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+-- Thread: 8” Slow speed grinder? (/showthread.php?tid=7371644)
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8” Slow speed grinder? - ajkoontz - 12-16-2022
I’m looking to upgrade an ancient, not very good grinder. This will be used mostly for tool rehab, hollow grinding, general all around grinder, possibly lathe tools in the future. I have a work sharp already and several stones, jigs, etc. I just think I’m ready for a decent grinder.
I’m considering the Rikon 8”, currently about $150 at Rockler, or the Hercules, currently about $110 at HF. Leaning toward the Hercules right now. I’ll probably put different wheels or one CBN wheel on whatever I buy.
Thoughts on either of these two, or suggestions on another? I’m willing to pay more if it makes a big difference, but I’d like to keep it under $200 if possible.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - Maple Leaf - 12-16-2022
I've owned the Rikon for awhile, and it's fine. Harbor Freight actually makes some decent smaller electric tools. Their 6" low speed grinders are generally well thought of. And there are lots of others. But the devil's in some of the details.
Before you buy the grinder, do your research. Both 5/8" (Rikon and others) and 1/2" (lots of others) arbor diameters are common. Either is fine, and there doesn't seem to be a standard. Euro stuff will usually be metric, and that's another possible complication. The issue is to match the ID of your future CBN wheel to your new grinder. Similar research is warranted for tool rests, etc. that you'd want to integrate into your completed system down the road.
You'll learn a lot from the research. Think about it before you buy anything, but don't over think it. You'll get a better system for less money.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - Aram - 12-16-2022
I bought the 1/2 HP Rikon and a 180 grit CBN wheel last year from Woodturnerswonders.com. Love it. Quiet and stable, no wobble whatsoever.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - iclark - 12-16-2022
Woodturning Wonders has a line of lighter weight CBN wheels that they developed for the 1/2hp grinders. I have not tried them, but they seem to get good reviews.
Putting 2 full-weight CBN wheels on a 1/2hp grinder seems to put a strain on the motor and it can take a while to spin up.
I started with a no-name, 2-speed, 1/2hp 8" grinder from Woodcraft. It was fine with the stone wheels once I got rid of the plastic shaft adapters that came with the wheels and changed to metal bushings. That grinder is still in use at my niece's shop in FL.
I upgraded to the 1hp Rikon from Woodturning Wonders with a pair of CBN wheels. It costs more than you want to spend, but I have been very happy with it.
I installed the Wolverine system on each grinder. Once I modified the flat tool rest to fit the wheels (minimize the gap between the wheel and the top edge of the rest table), the system has worked well for me.
I would have added the Wolverine version of RoboHippy's tool rest but it went out of production shortly before my budget would let me buy one.
One reason for the 1hp is that I like the CBN wheels with the flat surface on the outside of the wheel and the 1" flat surface on the side of the wheel. That style wheel has more mass for that extended thickness and takes extra oomph to spin it up.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - Arlin Eastman - 12-21-2022
It maybe be me but I would not get another slow speed grinder from Rikon anyway unless it has more HP. Mine bogs down and stops all the time with just a light touch.
Seriously for turning tools it really should not matter if you are using a soft touch and taking if off and on the grinder and keeping water handy just in case. It was an issue for the old steels but not much of an issue with the new ones.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - Arlin Eastman - 12-21-2022
(12-16-2022, 10:21 PM)Aram Wrote: I bought the 1/2 HP Rikon and a 180 grit CBN wheel last year from Woodturnerswonders.com. Love it. Quiet and stable, no wobble whatsoever.
That is where I got mine 4 years ago. Love their CBNs and wobble washers are the best.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - Derek Cohen - 12-22-2022
I have two 1 hp half-speed 8" bench grinders, one of which is a Rikon. The other is a Carbatec/Axminster, which drives two CBN wheels, and does so easily. The Rikon would also do so, if required. I would not want less hp than this.
![[Image: 3.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/r8Q6MHwM/3.jpg)
Regards from Perth
Derek
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - Bob Vaughan - 12-22-2022
(12-16-2022, 08:02 PM)ajkoontz Wrote: I’m looking to upgrade an ancient, not very good grinder. This will be used mostly for tool rehab, hollow grinding, general all around grinder, possibly lathe tools in the future. I have a work sharp already and several stones, jigs, etc. I just think I’m ready for a decent grinder.
I’m considering the Rikon 8”, currently about $150 at Rockler, or the Hercules, currently about $110 at HF. Leaning toward the Hercules right now. I’ll probably put different wheels or one CBN wheel on whatever I buy.
Thoughts on either of these two, or suggestions on another? I’m willing to pay more if it makes a big difference, but I’d like to keep it under $200 if possible.
Just to see where these Chinese grinders are in the hierarchy of bench grinders, Google: Baldor 8" grinder. The disclosure will give you a good idea of what you're not getting as far as quality goes. Being perfectly happy with a $3.00 hammer doesn't change the fact that its a $3.00 hammer, if you get my drift.
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - ajkoontz - 12-23-2022
I'm aware that Baldor is the gold standard in grinders, but it's out of my budget at least for now. I've always had hand me down crap grinders and I just want an upgrade, but I'll spend a -little- more if it gets me into a grinder that will never let me down.
Based on comments here and some more reasearch, I'm now leaning toward the Rikon 1HP. This is probably more than I'll ever need so this could be my forever grinder. Looks like woodturnerswonder has good pricing and I can save a little if I buy a CBN wheel. So.......
What's the concensus on what CBN wheel to buy???
I'm thinking get a coarse wheel (maybe 80 grit?) with the ginder, and put a white wheel on the other side for now. Later, add a fine grit CBN wheel. Am I thinking correctly here or should I start with a fine CBN wheel (or something else)????
RE: 8” Slow speed grinder? - iclark - 12-23-2022
(12-23-2022, 11:33 AM)ajkoontz Wrote: I'm aware that Baldor is the gold standard in grinders, but it's out of my budget at least for now. I've always had hand me down crap grinders and I just want an upgrade, but I'll spend a -little- more if it gets me into a grinder that will never let me down.
Based on comments here and some more reasearch, I'm now leaning toward the Rikon 1HP. This is probably more than I'll ever need so this could be my forever grinder. Looks like woodturnerswonder has good pricing and I can save a little if I buy a CBN wheel. So.......
What's the concensus on what CBN wheel to buy???
I'm thinking get a coarse wheel (maybe 80 grit?) with the ginder, and put a white wheel on the other side for now. Later, add a fine grit CBN wheel. Am I thinking correctly here or should I start with a fine CBN wheel (or something else)????
I got that 1hp grinder with a 1000 grit MegaSquare CBN wheel. I like the grinder and the profile of the megasquare wheel. The 1000grit wheel is probably one step finer than what I really want (even for turning gouges). It is a good grit for skews, but I rarely go back to a grinder for skews (frequent honing with a pocket-sized diamond thingy).
I put a 60grit megasquare on the other side. It is definitely too coarse for turning tools, but it should be about right when I start rehabbing the old chisels that are filling a bench drawer.
If you put a stone on other side, be sure to get a metal sleeve adapter for the shaft diameter. The plastic adapter stack that come with the stone wheels are an abomination. Plus one for the recommendations of the wobble washers.