Bench grinder

[satwel]

I will be buying a new bench grinder and I would like to hear what the members of this forum find useful.
Specifically, which diameter is best for resurfacing the face of a frizzen: 6" or 8"? And, I see some grinders have a variable speed feature. I assume that comes in handy to prevent overheating of hardened parts. Does anybody here use a variable speed bench grinder? Are they worth the extra cost?

Thanks in advance for your responses,
Satwel

[Buffaload]

I use a belt grinder much more than a bench grinder.  My bench grinder is set up with wire wheels these days.  I have a Burr King 760 I like well but also have a Wilton Square wheel (2x72) that is much more versatile.  If I had only one, I reckon it would be the Wilton only because I can do more with it.  The Burr King is a fine machine.  You may give it some thought.  You can find used Wiltons but you have to be Johnny on the spot.  They dont last long.
A belt grinder can be a big investment compared to a grinder.  You could you just build one.  If you can build a gun, a belt grinder is a walk in the park.
Oh yea, I think a belt grinder is an intrinsically safer machine to use, although I have given myself a manicure more than once on mine.
Ed

[Long Ears]

X2 on the belt grinder, 2X72". I never turn on my grinder anymore. Bob

[Nordnecker]

I have a 6" wilton bench grinder and a 2x72 belt grinder. They both get used a bit but I could live without either. I also have a 8" Tormek. If I had it to but over again I would consider the Grizzly knock-off. It's about $300 cheaper. What's nice about this kind of grinder is it's slow speed and water cooled. You can hold small parts in your bare hand. It doesn't ever get hot. Although these tools are meant for sharpening, it's pretty handy for shaping small parts. It might be perfect for re-surfacing a frizzen.

[WKevinD]

I have a 1"x42" belt sander/grinder from Grizzley mounted next to a 8" grinder. The 8" grinder is hardly ever turned on anymore.The belt grinder is much more versatile with it being so easy to change belts. 80 grit for metal removal and up to 400 for polish and everything in between. I save worn out belts for misc. clean up tasks.
Kevin

[Ray Settanta]

I have an 8" slow speed grinder from Woodcraft and an 8" water cooled grinder from Grizzly. Neither one gets much hard use but they work well for me. Water cooling is messy but does keep the work cool. Never resurfaced a frizzen or used a variable speed grinder so I can't help you there.

[Bob Roller]

I will be buying a new bench grinder and I would like to hear what the members of this forum find useful.
Specifically, which diameter is best for resurfacing the face of a frizzen: 6" or 8"? And, I see some grinders have a variable speed feature. I assume that comes in handy to prevent overheating of hardened parts. Does anybody here use a variable speed bench grinder? Are they worth the extra cost?

Thanks in advance for your responses,
Satwel

I have 2 Delta 6" bench grinders and one has been modified with shaft extensions that replace the nuts that
hold the wheels on.There may be pictures of this modification on this forum but I don't know where they are.
These extensions hold a medium felt wheel and several different grits of abrasive CLOTH on expanding rubber
wheels.
On the flintlocks I made the 5x1 inch wheels were the best and matched the curvature of the frizzen but are
harder to find. I see none of these in current industrial supply catalogs.

Bob Roller

[n stephenson]

Ditto on the belt grinder and, the occasional manicure/ flesh removal . I also have a couple of bench grinders of different grits that are only used every now and then depending on the task at hand.             Nate

[P.W.Berkuta]

I will be buying a new bench grinder and I would like to hear what the members of this forum find useful.
Specifically, which diameter is best for resurfacing the face of a frizzen: 6" or 8"? And, I see some grinders have a variable speed feature. I assume that comes in handy to prevent overheating of hardened parts. Does anybody here use a variable speed bench grinder? Are they worth the extra cost?

Thanks in advance for your responses,
Satwel

I have a 6" Grizzly grinder for lathe bits & tool shaping. I also have a 1 HP motor that drives a shaft on which is mounted a wire wheel on one end and a old 8"Diamond Saw clam style contact wheel on the other end (seen in background of picture #1) then my "go-to" machine is a Beaumont 2" X 72" belt grinder <https://beaumontmetalworks.com/product/the-kmg-industrial-belt-grinder/> . I purchased the machine without motor for about $850. I highly recommend the Beaumont 2" X 72" belt grinder.




upload a photo on internet

[FDR]

If you are going to go the belt grinder route be sure to look at the Bader BM-2. Lots of accessories available to do just about anything you would want. They come up on e-bay often.

Fred

[satwel]

Thanks for all the thoughtful responses. Looks like I need to start investigating belt grinders and the Tormek system. I've never used a belt grinder so they weren't a consideration. I'm glad I asked what people find the most useful.

Cheers,
Satwel

[David Rase]

I use my Sears 9" disc sander / 1" x 42" belt sander combo unit all the time.  My 6" bench grinder is used less frequently.  Like Bob mentioned, the bench grinder is used more for frizzen face shaping than anything else. 
David   

[BOB HILL]

I use a Delta 1"x42" belt sander. It also has an 8" disc that I hardly use. I love the 1" belt and use it all the time. The only problem I ever had with it was that one of the idler wheels wore out and they don't make a replacement anymore. The bearing was good just the plastic wheel shot. I turned a new one from a piece of hard wood and put the bearing in it. Still using it. Like so many have already said, I rarely use my bench grinder anymore.     Bob

[Chris Evrard]

Finally a thread I can contribute to!

I build about 500 locks a year (for Chambers) and this Kalamazoo 2X48 is my bread and butter

https://www.elitemetaltools.com/tool-shop/products/kalamazoo-2-combination-sander-7-grinding-wheel-2sk7?sku=2SK7&gclid=CPOm5oTpw9QCFc5MDQodofQPJQ

With an assortment of 36, 60, 120, 180 and 320 grit belts, there​ isn't anything I cannot do lock-wise. The contact wheel is 5", which works great for a variety of frizzen faces. The wheel on the other side has been fitted (on mine) with a 3M EXL deburring wheel which has a million uses, and makes quick work of polishing out hardened parts and springs.

Kalamazoo also makes a model without the wheel on the left and it is about half the price, if memory serves.

Best

CE

[Bob Roller]

I use my Sears 9" disc sander / 1" x 42" belt sander combo unit all the time.  My 6" bench grinder is used less frequently.  Like Bob mentioned, the bench grinder is used more for frizzen face shaping than anything else. 
David

It's also good for sharpening drills and with the extension shafts and expanding rubber wheels
it will do a variety of polishing jobs from tiny screw heads to mainsprings and sear springs.
My approach to lock making is much different than others use and I am a bit fussy about the
small details of such a mechanism than is seen in production work.
Charlie Lawson was a tool and die maker for DeLaval Turbine (Adel)here in Huntington and
he didn't like production work and always said he had a hard time getting one thing alike
much less two.I'm the same way and when he passed away his widow gave me a lot of his
tools so they would be used by someone who appreciates them.
My lock and trigger making is now depending on whatever material I have in the shop to
make them from.I have no plans after that.The air conditioner is now the most important
machine I own and it's an Amana 41 years old.

Bob Roller

[3 swans]

Hello. I have both KMG- Beaumont 2 x 72 and the Bader BM-2. My KMG has the control box for variable speed, the Bador is only 1 speed. I would not trade my KMG for anything. Both machines are good, nothing wrong with Bador. Some knife maker friends of mine have used Badors for 40 years. They have tried my KMG and have purchased them also, but they get high dollar for their work. As stated above you can find Badors for sale. The one I have I paid $500.00 with a box of goodies. I will say that the KMG machine is very expensive. I use mine for about everything, I also have an assortment of other belt and lapidary things set up. I will check with a few people and see if anyone has anything for sale.

[3 swans]

Heres some info on where to get any type of sanding belts, paper, discs and much more. Supergrit.com. Know as the Red Hill Corp., Gettysburg, PA. Tel.---- 1-717-337-3038. The guy that runs this is all  knowing and he can make you belts for any old machine you cannot find them for, also the ladies that work there are just about as good as the owner. Ck. with them and get on there mailing list. His prices are very good and they ship world wide.

[dogcatcher]

I made a belt sander sort of like this one, but used 2x42 belts   http://shm1858.onstable.com/test/demo/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&lang=en  I added a platen and made a mount to sit it on the bench.  I had planned on making an upright version, but never got around to it. 

I used a 4" grinder as the motor, that came from Harbor Freight as my power source.  It also serves as a 4" grinder, doing double duty. 

Router speed controller https://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/speed_control.html?zoom_highlight=speed+controller   Most of the time the controller works as my speed controller for the router, the grinder and on the homemade sander.  But it also works as the speed controller for a mini lathe that has another grinder as it's power source.