grinders ? which one ?

[northumbrian]

i fancy a bench grinder ! can i use one to sharpen my knives and other edged tools and if so which one ?
thank u

 

[ged]

You can get them pretty cheaply from places like Lidl, Aldi, many tool markets. Probably around 20-25 quid.

But do you really need one? They're very fierce compared with hand tools, and you could do serious damage to blades (e.g. overheating) and yourself (e.g. losing parts of your anatomy). Have you done any workshop training?

 

[northumbrian]

You can get them pretty cheaply from places like Lidl, Aldi, many tool markets. Probably around 20-25 quid.

But do you really need one? They're very fierce compared with hand tools, and you could do serious damage to blades (e.g. overheating) and yourself (e.g. losing parts of your anatomy). Have you done any workshop training?

nope no training just a enthusiastic amateur ( probley of the worst kind ? )

 

[ged]

nope no training just a enthusiastic amateur ( probley of the worst kind ? )

Well the "I've been doing it for years and never had an accident" mob will be along later to tell you that the nanny state is taking over, but I'm here to tell you that abrasive wheels are amongst the most dangerous things in the workshop. They even have their own Regulations:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=abrasive+wheel+regulations&go=&form=QBLH&filt=rf

So if you do get something, be very careful how you use it. Please spend some time learning about the potential dangers and how to avoid them. Long hair and loose clothing for example are very dangerous near rotating machinery. Bits of red hot metal flying around at 200mph can easily and permanently blind you and will set fire to things unexpectedly. Tinnitus really happens, I've got it. There's no cure.

It probably depends on how much metalwork you're planning on doing. I have a dozen or so grinding machines including a couple of bench grinders. I wouldn't dream of sharpening a knife with any of them, they're much to aggressive, but I have occasionally reprofiled my wife's blades with a bench grinder after she's damaged them badly by finding bits of steel reinforcing bar in the garden with them. It's that sort of garden. I might occasionally run the edge of an axe across a wheel if it was in a poor state but I could do the same job by hand, and if that's the only thing you do with a bench grinder you'll soon start wondering if it isn't a lot of wasted bench space for so little use. My grinding machines do a lot of work when I'm doing serious metal bashing (think ship building) but otherwise they would hardly ever be used. I sharpen HSS drill bits (big ones, like an inch diameter) on the bench grinder but small ones aren't really worth doing and you can get a little gadget that does them a lot more easily than a bench wheel anyway. I have two of those. That probably just leaves cold chisels and the lawn mower blades. A grinding wheel is very handy to tidy them up, but if you don't use cold chisels and you haven't got a four-stroke engine in your lawn mower you won't care.

 

[robin wood]

A small belt sander is far more forgiving and useful for re-profiling and sharpening than a grinding wheel.

 

[shaggystu]

A small belt sander is far more forgiving and useful for re-profiling and sharpening than a grinding wheel.

what he said.

if you do want to get yourself a bench grinder for sharpening things then a "flapper" wheel isn't too violent, buffing wheels and cutting compound are better though. i'd never consider using a grinding wheel to sharpen anything, it's way too easy to ruin your profile/temper/fingers, they're really powerful tools, i hurt myself many times learning to use one.

stuart

 

[lannyman8]

if you DO get one i would wait untill aldi get the grinder/sander combo £20....its awesome, i do all my blade work on it (i make blades) but it could be used for sharpening if you use the sander section with realy fine grit......just make sure you work slow and dip the blade every 20-30 seconds in water so it wont over heat.....

when you do get one of these use it on scrap untill you get used to the angles, and how fast the sander and grinder take metal of......i would not use it to sharpen blades just take out big dings in knife blades and axes........

once you get one though you cold also exsperiment in making your own blades to.......just make sure you use eye and ear protection and gloves.....

 

[northumbrian]

once again cheers lads for a lot of thoughtfull replies ! so a small belt sander with fine grit paper will be the best and safest for a newbe like me ?

 

[ged]

once again cheers lads for a lot of thoughtfull replies ! so a small belt sander with fine grit paper will be the best and safest for a newbe like me ?

Yes. And as has been said, practice. It's very easy to overheat metal even with a belt. Incidentally, have you got a decent bench and a decent vice? A good vice on a solid bench is about the most useful kit in the workshop. Don't get a cheap Chinese vice. Look around for bargains at auctions or whatever, you should be able to get a vice that would have cost a couple of hundred quid new for about twenty or thirty quid. I have several Record No. 23 that I've picked up very cheaply in auctions (real auctions, not eBay style, but I bet they're on eBay now). They're about 300 quid new, I don't think I paid mor ethan 30 for any of them. I use some bigger ones too but for things like knife making I don't think you'll ever need to go bigger than the 23. It's worth having something smaller too, for less demanding jobs, but you might find they work out more expensive!

 

[lannyman8]

what Ged has said is great, i dont have the space or a propper bench....ive come used to working with G clamps instead which do the jod but you can do so much more with a vice, especialy when it comes to making blades.........

hope this helps...

chris..................................................................................