grinder for shop

Oct 11, 2009 10 Replies

im asking everyone what they prefer for general grinding (not sharpening) either a wheel grinder or a belt grinder. i think id like a belt grinder, but for some reason there just arent as many out there.


Wheel, belts rip too easily on rough work.

Assuming you meant a bench tool. Wheel grinder... two or three of them with different stones, brushes, and buffers. Except that for some types of wood working I prefer a bench sander for its larger flat surface as long as its got a big adjustable table to make precise angle sanding possible.

im referring to a standard 78.75?x3" belt grinder, i imagine there are bench mounted ones, but not desirable to me, too mussy, id rather have it isolated from the work area.

I have a Bader 2" x 72"(I think) belt grinder

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it works great for all sorts of applications.get set up with a variety of grit belts and go to it. I was very surprised how fast you can remove metal with this machine, fit up and weld prep are just the start. once you get the hang of it you can grind to shape parts you might of cut before. I use mine almost daily made in the USA by a family owned company, nice people too.

Andrew

A 1" x 30" belt sander is small enough to carry outdoors to keep the mess out of the shop.

Another option is a hand-held angle grinder, clamp the work and move the grinder. They throw sparks several meters in all directions and are better used outside, if the neighbors don't mind.

They are a bit too crude for sharpening wood chisels but fine for axes, lawnmower blades etc. Grind enough welds and you will be able to do surprisingly smooth, delicate work with them.

jsw

I have two wheel grinders with 4 different wheels and a 4x36 belt sander with a 6" sander disk. Each has their place. In terms of frequency I would say I use the belt sander more often than the other two combined.

On Sun, 11 Oct 2009 10:59:15 -0500, the infamous erik litchy scrawled the following:

I don't even have a wheel grinder. Whatever I can't get done on the

1" belt sander I put on the 4" angle grinder.

-- The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man. -- Euripides

Belt grinders are far more expensive than a wheel grinder.

However...I have 4 bench top belt grinders..up to 6x40" and only 3 bench wheel grinders..and the belt grinders get the majority of the work.

Including bit grinding

Gunner

"Lenin called them "useful idiots," those people living in liberal democracies who by giving moral and material support to a totalitarian ideology in effect were braiding the rope that would hang them. Why people who enjoyed freedom and prosperity worked passionately to destroy both is a fascinating question, one still with us today. Now the useful idiots can be found in the chorus of appeasement, reflexive anti-Americanism, and sentimental idealism trying to inhibit the necessary responses to another freedom-hating ideology, radical Islam"

Bruce C. Thornton, a professor of Classics at American University of Cal State Fresno

I use belt grinders almost exclusively for sharpening stuff, that stuff that I grind to sharpen, that is. For other things like snagging welds there are always the angle grinders and mini-die grinders. A 1" Delta is what I use most, I also have a 4". The disc sander that's attached comes in handy once in awhile for smoothing up wood, doesn't get much play, though. For welding fit-ups, it's a combination of 4x6 bandsaw and belt grinders.

Stan

Mine has a grinding wheel, one side. Wire wheel the other side. I use it mostly for sharpening things, like cold chisels. The wire wheel for taking burrs off cut keys.

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