Cheap bench grinder/polishing grinder

[Peldor]

Is it just me or is this a deal too good to pass up, I payed 20$ for it at the tool show and took it home yesterday. Took it out of the box made up a quick base for it and Pow! working grinder. I plan on taking the guards off, turning it around and bolting some cotton polishing wheels on it. Is this a good deal for a newbie or what!

http://tinyurl.com/3dxnub

[Ray Rogers]

Well, yes, it is a pretty good deal but maybe not as much as you would think. As far as metal grinding goes, where knife making is concerned, most people who have tried to use a bench grinder find out very quickly that they generate far too much heat, dirt, and noise.

As a polishing buffer they can be useful but, again, not as much as you might hope. Their arbors are very short which makes polishing anything long a real pain. Their motor speed is twice as high as you would want for polishing any kind of handle material. They are so fast that they tend to wear away any soft material very quickly. They polish metal pretty well but, again, the heat gets high very quickly with some compounds. And worst of all, the high speed makes them extremely dangerous for polishing blades as they tend to jerk them out of your hand, fling them around once, and stick them in your body somewhere. Very dangerous!

Still, many such bench grinders are used for polishing and I admit to having two of them myself. I also have two professional buffers which I use on handle materials. They cost a great deal more but they are like apples and oranges when compared to bench grinders. Just be careful ...

[JediOkie]

I payed twice that for mine. Check the speed on it, the one I bought I later found out was way too fast for buffing.

[skipknives]

what Ray and Jayson said,,,be very carful,,
also a heads up: when you start to buff be very carful not to let the buffer hook the top edge of your work,,that will snatch it out of your hand.

Then there is the "SNAP" factor,,,you will be buffing and the back of your hand will get close to the grinder body and,,,,SNAP,,the static charge will sting your hand,,and when you jump,,you'll stuff the blade into the works and it will dissappear,,,so listen carfuly when it happens,,cuz thats how you will be able to track your knifes hiding place.

Peldor I know i'm being flip,,but please be carful,,and wear safty glasses. (don't let the kids hang around eather),,, "no don't tell mommy,,the bleeding will stop in a minit,,walk it off"
Skip

[AcridSaint]

If nothing else you'll be able to use this for profiling your blades and other quick stock reduction needs. I think a bench grinder is quite useful to have around and $20 is not too much to spend on one, that's for sure.

[derek parker]

when i was in the market for a buffer i went to the depot and found this little buffing kit from ryobi for $8.99. had three different size wheels and three different kinds of compounds. it came with a bit so i could chuck it up in my $100 drill press and im good to go, at least for now i am.
but hey, i learned and produced for a pretty cheap investment since i already had the drill press.

[Peldor]

Originally Posted by derek parker

when i was in the market for a buffer i went to the depot and found this little buffing kit from ryobi for $8.99. had three different size wheels and three different kinds of compounds. it came with a bit so i could chuck it up in my $100 drill press and im good to go, at least for now i am.
but hey, i learned and produced for a pretty cheap investment since i already had the drill press.

I think I saw that at the tool show too! Man, if I went there with 100$ I would need a moving truck to haul it back to my house!

[JediOkie]

Originally Posted by derek parker

when i was in the market for a buffer i went to the depot and found this little buffing kit from ryobi for $8.99. had three different size wheels and three different kinds of compounds. it came with a bit so i could chuck it up in my $100 drill press and im good to go, at least for now i am.
but hey, i learned and produced for a pretty cheap investment since i already had the drill press.

I got one of those kits as well. Didn't like the wheels that came with them or the arbor. I modified the arbor and bought some ryobi 4" wheels and chucked it up to my hand drill. It works great now. I like the reddish polish that came with it (tripolli I think).
Don't use the same wheels for metal that you use for wood though. And tape of both when working with the other...did that make sense?