# Excellent grinder for the money.



## reggiek

I hardly use my grinder for turning tools…..it is mostly used on garden tools and for fixing dings in chisels and plane blades….for actual sharpening I am much more comfortable with diamond or water stones and a strop….I would be interested in seeing how the wolverine works? I've only seen one used on junk steel tools and it was a dismal failure there (overheating…removing too much material…I taught the user to sharpen on stones and recommended he get a set of decent turning tools) - so I would not recommend it for chinese steel tools….would like to see it on HSS or PM and see if it can put a good burr on the bevel.


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## dbhost

No problem with heat, or getting turning tools good and sharp. I am wondering since you were overheating, were you using the white or blue wheels, or did you use a grinder with OEM gray wheels? Those gray wheels grind HOT… And a paranoid light touch helps there, You can't just drop the tool onto the wheel and expect good results. A very light touch, a white or blue wheel that is properly dressed and round, and proper alignment have always resulted in good sharpness for my turning tools. Now it's not at the same type of sharpness I use for my planes and chisels (I use the Scary Sharp method), but it certainly works very well…


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## reggiek

I believe that he had the white wheel. I don't know if he ever dressed it though….I have a diamond dresser for my grinder….and even with the garden tools, I use a premium white wheel….I use wet/dry sandpaper for the honing on them…then a leather wheel on the other side of the grinder for the final hone…...never have a problem with dull pruning shears, mowers and such.

I like doing my turning tools by hand though….more then even on my slow turning grinder - it is still to fast for my taste…..I like to see the burr develop…and to make sure the bevel does not round…things go too fast with a grinder….and it's too easy to ruin an edge if you are not right on the wheel…or if the wheel gets out of true. There are probably too many sharpening methods out there - all of them will get you to a sharp edge if done correctly….it is what you feel comfortable with that is the correct one. I like stones because they are cheap and fairly quick - plus a stone will last almost forever if taken care of….I have some that are 20+ years old and still working great.


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## dbhost

Excellent point. Yes, technique is critical to not ruining your tools when sharpening, no matter what method you use, and yes, a powered grinder, or sharpener of any sort can make quick work of your tools with the wrong technique… I haven't managed to mangle turning tools with a grinder, but I have had some problems with plane irons…


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## TheGravedigger

I've been freehand sharpening my turning tools on a grinder since 1988, and have no problems with HSS as long as you use a light touch and stay away from the grey wheels. I use a slow-speed dry grinder and the old Del Stubbs technique of laying the tool on two stacked fingers and working by feel. Yes, it's a bit of a trick to learn, but has served me well. The biggest concern is on the long point of skew chisels, where you tend to get heat buildup.

I'll use a stone to refine the edge of skew chisels, and for finish cuts with spindle gouges, but that's about it. Bowl gouges take such a pounding that I see no point in refining an edge that I'm going to have to retouch in about 10 minutes or so. I've found that frequent touch-ups on the grinder work better than less frequent hard grindings. Also, the grinder gives a good burr to scrapers or the edge of bowl gouges used inverted for skew-scraping.

One thing I WOULD like to add is a pair of good-quality adjustable tool rests that can be set up and left for things like bowl scrapers. Lee Valley has a nice one: http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=32973&cat=1,43072,45938


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## jbertelson

I think the Norton bushing thing has been beat up here a couple of time on LJ's. Interesting that they still haven't fixed it. I have a grinder…...mmmmmmmmmm…30 years old?.......nothing good or fine comes near it….....(-:

I am not even into sharpening things…...too much a newbie. At least I am done, I think, with work, for about 2.5 weeks. Sitting here recovering from the day's events, meaning work…....just got home. I am way overdue for a vacation, so this is let down time. But I still have to pack, but I have a day to do it. Leave on Saturday. I should be following things here on LJ's, the condos all seem to have internet these days. First few days I spend in the Sheraton in Seattle at a conference…......then off to Maui for 12 days….....ahhhhhhhhh…...........

Later….....

Jim


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## Abbott

I can speak for the machine itself as I have used one that I purchased at Home Depot for the past 5 or 6 years. It is a good light duty home shop grinder that I have had no problems with. Your new one has a few more doo-dads then mine does such as 2 lights (instead of one on an adjustable boom) and the magnifier glass shield. The tool rests also use a different adjustment method on the new model posted here but the basic machine and engine appear to be the same.

I like mine and have removed one of the wheels and replaced it with a wire brush. I use mine to sharpen drill bits, grind small metal parts and clean up welds (with the wire brush) and clean parts to a nice shine. I have found it to be just powerful enough to be a good all around grinder and I have no plans (or needs) to upgrade any time soon. For the price of $65.00 I agree with the OP that it is a good buy.


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## horshu

I'm new to this website so hope I'm doing this correctly. My question is exactly which size McMaster bushing did you use to replace the norton plastic bushings. I also have the Ryobi grinder BGH827


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## dbhost

I hope the part #s from McMaster Carr stayed the same, but when I got mine, I got a 5/8" ID, 1" wide, 1" OD flangeless bushing item #8491A562. They worked perfectly for me.


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## horshu

great, thanks. One other question, which grit do most use for their oxide grinding wheels. I'm assuming that one grit for one side and a different grit for the other


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## dbhost

I got my Norton wheels from http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Norton-White-Grinding-Wheel-P38C20.aspx in 2 grits, 100 and 150. I use the 150 most of the time, with a very light touch. Mind you, I am usually just touching up the edge on turning tools. This would actually make for painful work sharpening lawn mower blades and whatnot… These are the grits that were recommended by the local turning club. I guess 60 grit would be better for fast material removal, but I wasn't planning on aggressive grinding with mine….

I should have kept the BGH-616 for more coarse grinding tasks…


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## AKSteve

I just bought the same grinder today, it was easy to put together and I really like the magnified lens and the lights. I sharpened all of my chisels today and it worked excellent, the ginder has and easy start up and runs really smooth once it gets up to speed. the price was right in my range.


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## Homunculus

I just picked up the new green version of this from the dreaded orange store for cheap. I also use 8" Norton 100 grit white oxide wheels and had some trouble getting it to run without wobble. The Norton wheels I had were sized for a large arbor and then has 3 shims that set inside each other to get down to a 5/8" arbor. This appears to be an issue with the stackable arbor shims, not with the grinder. The 36 and 60 grit wheels that shipped with the grinder ran pretty true (a tiny bit of wobble but didnt affect performance or add vibration), it's just the side to side flex that the shims allow that can cause a problem when tightening.


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