bench grinder question?
 

I was wondering if anyone here knows if you can successfully use a regular grinder on beads. I am looking into buying one from Harbor Freight.

I want to use it to grind down the base of some winestoppers I made so they will fit better with no gaps. That's why I don't really want to invest in an expensive lap grinder because I won't be using it for faceting or any detail work like that.

Are you talking about a grinder like this?

http://www.jbstoolstore.co.uk/site/i...at/BG200XL.jpg

I guess if you could find the correct wheels you could do it, but it would be difficult to get a good flat surface. I'm not sure if they offer the correct wheels for it though.

Yep, that's the kind I'm thinking about getting. I was wondering about the wheels too. I'm assuming the ones that come with it are made for metal. Maybe that would be overkill for glass. Hmmmm...

When grinding glass, you really should keep it wet. It keeps the glass cool, and washes away the grit and stuff.

These grinders are not really designed to be used wet.

Even if you do rig up a water feed, you'll have to make sure that you use the right grinding wheels. The standard wheels that come with these grinders are too course for glass.

Lastly, you need to make sure that you run the grinder at the right speed for working on glass. Most of these grinders are single speed.

Bottom line: These aren't your best choice. You can go ahead and try one, but ....

Malcolm

This is what you are looking for... http://cgi.ebay.com/Lapidary-Arbor-L...QQcmdZViewItem

You need to add a motor and a water tray/drip system

Bench grinder
 

Try Home Depot or Lowes. Lowes has a wet/dry grinder for about $33.00 and you can get other grinding wheels if you don't like the ones that come with it.

If you only intend to use it once, buy it from Harbor Freight.

Thanks for all the great info. I think I'm going to see if harbor freight has a wet/dry grinder. I appreciate all the help!

The wet/dry grinder at HD or Harbor Freight is for tool sharpening...the dry side is like a standard bench grinder and turns at 3450rpm , the wet side turns very slow at about 60rpm. The wet stone gets lopsided if the water trough is left full. You would NOT be happy using this.
$60.00



This may work better depending on what stones will fit it. This is made for wet grinding: Notice the water cups and tray.
$130.00

Search craigslist or ebay for lapidary grinder.

You could use the original bench grinder pictured (at top of thread) with modifications...splash sheild, water tray and drip cups.

This looks like the grinders I used to use to dress carbide cutting tools when I worked in the machine shop. If so, they run at slow speeds, and use diamond wheels.

Malcolm

Listed as turning at 3400rpm, haven't seen in person or used but it is for sharpening bits...Just tryin to throw out ideas?????????