John Martin Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I finally got around to assembling the bench grinder that I got for christmas. 6in. variable speed with light. Duracraft. It works like a charm and makes my life so much easier, I already sharpened all of our axes and hatchets, i sharpened all of my spike knives, and i also elimnated mushrooming on many of the axes and some of my hammers. Very please with duracraft. Had a little bit of trouble at first with making it one smooth edge on the axes, but I got it. Still have lots to practice to get good at it. Any comments on how to improve grinding skills and sharpening. Note: I finished all of the edges with files after I put on as sharp of a edge as I could with the grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 the only thing I can think of is making some jigs to help sharpening. Something to use as a guide. Some I have seen slide back and forth, like for chisels to get a really even grind across. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerald Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Practice will help with controlling how the work piece contacts the wheel. Be careful that you don't over-heat your work piece by grinding away for lomg periods. Also, for goodnes sake, remember that the grinding wheel takes off hide, meat, and even bone much quicker than it will remove metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainsFire Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 as do wire wheels.. possibly even faster.. congrats mate, grinders make a serious difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millwright Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Also, for goodnes sake, remember that the grinding wheel takes off hide, meat, and even bone much quicker than it will remove metal. Also remember that the sparks from grinding are hot enough to light any bottle rockets you might have stored on the workbench.....please do not ask me why I know this, but a whistling moon traveler sounds just like a catostropic grinding wheel failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evfreek Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Nothing like a nice big pedestal grinder for cleaning up those tools, but remember that it is dangerous to grind anything heaver than the wheel. The bouncing severely stresses the rock, and these things are fierce when they explode. For dressing big stuff (mushroomed flatter, for instance), the tool of choice is an angle grinder. These wheels are fiberglass laced, and anlthough the dust is unpleasant, wheel breakage is not so scary. It is unlikely that you will get in serious trouble if you: refrain from grinding in notches, discard any dropped wheels, never remove the guards, wear full coverage side shield safety glasses behind a full face shield, use a leather apron and gloves (keep hands away from wheel). I've broken angle grinder wheels before. Scary and hurts (through leather), but I have heard of people dying from exploding pedestal grinder wheels, especially 10" and up. The funny thing was that when I went to a liquidation sale at a fabricator, all the angle grinders (about a dozen) that were on sale had their guards removed and discarded My favorite uses for bench grinders are sharpening drills, touching up chisels (go through a big box when chipping or stone work)., shaping HSS tools, or touching up the bevel on a small homemade knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintjohnbarleycorn Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 there are also a lot of different wheels that you can get, ones for carbide, softer ones for carving tools. The wire brush will shoot out wire "spears" all the time so the full face mask is a must for that. The replies that mention safety should not be ignored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Martin Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 Gerald, it comes with a tray for water, to cool your piece in. I also have a 5 gallon bucket of water next to it. Millwright, I made sure that I kept all of the gas and bottle rockets and fireworks away. Evfreek, I'll keep all that you said in mind and look into getting a angle grinder. To all, I have a full face mask, then shatterproof safety glasses. I know the dangers of the grinder and will always try to remember them. Thank-you for telling me some of the other safety musts and dangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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