. I am pretty certain I want an 8" grinder. Uses will be
mostly rough metal shaping/cleanup and sharpening. I'm also thinking
about getting more actively into knifemaking, mostly through stock
removal.

I have a nice gift certificate to Home Despot, so if there's a quality
grinder there, that'd be a bonus, but that's not the sole consideration.
They have a 6" variable speed Delta there that looks decent. Might see if
they could order an 8" version of the same so I could use my gift
certificate.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 01:26:52 GMT, Ben Hockenhull
wrote:

I'm in the market for a bench grinder and am looking for some feedback on
good choices. I am pretty certain I want an 8" grinder. Uses will be
mostly rough metal shaping/cleanup and sharpening. I'm also thinking
about getting more actively into knifemaking, mostly through stock
removal.

I have a nice gift certificate to Home Despot, so if there's a quality
grinder there, that'd be a bonus, but that's not the sole consideration.
They have a 6" variable speed Delta there that looks decent. Might see if
they could order an 8" version of the same so I could use my gift
certificate.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

You might look at some belt grinders. You can get a wide assortment of
grit and belt types. Plus you have a flat area to grind on as well as
the round surface of the roller. Most knifemakers use 2"x72".

You might consider making one with a couple of pillowblocks, shaft and
motor. You get what you want, exactly. I built a 5 hp 10", 1-1/2" shaft
with scrap and 1 day of work. You could also get a commercial arbor new or
used and go from there.

"Ben Hockenhull" wrote in message
...
I'm in the market for a bench grinder and am looking for some feedback on
good choices. I am pretty certain I want an 8" grinder. Uses will be
mostly rough metal shaping/cleanup and sharpening. I'm also thinking
about getting more actively into knifemaking, mostly through stock
removal.

I have a nice gift certificate to Home Despot, so if there's a quality
grinder there, that'd be a bonus, but that's not the sole consideration.
They have a 6" variable speed Delta there that looks decent. Might see if
they could order an 8" version of the same so I could use my gift
certificate.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

In article ,
Forger wrote:

You might look at some belt grinders. You can get a wide assortment of
grit and belt types. Plus you have a flat area to grind on as well as
the round surface of the roller. Most knifemakers use 2"x72".

....And if you decide to homebrew, a belt grinder does not require nearly
the guard that a stone does. If you homebrew a stone grinder, be sure
that you are up to fabricating (or scrounging and adapting) adequate
guards to contain the stone in case of self-destruction.

--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 01:26:52 GMT, Ben Hockenhull
wrote:

I'm in the market for a bench grinder and am looking for some feedback on
good choices. I am pretty certain I want an 8" grinder. Uses will be
mostly rough metal shaping/cleanup and sharpening. I'm also thinking
about getting more actively into knifemaking, mostly through stock
removal.

I have a nice gift certificate to Home Despot, so if there's a quality
grinder there, that'd be a bonus, but that's not the sole consideration.
They have a 6" variable speed Delta there that looks decent. Might see if
they could order an 8" version of the same so I could use my gift
certificate.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ben

Hiya Ben,
I just got finished with a Bench Grinder Fiasco. A month ago all the
smoke came out of one of my old ones.

The coolest replacement option is to call McMaster-Carr, spend five
to seven bills on a nice Baldor, and never again have to worry about
it. That was too hard for me to rationalize.

I ended up at Harbor Freight wanting to buy a 10 incher that was
advertised. They didn't have it in the store. Ok. I ordered it
online. A week and a half goes by and it didn't arrive. A phone call
to customer support revealed that they didn't have them in stock and
didn't know when they'd be getting more. Gee, thanks for letting me
know. The order was immediately canceled and I got ANOTHER reason to
not to business with that outfit.

Then I called McMaster and inquired about a mid-range grinder they had
for $393. There was no name listed in the catalog, but the phone gal
told me it was domestically built. When the truck dropped it off, the
box said in big letters, "JET - Made in China." That cheesed me off.
I wasn't gonna spend four Benjamins on crap. The icing on the cake
was that everyone and his dog is offering the exact SAME grinder for a
hundred dollars less. McMaster got a call telling them where they
could come and pick up their overpriced Chinese grinder.

In desperation, I Googled for grinders and the names of close-by
cities. I found an 8 inch Delta for $165, complete with tray and
light. It, too, is made in China, just so you know. After mounting
it on my old pedestal, I was amazed at how quiet and vibration free it
is. I like it SO much that I'm contemplating replacing my other old
bench grinder with another Delta.

Rob



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Rob Skinner
La Habra, California
www.rustyiron.com

In article , Forger wrote:
On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 01:26:52 GMT, Ben Hockenhull
wrote:

snip

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You might look at some belt grinders. You can get a wide assortment of
grit and belt types. Plus you have a flat area to grind on as well as
the round surface of the roller. Most knifemakers use 2"x72".

That's a good point. I think I will look into a belt grinder in the
future. Thanks.

Ben

Rob Skinner wrote:

Hiya Ben,
I just got finished with a Bench Grinder Fiasco. A month ago all the
smoke came out of one of my old ones.

The coolest replacement option is to call McMaster-Carr, spend five
to seven bills on a nice Baldor, and never again have to worry about
it. That was too hard for me to rationalize.

I know a pro machinist who says the new Baldors they're cranking out
these days are crap too. He swears he would not let one in his shop.
I don't know personally -- I have an old one.

Why not buy an old Baldor grinder off ebay?

GWE

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 12:44:50 -0800, Grant Erwin
wrote:

Rob Skinner wrote:

Hiya Ben,
I just got finished with a Bench Grinder Fiasco. A month ago all the
smoke came out of one of my old ones.

The coolest replacement option is to call McMaster-Carr, spend five
to seven bills on a nice Baldor, and never again have to worry about
it. That was too hard for me to rationalize.

I know a pro machinist who says the new Baldors they're cranking out
these days are crap too. He swears he would not let one in his shop.
I don't know personally -- I have an old one.

Why not buy an old Baldor grinder off ebay?

GWE

I have a very old Guard Lite motor made by Baldor and its going to be
the power behind a new belt grinder I plan on making. My Burr King
Belt Grinder with a 1.5 horse Baldor will grind a hard file just as
fast as you can push it into it, no slowing that motor down. I bought
it about 10 years ago. (I still consider it new)