A bench grinder is not a simple tool like a chisel or a screwdriver. If this powerful machine is available at your workshop or home and set up correctly, you can use it for several purposes like grinding, sharpening of metal objects, cutting, buffing, and a few others. Let’s know the different uses of a bench grinder in detail.
Different Parts of Bench Grinder
Before knowing several applications of bench grinders, let’s first know what are different parts of this machine and what is their functionality. Knowing the different components of the machine will make you more knowledgeable about it. It may also help you to make an informed buying decision. when you want to choose a bench grinder.
The Motor
You will find the motor of a bench grinder in the middle section of this machine It determines how versatile the machine is. The strength of a bench grinder’s motor is expressed in horsepower. Its unit is RPM or revolutions per minute The horsepower indicates the number of revolutions per minute of a bench grinder grinding wheels undergoes. The average speed of grinding wheels is 3000 to 3600 rpm. Grinding wheels with higher rpm get a job done faster than that of a slow grinding wheel.
Wheel Guards
As the name suggests, this component of a bench grinder protects the user from the fragments of exploding wheels. While operating a bench grinder, incidents like the explosion of grinding wheels are not unlikely. Wheel guards then act as safeguard to protect the user from flying debris. Another use of wheel guards is while a bench grinder is running, it produces a lot of wood fragments and sparks. Wheel guards then block these flying objects. Usually, a wheel guard covers the two-third portion of a wheel. The guard also protects the user’s finger from the wheel.
Grinding wheels
The wheel is the main component of a bench grinder that does the actual grinding task. A bench grinder wheel mentioned its max rpm in its cover. Running the wheel exceeding its rpm is an extremely dangerous practice. It causes the wheel to explode resulting in severe injury and even death. Wheels are made of different types of materials and they come with different grits allowing users to do different functions.
Eye Shield
This component is another protective arrangement to protect the user’s face and eyes so that they don’t come in direct contact with flying debris. This part is mounted right over the grinding wheel.
Tool Rest
The functionality of this component is holding a workpiece in place while a bench grinder is running. The tool rest is also useful to hold the workpiece for a few seconds if you need to adjust the speed of the wheel or change the wheel.
Different Uses of a Bench Grinder
Grinding
Bench grinders use grindstone wheels to remove materials from a workpiece. Overtime grindstone wheels wear out which causes loss of its efficiency. Also, stones that are designed for grinding hard materials like steel should not be used for grinding softer materials like Aluminum. While grinding, move your workpiece back and forth constantly to avoid heat build-up. The building of heat will stop your work prematurely. Grinding stones with coarse-grit are useful to avoid heat build-up during the grinding process.
Sharpening
Bench grinders are highly useful to sharpen metallic objects. The sharpening process is also quite simple. Set the speed of the grinding wheel preferably lower speed to get better efficiency and place the workpiece against the wheel. Bench grinders are excellent sharpening tools that can sharpen different objects like knives, lawnmowers, chisels, and saw blades.
Cutting
Bench grinders can cut both wooden objects and metal objects. The cutting process is holding the workpiece tightly with the tool rest and then rotate it slowly towards the grinder surface. When the part of the workpiece that you want to cut gets contact with the grinding surface, continue turning the workpiece until it is divided into two parts.
Buffing
It is a process applied to metal objects to keep them not becoming blunt and helps to retain their texture. It’s a process of regular cleaning of metal objects. For the buffing process, bench grinders use a wheel which is called a buffing wheel. During the buffing process, you needed to keep the metal objects cool by dipping it in water.
Removing Rust
Meta objects tend to rust quickly if they are exposed to humid conditions. Rusting of metals shortening the life span of metal objects. The assuring news is bench grinders can remove rust from your metal objects and thus saves them for wearing out quickly.
Polishing
Polishing is useful to give your metal or wood workpiece a finishing touch. Hold the material you want to polish firmly with the grinding wheel. Throughout the polishing process, hold the material firmly to get uniform polishing in your workpiece.