I got a tool grinder a little while back when Horrible Freight put them on
sale:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46727
It's the Asian knock off of the Baldor tool grinder. The machine is fine,
actually better than I expected. Very heavy and solid, no
vibration. Unfortunately the grinding wheels leave a lot to be
desired. When I checked various tool catalogs to see about replacements,
they all said green silicon carbide wheels were for carbide only, not tool
steel. One catalog does list an aluminum oxide wheel which will work,
although it's about three times as much as the green wheels.
I did notice when I tried to grind tool steel on the Chinese wheels the
tool left black streaks on the wheel face and gave it a kind of glazed
appearance. I also have an American made green wheel on my bench grinder,
and I haven't noticed this happening with steel tools.
Any suggestions? I got the machine mostly to grind HSS tools with, as the
adjustable tables give you a lot more control over the angles, but if the
wheel selection is going to be limited it may not work out as well as I
hoped.
Thanks
Dave C
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