Grinder recommendations for tool sharpening

[darkzero]

That Jet is a serious grinder! @Aukai has one, too, and he made a solid platen for his, too. It is difficult to overstate how important a solid platen is. I do hope you're planning to include a platen liner, Will. It will reduce wear significantly over time.

Yes, I'm using Pyroceram. I'm just using mild steel for the backing plate though & not ground tool steel like you did. Will be overkill for my needs. Nice job on yours!

Of course I will post a thread on it.

 

[GrayTech]

I prefer a bench grinder to a belt sander because it offers coarse and fine wheels which gets me closer to the required finish before honing. It's pretty easy to make a tool rest and it does not have to be attached to the grinder itself, it can be mounted to the bench or stand. I do sometimes use a belt sander 40 - 80 grit to hog off material to get closer to the desired angles, it's faster, especially with ceramic belts.

 

[MalR]

So I see my first issue, I have no tool rests on my grinder. Thats not an option so I think I am to the cross roads of getting something new to grind my tools but I think out of everything I have read, I would be able to control the belt sander the best at this point.

A bench grinder without a tool rest is useless for tool grinding and is probably a safety hazard. If you bought it new you could question the vendor. I use a bench grinder for lathe tools and drills a lot but you need a toolrest. I also have a cheap belt grinder which is very limited in its as-built design. So yeah, it’s decision time. Either spend on a decent belt grinder or mod your bench grinder with a decent toolrest. If you’ve only got a few tools to grind the most cost effective will be a rigid toolrest for your bench grinder - it can be mounted on the bench if the grinder doesn’t have mounting points.

Mal

 

[fishingreg]

I, and others, have looked for a belt sander that would meet the requirements for tool grinding and they are hard to find. Actually, any belt sander can grind a tool but adapting the tool rest to produce precise angles is the issue. I do know that the one I use can be easily adapted but that exact one is no longer made. A replacement with a slightly weaker motor IS available here; I own this one, too and I know it will work. If you go for this one, there are a few caveats.

First, you have to use ceramic belts. At 1/3hp, the motor is not strong enough to grind tools with if you use standard aluminum oxide belts; it will bog down. However, the ceramic belts cut so well that the grinder is fully capable of grinding HSS lathe tools and I have confirmed this myself. Amazon carries the Red Label brand and I can testify that they are superb belts that work well for our purposes. I use the 36 grit for shaping and 80 for removing coarse grind marks but you might want to try their assortment pack to see what works for you if you go this route.

Second, you need to make a decent tool rest and ideally use a ceramic glass platen liner. For what it's worth, this article discusses the rationale behind this opinion and how I made mine.

Finally, I suggest you use a wax stick lubricant when grinding HSS on these belt sanders. Just touch the stick to the belt for a few seconds to lubricate the belt and improve the function of the belt. This wax prolongs the life of the belt significantly.

Belt sanders make tool grinding so much easier. It isn't that a bench grinder won't work; it works well if you know how to use them. I used a bench grinder for tool grinding for over a decade so I know how it works but speaking just for myself, after grinding hundreds of lathe tools, it is my opinion that the belt sander is vastly superior for tool grinding provided you modify the tool rest and attend to that platen liner thing.

Thanks Mikey, I do appreciate your detailed help. I had read your article on the platen and table upgrade prior and will likely get the one your recommended and work on the upgrades. I don't have all the fab tools at this time to make a table much better than what it comes with but I will over time so I think if I start with the one you mentioned and do the platen upgrade I bet I can manage to get by with the current table since I am just sharpening right now and not making tools from blanks. Then once I get some other tools to make parts for a table I can put something together to make it a bit more user friendly and stronger. Thank you again!

 

[mikey]

Thanks Mikey, I do appreciate your detailed help. I had read your article on the platen and table upgrade prior and will likely get the one your recommended and work on the upgrades. I don't have all the fab tools at this time to make a table much better than what it comes with but I will over time so I think if I start with the one you mentioned and do the platen upgrade I bet I can manage to get by with the current table since I am just sharpening right now and not making tools from blanks. Then once I get some other tools to make parts for a table I can put something together to make it a bit more user friendly and stronger. Thank you again!

Another option is to build a 2x72 belt sander. Lots of guys have done it and some have done it for cheap. If this interests you, start a thread and see where it goes. I have so many things on my plate right now but when I get some free time, I am going to build one, too. They are vastly more capable of tool grinding than a 2x42 but you have to be able to fabricate. If that is an issue then the 2x42 is a viable option.

 

[mickri]

I had to make one modification to my belt sander. While the table will tilt there was no protractor scale to use to set the tilt and the table was held in place with a bolt and nut. Had to have a wrench on each end to tighten it. Needed a third hand to hold the combo square to set the tilt angle. I tack welded the bolt in place. Now one hand to tighten the nut and one hand to hold the square and table



This is how I use the combo square to set the tilt.



Not matter what belt sander you get, you will be able to make it work.

 

[RWanke]

This is the one I recently bought through Amazon. Palmgren 2" x 42" Belt, 6" Disc bench finishing machine. So far I am quite happy with it. I bought some different belts (very fine grits but have not tried them yet). I have ground a couple bits, including the one I used to cut some internal and external threads and they worked great.

 

[Flyinfool]

You said it twice. You do NOT have any tool rest at all. Regardless of if you are using a belt sander or a grinder, there is no way you will ever sharpen bits decently without a rest. I would whip up something to use as a rest on your current grinder before trying anything else. Even a bad rest is far better than no rest. It has to be real close to impossible to dress the wheel without a rest for the truing device (whether you use your stone or a dressing wheel) to sit on to hold it steady.

 

[NortonDommi]

If I can trow 2 cents in, don't use your bench grinder for anything but tools. If you want to dress rough cut metal put it in a vice and use an angle grinder. You can dress a wheel just right and grinding tools it will only need a occasional touch-up, hog rough metal and that wheel is now useless for anything else without a lot of work.

 

[bakrch]

This will probably sell for a million dollars, but Accu-Finish grinders are my favorite by far. Not great for roughing considering their low speed (diamond wheel), but perfect for touch-ups or finishing after being shaped on a bench grinder.

Been looking for one of these for ages, but always out of my price range.

That link will be dead one day, so here is a picture just in case one catches your eye at a garage sale or something.