New Grinder ?

Re: New Grinder ?

john lucas

I like the slow speed but it's personal choice. My grinder has both speeds and I've tried both. I don't see any advantage of the higher speed other than it removes metal faster which can be a problem on some grinds. Easy to take too much off in some areas. On the other hand I've removed a lot of metal on purpose trying to reshape tools and used the slow speed and it works fine. Also takes a fair amount longer to come up to speed on the high speed setting.

I much prefer the 1800 speed for..........

http://JamieDonaldson

...all wheels, and if you are going to install the all metal 8" CBN you need some HP to get them up to speed. The 8" Woodcraft grinders work very well with the aluminum center wheels that Woodturners Wonders sells, but those 1/2 HP motors struggle to start the all steel CBN wheels.

Re: New Grinder ?

Paul grover

Just set up a jet slow speed 8” 1/2 hp grinder for my club. It is smooth and starts up real quick. This will be on my wish list.

Re: New Grinder ?

Bill Blasic

I have the small Rikon for general use with 2 1" X 8" CBN wheels. It takes 9 to 10 seconds to get to full speed which does not bother me in the least. It also takes 10 minutes 44 seconds to wind down to a stop. Can't complain for $99.

Re: New Grinder ?

Mike Schwing

Totally agree with John's response. I have a CBN wheel on a 3850 RPM grinder and a 1750 side by side and I go to the 1750 every time.

Re: New Grinder ?

Paul Grenier

I have 2 CBN wheels on a Rikon 1 hp slow speed grinder and it comes up to speed immediately. I had a high speed grinder and got rid of it.

Re: New Grinder ?

Reed Gray

I have the Rikon 1 hp grinder. About $200. The 1/2 hp grinder just isn't big enough to spin the 1 1/2 inch CBN wheels without a lot of extra wear and tear on the grinder. With the 1 Hp model, I had to put the Wolverine bases on about 5/8 inch of plywood. I also removed the lame which is totally worthless, and took off the rubber feet so it could be bolted down solid to some plywood for transportation purposes. There was about 1/8 inch of rocking between 2 of the feet and had to grind that down for it to sit level. I also had to mess with the wheel housings to get my robo rests to fit up close enough to the wheels. One had to be rotated about 5 minutes counter clock wise to get into position, the other was almost fine. They come up to full speed with the D Way 1 1/2 inch wheels in the same amount of time as my Baldor grinders. Not as quiet, but still a good deal for the money.

robo hippy

Steel vs Aluminum?

John K Jordan

I use CBN wheels on both the 1/2 hp Rikon and 1 hp grinders. Both work OK but the 1 hp does spin up faster.

Those with 1/2hp grinders that seem underpowered may be using steel wheels instead of aluminum. I've heard of people with two heavy steel wheels needing to give the wheels a manual push to get the grinder going. I have no experience with this.

BTW, I keep a stick at the grinders to use as a brake on the side of a wheel to stop the grinders if I'm in a hurry.

JKJ

Re: Steel vs Aluminum?

Dick Hines

I am useing blue Norton wheels on a 3450 rpm Packard grinder. I use the fine wheel and a very light touch.

It was my grandfather's. He sharpened saw blades on it for years. One day it will die and I will go to a slow grinde.