Tell me about your bench grinder.....

[MeanGene]

I used to buy a lot of mill & lathe tooling from a guy that bought surplus from Boeing by the pound, used to show up at the swap meets they used to do on the old Alameda Naval Air Station, right down the street from the Hornet- and some was brand new, everything was good. Some of the small drill bits had flexible shafts, you can bend them almost 90 degrees while drilling and they don't break. Only problem was most of the bits are not normal-sized, as they drilled stuff slightly undersized and reamed to fit- so there's a lot of oddball 64ths increments and such.
The sharpest stuff I have is a boxful of dental-quality carbide cutters that had been tossed in the dumpster at the Vet's Home- you talk about sharp and hold an edge...

[tomcat1]

$282. from amazon with free shipping

It's true, the 'vintage' stuff always seem to be of a higher quality... and those gigantic half-horse motors crack me up...!
I checked C-L, nothing there.
I hit all the local pawn shops today, nothing there either.
I priced a quality US-built Metabo grinder, too expensive--- $400...!

So I'll keep looking.

Great feedback from you guys... always interesting to know what's in the other guys' shop...

[Jim D]

If you know a machinist or someone who is into making the small minature motors that operate those folks have there own shows where there is equipment dealers selling used items and auctions. The shows around my area are called Cabin Fever Expo. I have a 8 inch Taiwan grinder that has worked well for over 20 years, a 10 inch 1 hp that you can not gag and a 2 hp with 12 wheels a 1 1/4 inch shaft and about 42 inches between centers which dose not stop for anything. And yes I have been on the wrong side of a big grinder. I also have a copy from South Bend of how to operate your lathe if you are interested.
Thanks Jim D

[28JDCA]

Shopping for an older grinder? You might try Habitat For Humanity's ReStore in your area. Google it.

[Bigincher]

If you know a machinist or someone who is into making the small minature motors that operate those folks have there own shows where there is equipment dealers selling used items and auctions. The shows around my area are called Cabin Fever Expo. I have a 8 inch Taiwan grinder that has worked well for over 20 years, a 10 inch 1 hp that you can not gag and a 2 hp with 12 wheels a 1 1/4 inch shaft and about 42 inches between centers which dose not stop for anything. And yes I have been on the wrong side of a big grinder. I also have a copy from South Bend of how to operate your lathe if you are interested.
Thanks Jim D

Somehow I missed your reply, Jim, sorry.....
Thanks for your generous offer on the S/B book---but I picked up a reprint. While the S/B book is informative, I've found the best instructional/informational book to be from 'Atlas', entited 'Lathe Operation and Machinist Tables', published in 1937. What a great little book..!

[Jim D]

I think that the Atlas book is also in reprint I have 2 copies of it one came with my Atlas 12 inch lathe which is about 1979 vintage.
Thanks Jim D

[Bigincher]

I think that the Atlas book is also in reprint .............

I spent about $40 and got an original. Terrific book..!

[thadssx]

Lets see what everyone is doing for a winter project. I am slamming a streetglide down low and slow with a few of the tiger brothers latest one offs. ok cupcakes tell us what is in store for your winter send pictures if you have.

[Motion]

I agree that finding an older American made unit is the best. You just have to look for a while. My big pedastel 3 phase grinder I bought for $50 and you can hardly tell if it's running. How about another option. Get newer insert tooling for that lathe with a quick change tool post. You will still need to ocassionally grind a tool bit for something custom but 99% of the time an insert will do the job. It does not have to be an Aloris, the "import" set-ups work fine because there are no moving parts, just use good quality inserts.

[axeric]

Lets see what everyone is doing for a winter project. I am slamming a streetglide down low and slow with a few of the tiger brothers latest one offs. ok cupcakes tell us what is in store for your winter send pictures if you have.

Wow! One post and he's banned. I guess someone doesn't like being called a cupcake.