Slow Speed Bench Grinders in the UK

[markturner]

Hope you dont mind me kind of hijacking the thread....it is related though ! One thing I never understood is why the grinder wheels rotate towards you ? Surely it should be the other way, in case what you are grinding grabs? All the tool rests I see on grinders seem to angle the tool at a tricky angle, push too hard and you are in trouble? What am I missing?

 

[Beau]

Hope you dont mind me kind of hijacking the thread....it is related though ! One thing I never understood is why the grinder wheels rotate towards you ? Surely it should be the other way, in case what you are grinding grabs? All the tool rests I see on grinders seem to angle the tool at a tricky angle, push too hard and you are in trouble? What am I missing?

My gut feeling is it was be easier to overheat the cutting edge with it rotating the other way but I have no evidence for this.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

My gut feeling is it was be easier to overheat the cutting edge with it rotating the other way but I have no evidence for this.

The alternative would be to have the tool and tool rest angled down. The end of the tool being sharpened would be hidden between the tool rest and wheel - there is a far better line of sight with the tool angled above the tool rest.

It would be difficult to see whether the angle was correct for the bevel required, whether the tool was even properly in contact with the wheel and tool rest, and no burr would be formed on the edge which can demonstrate the tool is fully sharpened.

With a bench grinder a certain amount of mechanical sympathy is required to operate it safely - digging a tool into a wheel rotating rapidly is not a good idea irrespective of which way the tool is held.

Whether it makes any difference to the quality of the edge formed - I haven't a clue.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Hope you dont mind me kind of hijacking the thread....it is related though ! One thing I never understood is why the grinder wheels rotate towards you ? Surely it should be the other way, in case what you are grinding grabs? All the tool rests I see on grinders seem to angle the tool at a tricky angle, push too hard and you are in trouble? What am I missing?

I feel that with the wheel moving away from the user is so much safer.

If the blade catches, it simply moves away from the user rather than towards. So for me, this is reason enough for an away moving wheel.

 

[Agent_zed]

Hope you dont mind me kind of hijacking the thread....it is related though ! One thing I never understood is why the grinder wheels rotate towards you ? Surely it should be the other way, in case what you are grinding grabs? All the tool rests I see on grinders seem to angle the tool at a tricky angle, push too hard and you are in trouble? What am I missing?

no idea why it is that way but I haven't heard of loads of problems with accidents etc. I don't recall ever having anything grab on a bench grinder. That's not to say it doesn't happen but I personally have never had it happen (touch wood and all that).

The wet/dry grinder I have (like the one I posted above) has the fast wheel spinning towards as usual and then the slower speed wet wheel spins away. Don't know why though.

 

[ps.harris80]

One of the main reasons for the wheel direction is so that the wheel movement pushes the workpiece into the tool rest, with it moving the other way it will pull the workpiece away from the tool rest.

So it's safer to do it the way all Grinders do it now.

 

[Limey Lurker]

no idea why it is that way but I haven't heard of loads of problems with accidents etc. I don't recall ever having anything grab on a bench grinder. That's not to say it doesn't happen but I personally have never had it happen (touch wood and all that).

The wet/dry grinder I have (like the one I posted above) has the fast wheel spinning towards as usual and then the slower speed wet wheel spins away. Don't know why though.

If a wet wheel, vertical or horizontal, spins toward you, the water will run up the blade and over your hand.

 

[RobNichols]

I've posted before on this forum, but I've had excellent service from Hope Woodturning from whom I bought a slow grinder with 180 grit CBN wheel and later a 6" 80 grit wheel. https://hopewoodturning.co.uk/sharpening-jigs/grinder/?p=1

 

[Fergie 307]

One of the main reasons for the wheel direction is so that the wheel movement pushes the workpiece into the tool rest, with it moving the other way it will pull the workpiece away from the tool rest.

So it's safer to do it the way all Grinders do it now.

And the rest ought to be close to the wheel so that whatever you are grinding cannot get stuck between the two.