Bench grinder or angle grinder?

[TwinWillows]

I'd go with a good 4.5" angle grinder like a good heavy duty Milwaukee first. With the right grinding wheel it'll cut anything (wood, steel, masonary, etc) anywhere. You can find very thin cutting wheels that will let you remove thin slices of metal.

I had the exact situation w/my hydraulic top link not fitting into a cast boss on my old Oliver plow. A couple of seconds with the angle grinder using one of those thin cutting wheels & everything fit together fine.

[Ken Cunningham]

Which do want to do, just make it fit, or make it fit and look like it was made to fit?

If all you care for is getting it in there then go with the angle grinder and have at it, it will allso go alot faster getting the grinding done.

If your OCD would require you to make it look factory flat like mine does, then go with the bench grinder. Use the side of the wheel. Put a reference mark on the side you will not be grinding, put it flat to the side of the wheel for 3 or 4 seconds then rotate the swivel 180 degrees and grind for the same amount of time. Do the other side the same way and it should come out flat and pretty. Good Luck.

[RobJ]

Originally Posted by mjncad

, plus I use mine extensively for wire brushing with cup wheels.

Ahhh good point, a screw on straight wire, twisted or/or cupped wire will work wonders with removing rust and paint if needed. Just hold on and use gloves!!

[canoetrpr]

Rob - wow! I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a surface grinder. I'm going to go at the swivel eye today or tomorrow with my brand new angle grinder.

I don't need the eye to be flush, I'm just happy to grind it down so that it will fit. I

think that I will have to approach the eye more or less vertically with the angle grinder though much like your surface grinder is doing rather than what I was trying to do yesterday which was going at it at about 15 degrees from the horizontal..

Now I see why a bench grinder might have been better for this :-)

[mjfox6]

Originally Posted by canoetrpr

I bit the bullet and started with a 4.5" Mastercraft angle grinder from Canadian Tire. We don't have HF up here. Mastercraft is about equivalent to crafstman I guess. It was on sale with a whole supply of grinding disks.

Didn't realise that could also use the angle grinder to sharpen my mower blade. Makes sense - just never thought about it :-).

Buy yourself a flap disk to sharpen your lawn mower blades, they are not as aggressive and allow you to better control how much material you are removing.

[Charlesaf3]

Canoe - once you get the hang of it you'll find the angle grinder will get the job done. I use my bench grinder more for sharpening.

But owning both is no bad thing.

And I don't use the dremel much, but there are times when I'm very happy to have it. I find sharpening lawn mower blades without taking them off the deck is easier on the dremel.

[3RRL]

LOL about the surface grinder...
I was lucky and have a couple spares from my old Mold Making shop.

Originally Posted by mjncad

I would like to get a combo 12" disc & 4" x 48" belt grinder/sander next. Either a Grizzly or a Wilton, and it will probably be the Grizzly due to lower costs.

mj,
Good call on the disc grinder and belt sander.
I have those too but as separate tools instead of the combo ones they offer now. Mine are old. But the disc grinder with the right grit paper on it will really remove material as fast or faster than anything. I use it to grind on radii (round off corners) and chamfers. Be very careful with that though, like all the grinders mentioned here. I saw one of my guys lose a thumb in one second. He was grinding a flat wear plate and got it sucked in between the wheel and the table. His thumb followed and there was nothing left to put back on.
I'll never forget that since I was standing right next to him when it happened.

[jeffinsgf]

Originally Posted by Ken Cunningham

Which do want to do, just make it fit, or make it fit and look like it was made to fit?

If all you care for is getting it in there then go with the angle grinder and have at it, it will allso go alot faster getting the grinding done.

If your OCD would require you to make it look factory flat like mine does, then go with the bench grinder. Use the side of the wheel. Put a reference mark on the side you will not be grinding, put it flat to the side of the wheel for 3 or 4 seconds then rotate the swivel 180 degrees and grind for the same amount of time. Do the other side the same way and it should come out flat and pretty. Good Luck.

That is some seriously dangerous advice. DO NOT EVER use the side of a bench grinder wheel. It will blow up -- not the first time you do it, maybe not even the thousandth time you do it, but it will blow up. This is the voice of experience talking here. Sure, I read the warnings and knew that I wasn't supposed to do it, but it seemed like the right thing to do for the job at hand --- something quite similar to what Ken is suggesting --- creating a nice flat surface. Luckily, I was standing to the side of the grinder when the wheel flew into about 50 pieces, the largest of which was about one third of the wheel, which impaled itself in the sheetrock on the far side of the room.

[canoetrpr]

Anyone know what a "Wet and Dry" grinder is?

The local Canadian tire has a standard dry grinder.

And then it has this wet and dry grinder

[Charlesaf3]

wet dry is good for sharpening - the water bath helps you avoid burning your edges - you don't want to get metal too hot or it loses its temper.