/diy/ - Do It Yourself

That ones got really bad reviews. The speed control fails according to everyone. They have a foredom style rotary tool with a better speed control. Or get a bench grinder. It makes to me to integrate them but I don't think you cam buy one that will hold together.

>>621012
are there any brands of bench grinders you would recommend? I don't have hundreds of $$ to spend, unfortunately.

>>621005
>Harbor Freight Tools: I know there's been a thread on here about them before
A thread? **A** thread?! There's been about five that I can recall.

>Specifically, I was looking at the mini bench grinder (Item#43533). Does anyone have any experience with this particular item
I don't, however I have read good reports more than a few times about that item being OK quality and good enough for a light use cycle.

>or any power tools from HF?
Lots of people are of the opinion that you shouldn't buy anything from HF with a motor in it. Like all extreme positions it's rubbish.

You do take a chance on anything motorised from Harbor Freight but they have a good returns policy don't they? And for every "it broke in 10 minutes story" you can find a happy customer who is 3 years down the road on what they initially expected would be a near-disposable item.

>Should I spring for the $30 grinder or save my pennies for something better down the road? I mainly plan to use this to sharpen woodworking tools.
>I mainly plan to use this to sharpen woodworking tools.
Uh, I feel like I've wasted all my typing above now.... you could do that by hand you know, really easily and cheaply.

If you're not confident in your ability to freehand sharpen (something I'm learning to do myself at the moment) then you can buy or build a jig.

Cheapest commercial jig that's really worth having is about the price of the grinder, the cheapest homemade jobbie will cost you nothing but the time required to made it since it can be made from scrap wood you probably already have around.

I would reccomend just making a knife clamp out of two bits of wood and bolts + wingnuts to do the clamping. then getting sharpenning stones. you really dont want to be using a rotary tool for sharpenning tools. the heat can temper the blade which you dont want.

OP, which tools exactly do you want to sharpen? If you're talking about things like drill bits, then it will work fine. But if you want to sharpen chisels, plane knives, or anything that requires some decent accuracy, then don't use a grinder. If you do intend to sharpen anything like a knife, I highly suggest getting a waterstone and doing your sharpening by hand. It takes longer but the results are worth the time and money.

800/4000 grit water stone
>http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-KING-800-4000-combi-whetstone-sharpening-water-stone-with-NAGURA-/251494543281?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a8e3e2fb1

Flattening stone (for reflattening waterstones after using them)
>http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Waterstone-Flattening-Stone-Keep-Waterstones-True-Flat-New-87444-/251443729032?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a8b36d288

Honing guide (for sharpening bevels/angles)
>http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plane-Iron-Chisel-Blade-Sharpener-Hone-Guide-Angle-Block-Honing-Sharpening-Jig-/110846787254?pt=US_Hand_Tools&hash=item19cefbbeb6

I bought a cheap $5 chisel set from home depot and the edge on those chisels were garbage. They just tore up the wood and did not cut at all. One of the edges on the chisels wasn't even straight, the tip of it was an arch.

I invested the ~$85 on the water and flattening stone and the honing guide, and honestly those should be able to last me a life time. I spent a good couple hours sharpening those chisels I had purchased and now they cut through wood like butter. There are a few good youtube vids regarding using these if you have any interest.

>>621005
Keep an eye on the tools section of Craig's List. The older it is the better it will be. Pic related. I got one of these old Craftsmans, with stand, for $75 off CL. OEM is Delco.

>>621046
I can regularly get my tools razor sharp with a whetstone. It's resetting the bevel on some Japanese gouges that's the issue. I tried doing that by hand on one of them and it took forever with very little progress. I've been warned about them heating up but was told it should be fine if I regularly dip them in water to cool them down (and take it slow, etc...) and many people have done the same with these exact gouges with success.

Unless someone knows a better way that won't take months of doing it by hand...

>>621005
Tat's a good price go ahead and get it. I use mine to shape stainglass, sharpen lawnmover blade, tools, and etc..

anything over 1000 is overkill except in specialized applications like if you need wafer thin vegetables/sushi/planing

law mower blades only really need to go up to 240.

japanese water stones dont go up in grits. they have wapanese names for basically what means course fine and super fine.

get a set of 80- 120 - 240 - 400 - 800
stones. you only need the lower grits if you chip the blade edge. 240- 400 should be fine for pretty much everything else.