John Dunn Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Need to know which bench grinder works well and is durable. I decided after I broke my 6th cut-off wheel on my Dremel tool that it was time to spring for a bench grinder. Would prefer one I could use as a buffer as well. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Baldor is the king of buffers (and, I would assume, grinders too). But, I'll bet you could get lots of miles out of a cheap grinder from HD...our even Harbor Freight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 I have an 8" Delta grinder from Lowes, that I'm very pleased with. It does double duty as a polisher with the buffing wheels on it (I love when people think my mags are chrome.."nope just polished stainless!") Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Baldor is the king of buffers (and, I would assume, grinders too). I agree 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 I bought a Harbor Freight 8" grinder/buffer (3450 rpm). It's OK, but not spectacular. For occasional use, I'd buy one again on sale if it was cheap. I wouldn't spend over $50 on a HF grinder. If you're looking to use something on a heavy duty scale, I would invest into a better motor. Flex is right on about the Baldor. An aside: If you're ever going to be doing buffing, 3450 rpm is just too fast for a 6 or 8 inch wheel. It really needs to be about half that, or all you do is throw the rouge off the wheel as fast as you put it on - plus the friction cooks the part you're holding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kory Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Forget the stone grinder wheel, put a (fine or medium) Cratex wheel on one side, and a buffer wheel on the other side; you will never look back. You can buff at 3450 with a 6" wheel, but not great, and the part gets hot very fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Whatever you do, stay away from the cheap import grinders you see on ebay or at Harbor Freight. They are out of ballance, vibrate something crazy and are way too light duty. Sears sells a Craftsman 6" w/ light for about $40. Well made for an import. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 I think I am going to want a regular grinding wheel for removing metal. I don't know about Kratex wheels, how would it work for this? My weekend project was to cut off the sight tower on a couple of Colt front sight bases/gas block for a couple of ARs. I decided I didn't want anything obscuring my view while looking through my optics. Co-witnessing may sound cool, but I found it distracting in the extreme. The rough cuts (one with a fine metal cutting blade on a Sawzall, one with about 10 Dremel cut-off wheels were enough to convince me I need a Bandsaw or a mill. The next part really drove me nuts. I spent easily 45 minutes each with various Dremel grinding stones, sanding drums, files trying to get the things contoured to a low enough profile so I could remove the free float tubes without removing the gas block. I figured a bench grinder would be just the ticket. So far I'm hearing Baldor is the best quality, sounds like 8" is the best size if you want to use it for both grinding and polishing. As far as RPM, should I go with the 1800 or 3600? Sounds like 1800 if you want to buff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 John, I don't know if this helps or confuses more... When I took the Cylinder & Slide gunsmithing class, they had Baldor buffers. And, I am pretty sure they would have nothing else. But, I don't think their grinders were anything near that quality (or price). My dad has a Balador grinder setup (on a heavy stand) down in his barn. But, he bought a cheapy to put in the garage that is attached to the house. I guess he didn't feel the Baldor was worth the walk, and that the cheapy would get the job done. If it were me...I'd try out the cheapy. If it didn't work, I could still use it for other chores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 John, If you want to buff lots of stuff and are trying to build a semi-pro gunshop, get the 1800 rpm Baldor. Buffing is extremely taxing on motors. For the occasional user, any 8" grinder will work for removing metal and the odd polish job. The only reason I brought up buffing is because I just wanted to point out the compromise involved. There is one thing I *do* like about the Harbor Freight 8" grinder: it has long axles so that you can leave one guard off and have a viable grinder/buffer combo. I really helps when you're trying to polish big stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Dad built a buffer out of a double ended spindle with a pulley in the middle of it and an old washing machine motor. He has a couple different pulleys for the motor side so he can change speeds. One of his hobbies is knife making so he spends a lot of time on the buffer when he is working over a knife. This has the advantage of not having a big motor housing up near the buffer wheels allowing for easier working of the part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kory Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 I think I am going to want a regular grinding wheel for removing metal. I don't know about Kratex wheels, how would it work for this? They are great. I have been a Cratex junkie since I first tried one. There is also another brand that is about the same "Matz" They remove metal great, and the medium (or fine) grits leave the surface well prepped for polishing. At least get yourself some Cratex cones for your Dremel, they're indespensible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Rhines Posted November 23, 2004 Share Posted November 23, 2004 I go through Cratex grinding bobs like a Subterene probe through sand. I love them. Delta grinders are sort of a practical minimum, quality-wise. I have one and like it, but I don't do any real heavy grinding. If you are going to be doing a lot of polishing, then get a Baldor buffer and use it for nothing else. Get a cheap bench grinder for rough/dirty work. If you have the cash for one, I find a belt grinder (like a Wilton Square Wheel) to be all over any disc-type grinder for versatility. My ideal setup would be a Wilton belt grinder with a DC motor, along with an 8" Baldor for buffing/polishing only. - Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dunn Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 Thanks to all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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