Uses for a bench grinder?

Off-topic Chatter
1

Hey lads seeing as we have a lot budding machinist on here can some one direct in what i can use my bench grinder for?

Now i know sharpening is number 1. I redone my knife bevel free hand yesterday after my last test in my clone buck testing series. I bent the blade after trying to baton wood. I went over it with the grinder then by hand with a sharpening kit taking away the buckled parts. I will make the blade even again and clean by sanding it down soon.

You can see the video here i show the blade at the end. I had photo of how bad the blade was but they are gone from my phone.

No more bend after i goofed it lol
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Any ways this is all well and good but what other uses can i use the bench grinder for? I always thought i could shape steel on one? Maybe make a square piece of copper round? Shave a few cm to make some thing fit? After using it to create a new bevel no way you can use the sharpen a knife properly. Maybe an axe you could get away with . I had dreams of grinding down flashlight parts like LED centering rings lol. One thing i can do is shape my circlip pliers finally make them fit.

I am not always moding lights but i am usually mucking around with some!

2017 i am learning how to weld using only a high powered flahlight.

Any tips on grinding hahahaha this fits in with my want wood thread :stuck_out_tongue: or welding are welcome.

2

You have to be extra careful using a bench grinder to sharpen a knife. The heat builds up quickly and will ruin the temper before you realize whats going on. Also if you use it to grind copper you can clog up your wheel.

3

Yea because copper is softer? You can get a scraper thing to clean the wheel?

4

Use it with a buffing wheel and compound. They are great for shining things up.

5

second the buffing wheel. I have a wire wheel too, super useful.

6

Copper is softer and you can clean up the wheel after grinding copper, however you sometimes end up having to be pretty aggressive when dressing out the copper clogged wheel. You’ll go through grinding wheels pretty quick and make a lot of aluminum oxide dust along the way. If you’re going to do much copper grinding, you might want to consider getting a spare wheel and keeping one for ferrous metals (Steel) and one for copper.

7

Yea the buffing wheel is on the list. Right now I use my rotary tool using the bench grinder will save so much time.

Yea sounds good I might buy a second disk.

8

If you like to tinker around with stuff, and it sounds like you do, you’ll most likely find lots of things to use your grinder for; they’re sure handy to have around.

9

could make your self of one of these. http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/polishing-tools-accessories/polishing-wheels/screw-holder-gizzie—prod599.aspx

used with grinder to fix buggered threads on a the end of a bolt where the nut won’t start

10

Yea no doubt I just couldn’t find much info on people using one to shape steel or if it’s just easier to use an angle grinder. I have a big vice so I can always use that to hold stuff while I angle grind it. The bench grinder just seems easier.

11

By the way, one of the must useful accessories I’ve found when grinding something like a knife, is a drywall mud pan. Keep it close to your grinder with water in it, and dunk the blade very often to keep it cool. The mud pans work great for this because you can dunk the whole knife in to keep it cool. They come on stainless steel which would be nice, but are sometimes a bit expensive; I’ve always just used the cheaper plastic ones and they last for years.

12

What grit disks do you use?

I like sharpening by hand with my kit I usually finish with either 400 or 800 grit depending on the knife and the bevel angle. The highest grit disk I have seen is 150 I think.

13

It’s been quite a while since I’ve actually done any grinding, I’m retired and live in an apartment with management that frowns on loud noises and plumes of sparks. :smiley: If you’re working on a finished knife then the finest grit and a light hand is usually best.

14

Lol yea grinding could be a slight issue lol. Thanks for the help mate.

15

Totally agree with you. I have people that come into the shop at work and try to use our scissor sharpening wheel to sharpen their knives. It ruins them every time. It is a small grinder with a very fine sharpening wheel on one side and a buffing wheel on the other. It is set at a exact speed for the brand of scissors that we issue to employees and it has a clamp that holds and keeps the blades at an exact angel. If you know how to use it correctly is will sharpen scissors in about 2 minutes and they will be extremely sharp.

They come in thinking it will get their knives just as sharp. The clamp will not work with a knife blade so they have to do it freehand, which means they can't possibly get the angle right, or close on one side then a totally different angle on the other.

Then they bring that mess to me and as long as they didn't grind away half the blade I can usually get it back in decent shape unless they let it get too hot you can tell right away most often by how it looks or sometimes it will still be blazing hot when they bring it to me. In those cases I will not even try. The kit and stones I use are mine lol the company did not buy them. Not wasting good stones on a blade they will never be the same again.

Best knife angle for sharpening are between 17 to 30 degrees. Most would be at 25 degrees. !7 degrees is really more for razor knives, fillet knives ect. Super sharp but not durable enough to cut something like even cardboard. Even using it for something like cardboard would dull it very very fast. 20 degrees is IMHO almost the best for kitchen knives. Super sharp and just a little more durable so in the kitchen it holds up pretty good.

My favorite angle is 25 degrees. With a 5 stone set and a kit or anything to keep you at the correct angle you can get a super sharp edge that will hold it's sharpness extremely well. Cutting most normal things when at work, hunting, fishing,and so on. It is just a really good angle to leave enough metal to keep that edge hard. Every carry knife I own is sharpened at that angle.

30 degrees is really good too, I just never seem to be able to get it quite as sharp as at 25 degrees. If I could I would use it constantly. From 25 to 30 I guess is just a matter of taste I guess..

LOL sorry for rambling on and on. I have been collecting knives all my life. I have more than I can even remember. My daughter has a nice collection as well. I have tried almost everything known.

What I posted works for me, maybe someone will find it of use.

As far as sharpening. From a beginner to someone 50 years old with a couple of hundred blades there is an excellent sharpening set that I found years ago and I still use it today. It makes it almost impossible to miss your angle and the stones hold up well. I will post the website if anyone might be interested. A lot of you may already know of the company. There are also sever other companies now that have a very similar kit, so they probably work as well. I just stick with these guys because of many years of good stones and service as well as advice.

The name of the company is Lansky Click here to go to Lansky Website

This is the kit I have been using for several years now, I do keep a much larger bottle of oil. A new set lasts me several years so I usually just order another kit if a couple of stones start wearing too much. Lansky Deluxe 5 Stone sharpening system.

16

Sorry I got way off topic in my last post.

As far as grinding wheel I don't even use mine anymore. I converted to Dremel a long time ago and I love them. Much less noise and portable.

You could put some buffing pads on it depending on the speed you could use it to buff and polish.

17

threw out/traded/gave away all my diamond hones,stones, and kits when i got my cheapo belt sander. I am now always about two minutes or less away from razor sharp blades. well maybe not razor sharp without a little more effort but really really sharp :slight_smile:

18

I use my 30 year old Delta 8” grinder to sharpen my lawnmower blades, etc. Never a knife though.

19

As long as don't just neglect one of my knives and have to start from scratch to get the edge back, I normally about once every 2 weeks gather only my EDC knives about 5 or 6 that I pick up which ever I think best fits the day and just run the last 3 fine stones about 10 strokes on each side. Takes me about 30 minutes for all of them.

I think to me it is kind of a get away from day to day hassle and the stress from idiots at work that believe "Don't worry Terry will fix it"

We all will have our own way, none are really wrong. As long as whatever someone does is right for them then...... It's right. LOL

20

They don't make them like that anymore.... If you ever think of throwing it out or it is just in your way let me know.... I use my Dremel for almost everything I use to normally use a bench grinder for. And my own gets used very little. But I could find a place on the bench for that...