bench grinder

[amstel]

Happy new year to everybody.
Im looking to buy a bench grinder, for sharpening drills etc etc.
Ive looked at screwfix and machine mart, and the one I prefer so far is the Clarke cbg8rsc........1fine 1coarse wheel, 375watts, £58.
What do you think?
any views, or other reccomendations are all appreciated.
Thanks

 

[digdilem]

I bought screwfix's erbaur one last month and am happy enough with it.

Same price as the clarke, near enough.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/69142

They've two almost identical for the same money, but one's been reduced from 80.

Never had a bench grinder before and I got this to re-edge a whole bunch of cold chisels and knives. Did all that in ten minutes easily. Quality seems on par with most erbaur stuff, as in heavy and solid.

Doesn't vibrate much, wheels go round when you push the button - don't know what else to say about it

Also had plenty Clarke stuff which has also been fine, so either would probably be a sensible buy.

 

[ladylola]

Digdilem has pretty much said it all, they seem to be the one piece of kit that's almost impossible to make wrong .
Only thing I can add is to buy one of the softer green wheels as well, it'll sharpen up all your masonary bits. If you try with the standard supplied wheel you'll find that it just overheats and glazes over.

 

[merlin50]

a wet and dry grinder is worth thinking about

 

[joe-90]

You can't sharpen chisels with a bench grinder. You need a wet one then finish by hand. (ooerr missus).

 

[merlin50]

myself its years since i have used a bench grinder to sharpen a drill, unless its under 1/8. I use a bench sander, i find this ends up with a perfect finish. a must for very large drills.

 

[Monkeh]

You can't sharpen chisels with a bench grinder. You need a wet one then finish by hand. (ooerr missus).

They work great for putting the angle back on a broken chisel though. Cheap, too.

These are as good as any other, and cheaper: http://www.wickes.co.uk/250W-Bench-Grinder/invt/186887

 

[Burnerman]

On a slightly different slant, I've got a medium grit wheel on one end and a wire mop on the other - well handy! This is a Machine Mart tool.
For drills I use a 'Drill Doctor' sharpener (Fantastic bit of kit) but I use a whetstone horizontal wheel machine for honing chisels. This is a Draper machine.
John
Sending New Year greetings.

 

[merlin50]

i think you will need two as the wire mop is worth having. never sharpen on the side of a wheel, also do not look for tips on YouTube

 

[ladylola]

I'll second merlin's point about the bench sander. I generally use a sander for my chisels as it's much easier to accidently overheat them on a bench grinder but of course as joe suggests the horizontal wet grinder is about the best for sharpening blades but less versitial as you can't fit a wire wheel.

 

[digdilem]

You can't sharpen chisels with a bench grinder. You need a wet one then finish by hand. (ooerr missus).

I did say cold chisels, not wood chisels