1/2HP vs. 1HP GRINDER

[Randy Heinemann]

I assume that a 1/2 HP slow speed grinder is fine for turning tool sharpening? I see the difference in price between a 1/2 and 1HP grinder (Rikon for example) is $199 and $319. It doesn’t seem as if a 1HP Is needed.

I also saw a Buktool slow speed grinder with one wheel 1” and the other 1 1/2”. Don’t know the brand. It’s probably Chinese. Is the 1 1/2” wheel on one side useful? What about the brand?

 

[Brian Gustin]

I have a Rikon 1/2 HP, and as far as I can even tell it is plenty fine for sharpening - It does take a while to spin up with the CBN Wheels on it (Though if you give wheels a spin by hand before turning on, it helps) It holds up just as well as the 3/4 HP Craftsman 8 inch grinder I used to use for lawnmower blade sharpening, and since turning tool grinding really doesn't put much of a load on things, I think 1/2 HP is quite sufficient for that. IMHO

 

[Steve Nix]

I have both. I used the 1/2 Hp for 8 years before getting a 1 Hp.. the 1 hp will get to full speed faster , other than that the 1/2 will do anything the 1 hp will do.

 

[JeffSmith]

Been using the no-name Woodcraft 1/2 hp grinder for well over a decade now. Does it take a while to start two steel cbn wheels? Yep. Do I keep telling myself that I’ll replace it when it dies with a 1hp? Yep. Does it show the smallest sign of dying? Nope. At this point I’m admiring the little grinder that could and telling myself there’s no need to even think about replacing this thing with anything more powerful.

edit to the above - its been 16 years since I bought that grinder - started out with the cheap white wheels. Switched to cbn wheels 10 years ago.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Anyone own or have heard of Bucktool? The plusses of this grinder versus something like a Rikon is that the Bucktool has a 3/4 HP motor instead of 1/2 and comes equipped with one 1 1/2" wheel (which could be be replaced by a 1 1/2" CBN wheel. All the reviews on Amazon seem to be great, including customer service. However, I've never heard of the company. Got any feedback?

 

[Dean Center]

HP ratings are set by the marketing department. IMHO you are better off with the name brand product than a no-name clone machine of unknown provenance. If you watch for sales, you can probably get that Rikon at a tolerable price. 2-4 weeks before Father's Day is a common time for those sales to crop up.

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

I assume that a 1/2 HP slow speed grinder is fine for turning tool sharpening? I see the difference in price between a 1/2 and 1HP grinder (Rikon for example) is $199 and $319. It doesn’t seem as if a 1HP Is needed.

I also saw a Buktool slow speed grinder with one wheel 1” and the other 1 1/2”. Don’t know the brand. It’s probably Chinese. Is the 1 1/2” wheel on one side useful? What about the brand?

The question of 1/2 HP: versus 1 HP has come up several times in the past few years. I have had a 1/2 HP Rikon for several years and would not pay a dollar more to trade up to the 1 HP unit for turning tool sharpening. Maybe I would if I were sharpening mower blades. I ran an experiment using a junk scraper and found that it takes far more tool pressure to slow down the grinder than would ever be used in practice. Regarding the start time, It is much less than the time it takes to put a tool in a jig or adjust a rest. Otherwise,, just leave the motor running.

 

[Earl McLain]

I bought the 1 hp, for the start up speed. In practice, as Dennis noted, I could just as easily turn the machine on and in the few seconds it takes to set my tool depth I’d be at full speed. Just depends on what you want and how you work.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I have a 1/2hp Wen 8” slow speed. Just just as well as the 1/2hp Rikon my turning club has.

Take a look at Ken Rizzo’s stuff for a grinder/cbn wheel kit, many options:

Build Your Own Bundles – Wood Turners Wonders

woodturnerswonders.com

 

[robo hippy]

I am not an electrician, but, my 3/4 hp Baldor slow speed grinder runs at 4.6 amps. The 1 hp Rikon runs at 7 amps. They both come up to speed in about the same amount of time. The 'up to speed times are pretty much identical. When I turn them off, the Rikon runs for about 2:30 before a noise, which I guess is a brake sounds, and then is pretty much at complete stop. The Baldor comes to a complete stop in 20 seconds. Most of the time, sharpening is just a brush across the surface/bevel of what ever tool I am using. I do round off the bottoms of all the bevels on my tools. This requires pressure. As a former production turner, I can't do that with the smaller and weaker motor grinders. I do not like the wheels to spin so long after I turn the grinder off. When using the Rikon, I do rub/round the heel off to bring the wheel to a complete stop. Have a friend who got a 3/4 slow speed grinder at an estate sale for $150. Major score! I would guess they are over $1000 now. Oh, first thing I did with the Rikon grinder was to remove the light. Totally worthless.

robo hippy

 

[Randy Heinemann]

I should add that I do most of my sharpening on a Tormek - gouges and scrapers, and some wood chisels, etc. I mostly want the additonal grinder for reshaping or if the edge of a tool is particularly nicked. I have done some of that on the Tormek with a 300 grit diamond wheel but it's a lengthly processs and I get bored with it. Anyway, I'm really looking for a grinder that will complement my Tormek, since the Tormke does a great job on gouges and scrapers, especially with a 600 grit diamond wheel.

 

[Doug Freeman]

@Randy Heinemann I do the same, with a Griz wet grinder and tormek jigs. I use a tormek bgm-100 tool arm/mount at the bench grinder. You dont want cbn wheels on the bench grinder. I think the coarsest wheel is 80gr. I use a 46gr norton 3x stone wheel for shaping. The other side has a platform and an 80gr norton 3x I use for scrapers and other flat tools. Could be a cbn but I got a good deal on rock wheels so I use ‘em.

 

[Dean Center]

I should add that I do most of my sharpening on a Tormek - gouges and scrapers, and some wood chisels, etc. I mostly want the additonal grinder for reshaping or if the edge of a tool is particularly nicked. I have done some of that on the Tormek with a 300 grit diamond wheel but it's a lengthly processs and I get bored with it. Anyway, I'm really looking for a grinder that will complement my Tormek, since the Tormke does a great job on gouges and scrapers, especially with a 600 grit diamond wheel.

With this sporadic, specialized kind of use, any old grinder, including something high speed from a garage sale would be fine.

 

[Bob Sheppard]

I am not an electrician, but, my 3/4 hp Baldor slow speed grinder runs at 4.6 amps. The 1 hp Rikon runs at 7 amps. They both come up to speed in about the same amount of time. The 'up to speed times are pretty much identical. When I turn them off, the Rikon runs for about 2:30 before a noise, which I guess is a brake sounds, and then is pretty much at complete stop. The Baldor comes to a complete stop in 20 seconds. Most of the time, sharpening is just a brush across the surface/bevel of what ever tool I am using. I do round off the bottoms of all the bevels on my tools. This requires pressure. As a former production turner, I can't do that with the smaller and weaker motor grinders. I do not like the wheels to spin so long after I turn the grinder off. When using the Rikon, I do rub/round the heel off to bring the wheel to a complete stop. Have a friend who got a 3/4 slow speed grinder at an estate sale for $150. Major score! I would guess they are over $1000 now. Oh, first thing I did with the Rikon grinder was to remove the light. Totally worthless.

robo hippy

My 7" Baldor slow speed runs forever after it's switched off, probably a couple of minutes. Does yours have some kind of brake?

 

[robo hippy]

I would guess that my Baldor does have a brake of some sort. There is a definite 'clink' type sound on the Rikon when it gets down to a certain speed. Don't hear anything from the Baldor.

robo hippy

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

I would guess that my Baldor does have a brake of some sort. There is a definite 'clink' type sound on the Rikon when it gets down to a certain speed. Don't hear anything from the Baldor.

robo hippy

That would be the centrifugal switch reconnecting the starting winding and starting capacitor back in for the next startup.

 

[Steven Borruso]

I have the Bucktool 3/4 HP grinder that comes with one wheel wider. Bought it new late in 2022. Put CBN wheels on it right off the bat. Since the shaft is longer on the wider wheel side you need
to use both spacers that come with the grinder for the one wider CBN wheel. Love the grinder ... spins up fast ... plenty of power ... has a nice LED gooseneck light, good price from Bucktoo, etc. . I use a Wolverine Verigrind setup to sharpen. Will post a pick later on wider wheel shaft spacer deal.

 

[Richard Coers]

People who have 1/2hp grinders with 2 CBN wheels speak of slow starting because of the weight of the wheels. Most go with 1hp.

 

[John DeSalvo]

Does anyone have an opinion on changing a Tormek over to a CBN wheel so you don't need water? I don't turn everyday, so I empty the water trough after each day to prevent rust on the stone. I think I might sharpen more if I didn't have to deal with the water.

 

[hughie]

I have a second hand 8" AEG 550watt that I fitted CBN to from old guy getting out of the woody game 2700rpm and a very old Atlas 2140 model 6" with horizontal hone on top 1400rpm 3.4hp it was bought back in the 1960's. Both well and wouldnt part with either of them. It really is down to personal choice, either will do the job. I would probably go with what suits your back pocket.

 

[Brian Gustin]

if I could afford a Tormek, I'd probably splurge on the diamond wheel - I don't believe it requires water? (other than for cooling lesser grades of steel?)

 

[Doug Freeman]

A club member put a cbn on his tormek several years ago. Works well, but he mentioned last week he was wishing it was diamond so he could use water. His reasoning was the steel dust would be contained by the water. Water mess, steel dust mess, 6 one way 1/2 dozen the other.

I dont turn every day, but leave the water in the trough on my Griz wet grinder. Yes the stone gets pretty well cemented on the shaft (at some point tormek went to SS), but the stone isn’t that difficult to break off when its time to replace. With the amount of water the stone sucks up I’m not sure dumping the water each time is that much of a prevention measure. Takes maybe a day for the water to evaporate below the stone.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Does anyone have an opinion on changing a Tormek over to a CBN wheel so you don't need water? I don't turn everyday, so I empty the water trough after each day to prevent rust on the stone. I think I might sharpen more if I didn't have to deal with the water.

I don't know anything about CBN wheels, but I use Tormek's diamond wheels on my Tormek. Water is still recommended by Tormek for the diamond wheels along with the Tormek Anti-Corrosion Concentrate. I'm sure that Woodturners Wonders would know the answer to that question or an online company called Sharpening Supplies. Both sell CBN wheels and Tormek wheels.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

People who have 1/2hp grinders with 2 CBN wheels speak of slow starting because of the weight of the wheels. Most go with 1hp.

How slow to get to speed can it be? Unless you're a production turner or woodworker, I can't see that waiting a bit would make much difference.

 

[Richard Morgan]

How slow to get to speed can it be? Unless you're a production turner or woodworker, I can't see that waiting a bit would make much difference.

My 1/2 hp Rikon with CBN wheels gets up to speed in less than 5 seconds, probably more like 3, I hasn't bothered me enough to time it.

 

[Doug Agee]

I also have a 1/2 hp Rikon with CBN wheels. The start up time does not bother me. And, in a small workshop, the weight and size of the 1/2 hp was a plus for me.

 

[Steven Borruso]

My BuckTool 3/4 hp with 2 WoodTurners Wonders CBN wheels (180-and 350 grit) also spins up to speed in the matter of a couple seconds.
As I said above, since one of the shafts on the BuckTool is longer that the other (and not threaded all the way to the arbor stop, the right side required basically a spacer to take up the
unthreaded portion. I just used the 2 "coned washers" that came with the grinder which held the orig stone wheels ..... very happy with the setup ...

 

[Bill Blasic]

Back a few years when it was nigh impossible to find a reasonably priced slow speed grinder Rikon came out with the 1/2 HP slow speed grinder. I bought one for $99. This was and still is the best running grinder I have ever setup. Upon setup the grinder ran perfectly true out of the box. I added two CBN wheels and yes it took a few more seconds to wind up (that was okay with me) but when shut off it took about 13 minutes to quit turning.

 

[Richard Morgan]

Back a few years when it was nigh impossible to find a reasonably priced slow speed grinder Rikon came out with the 1/2 HP slow speed grinder. I bought one for $99. This was and still is the best running grinder I have ever setup. Upon setup the grinder ran perfectly true out of the box. I added two CBN wheels and yes it took a few more seconds to wind up (that was okay with me) but when shut off it took about 13 minutes to quit turning.

Yes, they do take a long time to wind down. That is sometimes an issue if I want to change the settings on my sharpening jib. I keep a small piece of leather beside the grinder to gently press against on wheel to slow it in those cases, but usually I just let it turn and go back to the lathe.

 

[Randy Heinemann]

Are there any 1/2 or 3/4 HP grinders which have braking to stop the wheels quicker? I might consider that as I never like having a tool run for long periods of time after shutoff. Otherwise, I think I will likely buy a Build Your Own set from Wood Turners Wonders with the Rikon 1/2 HP and 2 CBN wheels. Seems like that is the most sensible for me. The startup time (or, for that matter, the shutdown time isn't a deal killer). Plus, from WTW I'd be sure of quality and that I can get advice and support if needed.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

I have a Rikon 1/2 hp slow speed and it does fine. I grab the CBN wheel and give it a pull to get it started then turn it on. I saw a couple of days ago Woodturners Wonders has a Rikon slow speed with any two CBN wheels they sell for $399. That seems like a great deal to me.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Are there any 1/2 or 3/4 HP grinders which have braking to stop the wheels quicker? I might consider that as I never like having a tool run for long periods of time after shutoff.

There might be some industrial level grinders with brakes but will be very hi $. Most of the cbn wheels have a smooth rim on the inside that can be rubbed for braking - fingers (what I do), hold a piece of leather, etc.

 

[Tom Gall]

There might be some industrial level grinders with brakes but will be very hi $. Most of the cbn wheels have a smooth rim on the inside that can be rubbed for braking - fingers (what I do), hold a piece of leather, etc.

I rarely find the need to stop the wheels quickly ... but when I do I use one of the crepe rubbers bars used to clean sanding belts and discs to act as a brake.

 

[Richard Coers]

Are there any 1/2 or 3/4 HP grinders which have braking to stop the wheels quicker? I might consider that as I never like having a tool run for long periods of time after shutoff. Otherwise, I think I will likely buy a Build Your Own set from Wood Turners Wonders with the Rikon 1/2 HP and 2 CBN wheels. Seems like that is the most sensible for me. The startup time (or, for that matter, the shutdown time isn't a deal killer). Plus, from WTW I'd be sure of quality and that I can get advice and support if needed.

If you had brakes on a grinder, you would have trouble with the mass of the wheels loosing the nut.

 

[robo hippy]

I just use the heel of the bevel on what ever tool I am sharpening. I have heard of some that keep the grinder running while turning. I will not do that. I consider it a safety precaution.

robo hippy

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

If you had brakes on a grinder, you would have trouble with the mass of the wheels loosing the nut.

Excellent point!

 

[john lucas]

I always grind the heel off my bevels. I sharpen then turn the grinder off. Remove my tool from the wolverine if I'm using it and had grind the heel away. That slows the wheel down enough that the grinder doesnt run too long.

 

[Dennis Weiner]

I go to the grinder, sharpen my tools, and go back to turning. Who cares what the grinder does after?