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Why didn't I send it back. In the picture you see a pretty, blue Palmgren grinder. The color is a flat dark gray, numerous small scratches that had begun to rust. I tried to true the wheel to no avail, it is now in the local land-fill.I am a victim of "bait-and-switch" as there was no mention that this machine was anything other than the one pictured. Anything good. One of the wheel guards is missing a screw.
That and the fact that I needed a grinder ASAP led me to choose not to return. What I received is quite different. The machine weighs a ton and I think shipping costs would be high. The big decal on the machine was put on crooked, if you don't like to see a crooked picture on the wall this will drive you nuts, it is VERY noticeable. Last but certainly not least one of the wheels was so whacked-out my bench literally shook so bad that things started to fall off onto the floor. I'll never buy another tool on Amazon.
Well the machine has plenty of power and the weight is a benefit, just make sure you have well balanced wheels.
Grinder works great with no noticable vibration. After doing some research, this was the best dollar for dollar value out there and very pleased with the quality.
I poured enough water into the shop vac canister to put about 1" of water in it. Perhaps the wheels could use some balancing. Movement on any one of these axes affects the others, and tightening with the wrench invariably moves the tool rest a bit. I later found that the correct procedure is to tap all around the wheel at 45 degree increments; a "clunk" anywhere means the wheel is unsafe.I pulled out the provided too short bolts, slid in my store bought longer bolts, and put on enough washers to space out the tool rest mount and center the tool rest in relation to the wheel. I donned my safety glasses for the first power up.I plugged it in, turned it on, careful to not be in line with the wheels, just in case something went wrong.
So, there was no way to install the tool rests correctly with the fittings that came in the box.As I said, the bolts that were provided were too short to actually install the tool rests correctly. Mine required me to purchase parts at the local hardware store (total cost less than $10) in order to assemble it completely. I forgot to note what brand of wheels were installed.I hooked up the shop wet/dry vac to the dust collection system. I noticed during assembly that the wheels needed a bit of truing, so I bought the Palmgren small wheel dresser to use as my first test of the grinder. Bench grinders are one of the more dangerous tools in a shop, and are responsible for more injuries to amateurs than any other powered shop tool.After 2 minutes I turned it off; for a few seconds I thought the switch didn't work, because I couldn't detect any change in speed or sound at first. However, the assembly diagram and parts list for the 8" grinder that are in the manual are correct.Removing the short bolts for the tool rest mounts required removing the outer sides of the wheel guards, and removing the grinding wheels themselves, in order to get the short bolts out.While I had the wheels off, I lightly tapped each one with a small hex key and got the proper "ping" indicating a sound wheel, instead of a "clunk", which would indicate a cracked wheel. The box is pretty hefty, so be careful of your back (shipping weight 55.5 lbs).Fit and finish appeared good.
I had to run down to the local hardware store and buy longer length bolts and a bunch of washers to use in place of the missing spacers. This was to take care of any sparks that made it through the dust collection system into the vac canister. The entire grinder appears well built and solid.There is some minimal assembly to be done. No paint flaws, nor any obvious casting or fabrication flaws. I only "pinged" each wheel once. You can guess how I found this out.
Definitely I need spark resistant long sleeved protection when doing any kind of grinding.I have yet to do any actual tool grinding; for that, I am waiting on some ear protection. I needed 2 10-packs of 1/4" washers to have enough to properly center the 2 tool rests.I reinstalled the wheels, and then reinstalled the side guards. It has a solid authoritative hum, and sounds powerful. Be careful here; the assembly instruction text is written for the smaller grinders, and refer to smaller nuts and bolts than this 8" grinder uses. These kind of oversights leave a bad first impression.However, I think the grinder is basically sound, with plenty of power, and is well constructed.
At least, you hear a clank, and then a soft squealing sound. The spark guards and eye shields go together easily, and are installed as one unit on each side.The tool rests were a bit of a problem. I've never owned or used a bench grinder before, so I can't compare this with other grinders. The spacers that were listed in the parts list and shown on the assembly diagrams were missing. They can be moved up or down, in or out, or tilted toward or away from the wheel. There was some vibration in the workbench top, but nothing was jumping around or shaking, so I think it's ok. The screw holes in the side guards went back on easily; all the screw holes lined up perfectly with out needing to force the sheet metal into place.Installing the Dust Collection system was a bit of a hassle, but patience is the key.
Nothing sounded wrong, and since this happens each time I shut it off, I assume it is normal.There was some vibration, and maybe that was due to the wheels needing a bit of truing. I let it run for 2 minutes, listening for any problems, alert for excess or variable vibration, or strange noises.It spins up to full speed very fast, and frankly, it's rather intimidating. This had to be done on both wheels. You must install the tool rests, the spark guards, and the eye shields. It didn't seem excessive, and the grinder when running at full speed is not noisy. The "Made in China" label is quite prominent on the box. During the coast down phase, it sounds like a centrifugal brake actuates toward the end. These are made out of heavy gauge steel sheet, and are painted inside and out.
For the price, it's a very good value, and I can recommend it to any one who needs a good solid grinder with plenty of power. I also will be getting a leather apron, and possibly a welder's shirt.The tool rests are barely usable (like all consumer grade grinders out of the box). I'm a relative newbie at machining, so value the following opinions accordingly.It came well packaged: no signs of rust or corrosion or any shipping damage. However, that won't take care of any sparks that hit the paper filter, so make sure you clean the filter of swarf, sawdust, hair, dust, leaves, grass, or anything else that might be flammable.To try out the wheel dresser and hopefully true the wheels and reduce vibration, I donned my safety glasses, and this time, a dust mask. Powered on, waited for it to reach full speed (just a matter of seconds), and applied the dresser.
It took more than a minute (untimed) to finally stop. It's obviously got a lot of inertia. In a few seconds though, it was starting to slow. The bolts that mount the tool rests to the grinder were too short. One of the first things I will be doing is making or buying some better tool rests.My verdict: This is a good grinder.
At least there were no missing or ill-sized parts.Once I finally got the grinder assembled, I mounted it to a builtin wooden workbench in the garage. This is not a tool to treat with disrepect. They must be tightened with a wrench to keep them from moving, and there is no way to tilt them side to side. I think it is more than enough grinder for my needs.
I couldn't imagine why they didn't spend a couple of more dollars to make the tool rest wider and stronger. You have to attach the dust collection connections, the shield, and the tool rest. A heavy, solid, powerful and smooth running grinder right out of the box. It's held on by one bracket and the tool rest is only a couple of inches wide. A couple of minutes (unless you want to switch it to it's 220 capability) and it's all setup and running. It's a good thing I used it because I almost gave it a 4 for one thing. I thought I'd end up making my own someday.and maybe that's what production shops will do anyway.but after some tough grinding for a few hours.it works without problems. I doubt I'll ever have to change it.
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