Is the following bench grinder one of the better choices for plane irons and miscellaneous use? I was concerned that it might not be slow enough. Should I be concerned, or just careful (cup of water nearby..)?
Bill
Delta 8 Inch Variable-Speed Grinder with Tool-less Quick ChangeSpecifications:
I have a 1725rpm grinder with 8" white wheels. It is far superior to my old 3450rpm 6" grinder but it will still burn plane and chisel iron if I push it. Just be careful and, yes, a cup of water is quite helpful. The only thing I can think of that would be better is a water cooled wheel like a tormek. But I'm too cheap for that. Art
never sharpened a plane iron, but I'm a turner and do LOTS of sharpening... I'm very happy with this one:
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speed, well made and comes with 2 wheels (wheels are worth at least $30 each) So, for $20 or $30 plus shipping, you get two nice wheels with a grinder attached..
The slower speed (1725) is good. More importantly, what are the wheel material and what grit(s)? I like aluminum oxide and 100/200 grit for most tasks. A gooseneck incandescent lamp is a good improvement for any grinder.
Sure. I have the same one and after some modifications and adjustments--it's great.
When I got mine I had several issues that needed to be corrected.
1) Turn the thing on and it would shake the whole bench it was mounted to. Some of this could initially be dealt with by adjusting the speed. But the shaking was damaging all the light bulbs I put into the lamp. Easy fix for that was to switch from regular light bulbs to ones designed for use in a ceiling fan. Apparently the filaments in those are more sturdy.
2) Replaced the coarsest wheel with 120 grit. I use my grinder for both establishing an initial bevel on chisels and plane blades, but I also use it for sharpening turning tools.
3) To solve the shaking problem I first tried truing up the wheels with the dressing tool. Small improvement, but not enough. To completely solve the problem I had to balance the grinding wheels. To do that I used the Oneway Balancing System[1]. I had no problems getting the Oneway system to work with the new 120G wheel I added, but had to modify the remaining original wheel that came with the grinder. The wheels that came with my grinder have a plastic insert that's glued into the center of the wheel that reduce the center to fit the 5/8" shaft. I had to drill that plastic out so that the wheel could fit on to the Oneway balancing hub.
So yes, it is a decent grinder and the variable speed is a great feature. But if your grinder is like mine, it's going to take some additional work and purchases to get it working properly.
At its slowest speed you can still overheat something if you leave it there long enough. I go with what I'm feeling through my fingers. If it is too hot to hold onto, then it's time to dunk it in some water.
The problem with those water cooled wheels is they turn slowly and in turn remove material slowly. If you're looking to put a new bevel on a chisel or plane blade, you'll be there for quite awhile.
I have both the 8" variable speed grinder from Delta and an older Delta water cooled grinder with a 10" wheel. The only thing I'm using the 10" water cooled wheel for is to touch up the edges on some skew chisel turning tools.
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