Re: 6" vs. 6" grinder

George--

I've split the difference -- I use a 7" Baldor which I bought for around $200.00. I also use the Oneway balancing rig. Before that I had a cheap import 8" grinder with 7" wheels.

The Baldor properly balanced is a pleasure to use. It is quiet, smooth,... I grind pretty frequently and sometimes when I go back to it, I find it is still spinning down.

This grinder has a 5/8" shaft and many of the imports use a 1/2" shaft. Is this a factor? I don't know. Are better bearings a factor? Don't know. But it sure runs sweetly.

Bill

George Tanty wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

Woodcraft has an excellent 8" slow speed (1700rpm) grinder for around $100.00. I've owned one for several years and I have been very satisfied with it. Runs very smooth and true with little or no vibration. Mine is not even bolted down.

You do want the slower speed for grinding and I don't think slower than

Can't comment on the Jet, as I don't know anyone whe owns one.

LD

There are a couple that I know of. Sears has a variable speed 6" for 70 bucks that goes down to 2000 RPM, which gives a slightly lower surface speed than an 8" at 1750,

and Delta has a similar model which normally costs about the same but is currently on sale for some absurdly low price at Lowes Delta clearance, if you can find one in stock--ignore the prices on the Web site--they're still showing the Delta midi lathe at twice what I paid for it.

Of the two, the Delta is the better deal simply because it comes with fine and coarse wheels and it the fine one is white, while the Sears comes with a fine gray wheel and a wire brush. Add the Lowes sale price on top of that and it's pretty hard to beat.

Get a Tormec. Makes all others pale in comparison. Doesn't ruin the temper and once I have the tools sharpened, successive sharpening takes about 5 minutes. I now turn with only razor sharp tools. Spoilled, I guess. Keith

Wet wheels still have the same maintenance problems as with dry grinders. e.g.: wheel need dressing and truing etc. and the wheel will need replacing every so often. Many woodturners have badly shaped tools or have bought new tools that need re-shaping, in this case the wet wheels will take considerable time to create the new edge, and also cause a lot of valuable wheel wastage.

Not everyone can justify the expense of the wet system and all the jigs. A good dry grinder will work extremely well and when you have honed the tool after grinding, the edge will be just as good as any wet wheel. As for ruining the temper: HSS will not lose the temper below red hot, but I advocate frequent dipping of the tool into water (with a little soluble oil to stop corrosion) to keep the heat down below 200 deg C or touch heat.