Best Placement of Belt Grinder and Disc Grinder on Bench

Dennis Towns

Dennis Towns

Joined
Jun 8, 2006
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250
Here is where I thought I would put grinders. It is a corner, and put the VFD between the belt grinder and disc grinder. Do I want the belt grinder hanging over the edge of the bench? Maybe you can see I built some light brackets and lit it up but might still need something. I have tore my shop apart to redesign it for this adventure. I have a real concern with grinding in my AC area and that is one reason I wanted to do knives is to get off my feet so much and be comfortable doing something. Alot of folks would kill for a shop like I have with all my tools, and I want to get that passion back to be in it. But ya'll have about got me scared to grind in doors at all. Anyway here are 2 pics of that corner. Opinion appreciated how to set up disc and belt grinder. Elbow room ? Off edge or even ? Room between the 2 grinders ? Thanks again for all the help.
 

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I like them not on a bench at all. I mounted mine on pedestals and couldn't be happier. When they were on a bench it was just a pain to clean dust off of it constantly. Now the dust collects on the floor and it's easy to get at with the vacuum.
 
I'd have to agree with kuraki, pedestals are the way to go. I work in a garage where my wife wants to keep her car (ridiculous I know, garages are for tools not cars!!) so I pull mine out and stick it on a pair or saw horses. Not ideal, but having it on my bench it threw sparks all over the place and it was a pain!
 
So if you were me, would you un-wire the belt grinder , fit the VFD with a receptacle so that machines could be fitted with male plugs in order to change them out??? Kuraki, you got any pics of the pedestal ?
 
Here is a link to a grinder photo on a pedestal and you can watch the video to see why you want the grinder on a pedestal or off the edge of the bench...they throw serious sparks. You can set up a spark bong or just a water bucket under the grinder to catch all the steel dust.

https://www.ameribrade.com/
 
cootersplace said:
So if you were me, would you un-wire the belt grinder , fit the VFD with a receptacle so that machines could be fitted with male plugs in order to change them out??? Kuraki, you got any pics of the pedestal ?
Click to expand...
Thats not a bad idea in general. Having them with plugs makes it easy to use the FVD for other tools down the road. A switch would also work, but the plugs are still nice as you can rearrange your setup more easily. I have mine on a bench now, because that's what I had. I have a tiny shop, so I need the bench space for other things. To put my grinder on a pedestal. would require me to make my bench smaller as everything is shoehorned in as is. Future project for me.
 
kuraki said:
I like them not on a bench at all. I mounted mine on pedestals and couldn't be happier. When they were on a bench it was just a pain to clean dust off of it constantly. Now the dust collects on the floor and it's easy to get at with the vacuum.
Click to expand...
John,

Do you have a picture of your pedestals?
 
They looked really nice when I built them. Adjustable height, can pivot. Then I bolted them down and realized I significantly underestimated the stiffness of the floor plate, and my grinder was wobbling like one of those inflatable boxing dummies, so I drug the stick welder over and put some really ugly struts from where the concrete anchors are on the base up to the pedestal. Now they're plenty stiff. My horizontal grinder just sits on 3 heavy legs which is fine since it never really gets pushed on.
 
I was thinking if I put on a pedestal, why not put real good locking casters and be able to just roll it where I want it. I won't make the mistake like welder cart, my welder cart has 2 welders and 2 tanks, one tank is the biggest portable, anyway with 4 swivel casters it has a mind of its own, it will crab walk, run sideways , or whatever it wants. Makes it easy to push sideways but what a PITA when trying to go thru a door and around other objects. I was thinking the pedestal being sort of a pyramid shape, top smaller than the bottom for holding the weight without threat of tipping over. With this 3 hp Baldor and awkwardness this old man can't lift it very high by myself so not wanting to be picking it up once its mounted. Also need to figure out best height for it. My benches are all 36" off the floor. This would eliminate the need of me worrying about some sort of high end venting. Just roll it in front of a door turn on fan behind me wear a mask and go for it.

P.S. How can I get emails when I get Alerts on my account? I went to my Preferences and cannot figure it out. Thanks
 
I have my grinders on separate stands with the VFD and a receptacle box mounted to the 2x72 grinder stand. The disc grinder is mounted on a separate stand and has a cord that plugs into the receptacle on the 2x72 stand. A switch set up would also work for switching grinders and would be faster, but you would have to reconfigure it each time you wanted to add a new piece of machinery. You diffidently want the grinder to extend out past the edge of your stand or bench, so that you can have a water bucket under it to catch sparks and dust. See my set up in the video below. Notice the stainless steel pot that I use to keep clean water that I dip blades into to cool them down. Also, I see on your grinder that you have the shock mounted upside down. You need to flip it so that the dust does not accumulate on the seal and cause early failure. Some use hose clamps and a piece of inner tube to create a cover over the seal to keep dust out. One other thing. My 2x72 stand has four legs with wheels on the back two, so that I can wheel it outside if I want to.

 
I like benches, I put everything on benches. I overhang the wheel and platton over the front and have a bucket of water to catch the sparks. I love how sturdy benches are. I also like keeping the middle of my shop uncluttered or at least I try to. Having things on benches keeps cords out of walkways as well. But if you only have one work bench for everything I would not put a grinder on it. It gets dirty and trying to do finish work on a grit covered bench would suck.
 
No matter how you decide to mount the grinder, pedestal or bench, make sure you have enough room to 1) allow the sparks to go down into a bucket or bong,
and 2) allow your body to be able to move side to side without restriction. You will have a lot more control over your grinds if you use your whole body rather than just moving your hands.
Placing the grinder in the corner as shown in the pics will not work out well for you IMO.
 
I absolutely would not want a grinder on wheels. Unless it was a steel wheel on it's side bolted to the floor. I lean into that grinder when I'm roughing.
 
That is why I am getting the opinions so I make as few as possible mistakes. I know after the fact I will tweak everything to fit me, but want to start closer to where I should be. All the reading I have done pretty much has me really concerned working in comfort inside my temp controlled part of shop. When I started this investment I was thinking it would be something I could be comfortable doing, but I am not sure about that now. Building gator stuff for years has gotten old to me. And 3 back surgeries has me taken more breaks than productive time so here I is. That first knife might be a real expensive one if I don't stay with it. I already have around 2K in it and still have a ways to go to be where I want to be. I haven't gotten blade material, just a couple pieces of handles. I have the big things handled. But I think grinders on pedestals will be the safest for me even if I wear a mask while grinding.
 
What kind of height do you find suits you ? Not sure if I want work rest chest high sitting in a comfortable chair or higher for sitting on a work stool. As far as wheels, I might do like 2 wheels that contact when one end is picked up.
 
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cootersplace said:
Here is where I thought I would put grinders. It is a corner, and put the VFD between the belt grinder and disc grinder. Do I want the belt grinder hanging over the edge of the bench? Maybe you can see I built some light brackets and lit it up but might still need something. I have tore my shop apart to redesign it for this adventure. I have a real concern with grinding in my AC area and that is one reason I wanted to do knives is to get off my feet so much and be comfortable doing something. Alot of folks would kill for a shop like I have with all my tools, and I want to get that passion back to be in it. But ya'll have about got me scared to grind in doors at all. Anyway here are 2 pics of that corner. Opinion appreciated how to set up disc and belt grinder. Elbow room ? Off edge or even ? Room between the 2 grinders ? Thanks again for all the help.
Click to expand...
first off is put grinders where you can comfortably work with them while sitting. the belt grinder sits about a foot lower than my disc. disc is off the side of the bench. last foot of belt grinder arms are away from its support(a cheap bedside table) so a 5 gallon bucket of water is under the platen tool rest. I like the VFD up and back of the grinders, keeps it out of the dust. get some 20amp 3 phase connectors, a female for the VFD and a male for each grinder. I used L14-20 for some of mine, work well, rated for 20 amps so oversized. just turn output of VFD off and switch from belt grinder to disc sander. the cord from VFD is about 2' long, cords from the motors is 5', so I have a lot of choices on location. I built most of the benches in my shop at 24" above floor, low enough where I can use them from a roll around office chair, but high enough where I can use them standing up without back pain. my grinder is mounted to 2" maple countertop which sits on 1/2" rubber gasket which sits on top of 30mm granite which sits on oak 4x4 on top of old bed side table. figure out where it is most comfortable for you and leave in one place. my grinder is too tippy to put on wheels
 
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cootersplace said:
What kind of height do you find suits you ? Not sure if I want work rest chest high sitting in a comfortable chair or higher for sitting on a work stool. As far as wheels, I might do like 2 wheels that contact when one end is picked up.
Click to expand...
That's the way mine is set up, two wheels that only contact the ground when you raise the front. I know makers that grind while sitting, so it can be done, but I like a height that puts a blade about mid platten when my upper arms are locked to my side with my forearms out at 90 degrees holding the blade.
 
The center of my platen is at my belly button so I can use my considerable girth to my advantage for more than just football or acting as a counterbalance on farm equipment.
 
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