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Grinding wheel for Harbor Freight Tool Grinder

techymechy

Aluminum
Joined
Oct 24, 2018
I bought this HF tool grinder about 10 years ago. Kids, Job, move, etc. - I haven't had time to do anything in the shop.

Kids are graduating from college, job is easier - now I'm trying to get started back in the shop.

I'm trying to use my HF tool grinder (the green one that looks like the Baldor grinder) to sharpen M2 HSS tools for my lathe. It has the green wheels on it and there has to be a better wheel for this grinder. My grinder runs surprisingly smooth and seems like it should work well. The green wheels are difficult to use on HSS tools.

I read that I should use white wheels (aluminum oxide) wheels. I saw this one on eBay:

CGW Plate Mounted Grinding Wheel- Size: 6"x 1"x 4" Grit: 46-K, White AO | eBay

This is a hobby for me and I really don't want to put $200 into a wheel. Is this the correct type of wheel to purchase for my needs? I'm going to make sure that guy will take it back if it doesn't fit my grinder or if it is grossly out of balance.

I know people bad mouth the HF grinder, but I guess I'm lucky. I think my grinder runs smooth and seems to be a good deal for my needs. I just need to get a better wheel.

Thanks for your help.

Dave
 
I read that I should use white wheels (aluminum oxide) wheels. I saw this one on eBay:

CGW Plate Mounted Grinding Wheel- Size: 6"x 1"x 4" Grit: 46-K, White AO | eBay
You gotta be kidding. Take a crescent wrench to the nut on the end of the shaft. Depending on which end of the grinder it's on, might be left hand thread. Take off the nut and the flange and then the wheel.

That's the size you want. And it's no damn $200 either.

Make sure to use a blotter (the cardboard thingy between the wheel and the flange) when you put it back together. You can cut them out of card stock if you need to. You don't want the flanges to crush up against the wheel itself.

Many people put a green wheel on one side for carbide and a white wheel on the other for high speed, but if you don't do any carbide, can do a coarse and fine, for rough and finish grinding. Too fine of a wheel and the tool will heat up like a sumbitch and burn your little fingers, so it's useful to have one of each.

Harbor Freight has nothing to do with it, it's just a dumb motor.
 
I bought this HF tool grinder about 10 years ago. Kids, Job, move, etc. - I haven't had time to do anything in the shop.

Kids are graduating from college, job is easier - now I'm trying to get started back in the shop.

I'm trying to use my HF tool grinder (the green one that looks like the Baldor grinder) to sharpen M2 HSS tools for my lathe. It has the green wheels on it and there has to be a better wheel for this grinder. My grinder runs surprisingly smooth and seems like it should work well. The green wheels are difficult to use on HSS tools.

I read that I should use white wheels (aluminum oxide) wheels. I saw this one on eBay:

CGW Plate Mounted Grinding Wheel- Size: 6"x 1"x 4" Grit: 46-K, White AO | eBay

This is a hobby for me and I really don't want to put $200 into a wheel. Is this the correct type of wheel to purchase for my needs? I'm going to make sure that guy will take it back if it doesn't fit my grinder or if it is grossly out of balance.

I know people bad mouth the HF grinder, but I guess I'm lucky. I think my grinder runs smooth and seems to be a good deal for my needs. I just need to get a better wheel.

Thanks for your help.

Dave

Commodity" bench grinders usually come out of the box with "close to" a 30 grit one side, 60 grit the other - both ignorant grey Aluminium Oxide, and dirt-cheap, same places you buy the grinders.

That combo WILL shape (the coarser grit wheel) and sharpen (the finer grit wheel) M2 & M42 well-enough.

Might want to get used to that first.

"Green grit", historically, was a highly-friable bonding of Silicon Carbide.

That makes it constantly present sharpish edges as the old abrasive particles break-down.

But wear really fast.

That combo worked OK to shape early Tungsten-Carbide cutting-tools.

Nooo it wouldn't be a good match to HSS.
 
looks like which Baldor grinder?

the green one that looks like the Baldor grinder

Baldor makes a wide assortment of grinders.

The wheel you link to fits this type of grinder:
Baldor 500 6" Tool Grinder, 115 Volt Baldor carbide Grinder No.500 | eBay
If this what you have, the CGW wheel should be fine

If your grinder looks like this:
Baldor-712B 7In 1/2HP 3600RPM Grinder ... 781568126950 | eBay
You will not be able to mount the CGW wheel, and you should get this in the appropriate size for your grinder:
Norton White Aluminum Oxide Grinding Wheels-6" Grinding Wheels | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

CarlBoyd
 
Search for plate mounted grinding wheel

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...13&_nkw=PLATE+MOUNTED+GRINDING+WHEEL&_sacat=0

You don't use a blotter but do cross tighten, hand start all to finger tight, then tighten two across from each other, and then the other two. . Use a new condition screwdriver the fills the slot for width and length.
White wheels are best for most HHS work and some pink wheels are good. Brown AO wheels hold up perhaps the longest but require a harder push. It is difficult to find variety in grits and grades with not going to a major wheel house like Radick or Norton, and then you pay big bucks for the wheel.
The wheel mounts with not a blotter. Diamond wheels are mounted with shims behind the plate to accomplish .002or less face run-out, this is ao at the end of wheel life you waste less diamonds. A plastic shield can be fudged up to protect your indicator point.

Use good condition screws so the screw fills the thread, this will help the longer life of the wheel mount.

QT: (X) [Take a crescent wrench to the nut on the end of the shaft. Depending on which end of the grinder it's on, might be left hand thread. Take off the nut and the flange and then the wheel.]

I think that is not a good idea to remove the wheel mount for changing a wheel on this type of grinder, very often the wheel hub is left in place and only the 4 wheel mount screws are used to change wheels. Hand holding the wheel is plenty of holding, use a glove if having fragile hands.
 
Sigh. It'd be better if your described what you actually had in the beginning.

btw, those aren't worth shit for high speed steel. Wheels run too slow, they're meant for brazed carbide. Just get a nice $50 pedestal or bench grinder, that's what you shouuld be using anyhow. Put the other thing back in its box.
 








 
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