By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more
Forum sponsored by:
Forum sponsored by Forum House Ad Zone

Bench grinder

All Topics | Latest Posts

Search for:  in Thread Title in  
Peewee03/04/2011 17:13:41
11 forum posts

Hi,

i am in the market for a new bench grinder. does anyone know what the Record 6 or 8 inch grinders are like? or alternately any other recommendations.

cheers Ian

Raymond Anderson03/04/2011 17:41:57
avatar
785 forum posts
152 photos
Creusen are superb, a bit more pricey than the Record but so smooth running, and last for ever[the machine not the wheels]
Regards,
Raymond Anderson.
Tony Pratt 104/04/2011 09:09:07
2319 forum posts
13 photos
Ian,
I second Creusen you will only need to buy one! I bought 2 far eastern grinders before and they were not good, I gave up trying to "improve" them and bought quality which I should have done in the first place.
Tony
Peewee04/04/2011 16:34:57
11 forum posts

Thank you for the info, much appreciated. I was think of Creusen but thought they may bee a bit flash. if its to be Creusen would you go for the bigger HP7200 or the smaller HP7150. the difference is half the power and 6" wheels instead of 8".

Cheers Ian

Tony Pratt 104/04/2011 16:53:38
2319 forum posts
13 photos
Ian, they are not flash they are properly engineered and manufactured to a decent quality, something of a rarity these days. Size is really up to you, I have a HP7150 and it does everything I need, do you really need a 8" grinder?
Tony
Gray6204/04/2011 18:20:36
1058 forum posts
16 photos
Hi Ian,
I have had a Clarke 6" grinder for many years an dit has served me well however, I have recently acquired a Creusen 8" grinder and cannot believe the difference. I really thought the Clarke was quite a smooth running machine, and for the price it is!. That said, the Creusen is like moving up from a Ford to a Jag, smoothness is in the eye of the beholder .
 
My Clarke has now been passed o to my Son-in-Law and I now enjoy the luxury of a precision machine.
 
All said, I was able to grind lathe tools with sufficient accuracy to produce acceptable results with the Clarke grinder, providing the wheels were adequately dressed.
 
So it all depends on your requirements. Record are a well respected tool manufacturer. I have one of their woodwrking lathes and have no complaints.
 
It really comes down to a decision on price and expectation.
Sorry if I am, sitting on the fence but so may posts on this forum end up recommending the most expensive solution when the requirement is nowhere near that level of expectation.
chris stephens04/04/2011 18:56:28
1049 forum posts
1 photos
Hi Guys,
Not that I wish to malign a respected company like Record, but a friend bought an 8inch Record grinder a few years back and it as not up to the quality that the name once assured. It did not even have any paper washers under the wheels retaining flanges! Even once that oversight was rectified, no amount of truing the wheels would stop it vibrating excessively.
He bought a Creusen 8 inch as a replacement and is delighted with it.
I hope the Record lack of quality was a one off but with modern manufacturing and marketing practice I fear it may not be. I have a feeling that their grinders are not their own manufacture but "badge engineered", but I could be wrong on that issue.
 
Quite often the quality of the work rest is an indication of the whole machine, if they are flimsy there is a likelihood that so is the machine.
 
Whatever the make you finally select, try to see the actual machine you want to buy running before parting with your hard earned. It's a bit of an imposition I know but it is easier to reject something before buying than after.
chriStephens
Tony Pratt 104/04/2011 19:27:24
2319 forum posts
13 photos
Hi Chris, I think the term is badge engineering? I presume Record like many other companies are buying stuff from our Eastern cousins and sticking a "Record" badge on it which I suppose is also not made by Record. Starrett is I believe ruining their reputation in America for this type of practice, you pay their prices but don't get their quality, a bad deal in my book.
Tony
chris stephens04/04/2011 21:32:13
1049 forum posts
1 photos
Hi Tony,
You are of course perfectly correct, it looked wrong when I typed it, but I let it pass.
It is a shame that the great names find it necessary to follow that path. Getting things made cheaply by a cheap work force is one thing, but then dropping to cheap quality as well is just greed. What ever happened to having pride in your products?
chriStephens
Tony Pratt 104/04/2011 21:46:08
2319 forum posts
13 photos
This came up on another forum and got me thinking, China, India and the rest can make quality stuff far cheaper than we can for many reasons that I won't go into but why is much of it such utter rubbish, it can only be corporate greed at the highest level? We are now a throwaway society in an era when we are meant to be preserving our environment / resources etc a definite conflict of interests there. Sorry if I am drifting OT.
Tony
Steve Garnett04/04/2011 22:09:22
837 forum posts
27 photos
Posted by Tony Pratt 1 on 04/04/2011 21:46:08:
China, India and the rest can make quality stuff far cheaper than we can for many reasons that I won't go into but why is much of it such utter rubbish, it can only be corporate greed at the highest level?

That's what happens when you let bean-counters run your company. They cost a lot of money...

Ian S C05/04/2011 12:06:37
avatar
7468 forum posts
230 photos
When I was in UK in 1984, Iwas talking to a bloke in a retail tool shop in Sheffield, he was saying that he had been made redundant from Records factory, and that there production had been moved to the East, ie., China think is what he said, he did not seen very happy at all. Ian S C
CJW05/04/2011 12:35:27
10 forum posts
Of course he could have meant Rotherham.
 
Chris
CJW05/04/2011 12:40:07
10 forum posts
Of course he could have meant Rotherham.
 
Chris
Peewee05/04/2011 13:21:35
11 forum posts
Cheers for the comments, i think it will be a 6" Creusen.
 
Intresting comments on Record, i have one of their Disk Sanders and not had any issues, they are also one of the few companies to offer a 5 year waranty.
 
Ian
chris stephens05/04/2011 15:29:59
1049 forum posts
1 photos
Hi Ian,
I suspect that their disc and belt sanders are also Oriental, but the issues of vibration and wheel fitting are nothing like as important. Neither belts nor discs have anything like the destructive force of a failed grinding wheel. I have both a large and a small disc/belt sanders (at least 15/20 yrs old) of oriental manufacture, and have not had the slightest problem with them, it's just the nature of the beast.
Vibration can be a problem for Model Engineers who use their grinders for accurate work using a separate work rest, such as Mr H. Hall's one. Generally it is best not to have the grinder shimmying all over the bench, while the rest is stationary.
chriStephens
PS on the warranty issue, you are paying more for that, compared to some of the other usual sellers.
Terryd05/04/2011 21:08:43
avatar
1946 forum posts
179 photos
Posted by chris stephens on 05/04/2011 15:29:59:
Hi Ian,
................ Generally it is best not to have the grinder shimmying all over the bench, while the rest is stationary.
chriStephens
 
 
Hi Chris,
 
I wouldn't like to use a grinder that is not bolted down, or at least mounted on a board which can be securely clamped, but I shudder at the thought of that even. I remember some of the videos shown to us apprentices when we went on the grindstone mounting course - scary. I think it was at Carborundum, but couldn't be certain about that after all these years.
 
I had a 6" (German built) grinder from Aldi which was beautifully balanced once new wheels were fitted.
 
Regards
 
Terry
chris stephens05/04/2011 21:57:34
1049 forum posts
1 photos
Hi Terry,
Notice the smiley face of a wink after the sentence? Its there for a purpose!
 
Of course a grinder should be screwed down, but they often have rubber feet and if you screw them down too tightly the rubber ceases to have a useful effect. This rubber isolation does rather spoil things, if vibration is excessive, when using a separate work rest as opposed to one that is part of the machine. Which was the point I was trying to make.
 
Of my collection of grinders, I have one cheapy that is fitted with a decent quality white Alox wheel that is so smooth that it does not need to be screwed down, although if I ever do get around to using it I shall naturally retain it with screws. I like to test grinders by not screwing them down when truing its wheels, as it gives you a better perspective of how things are running. This truing I usually do with the grinder sitting on the floor, so there is no chance of it wobbling of the bench and hitting the floor.
As I said, I do screw down the ones I do use, so there is no need to try to pick me up on that point.
"that's all for now folks, back to the asylum"
chriStephens

All Topics | Latest Posts

Please login to post a reply.

Magazine Locator

Want the latest issue of Model Engineer or Model Engineers' Workshop? Use our magazine locator links to find your nearest stockist!

Find Model Engineer & Model Engineers' Workshop

Sign up to our Newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter and get a free digital issue.

You can unsubscribe at anytime. View our privacy policy at www.mortons.co.uk/privacy

Latest Forum Posts
Support Our Partners
cowells
Sarik
MERIDIENNE EXHIBITIONS LTD
Shopping Partners
Subscription Offer

Latest "For Sale" Ads
Latest "Wanted" Ads
Get In Touch!

Do you want to contact the Model Engineer and Model Engineers' Workshop team?

You can contact us by phone, mail or email about the magazines including becoming a contributor, submitting reader's letters or making queries about articles. You can also get in touch about this website, advertising or other general issues.

Click THIS LINK for full contact details.

For subscription issues please see THIS LINK.

Digital Back Issues

Social Media online

'Like' us on Facebook
Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter
 Twitter Logo

Pin us on Pinterest

 

Donate

donate