Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Topics include, Machine Tools & Tooling, Precision Measuring, Materials and their Properties, Electrical discussions related to machine tools, setups, fixtures and jigs and other general discussion related to amateur machining.

Moderators: GlennW, Harold_V

Post Reply
User avatar
SteveHGraham
Posts: 7788
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
Location: Florida

Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by SteveHGraham »

Yesterday I made myself a steel pedestal for an 8" bench grinder.

The base of the grinder is only around 10" square. I was going to get a piece of plate that size to use as a platform for the pedestal, but I was only able to get 16" square.

Now I'm wondering...do I really need to cut it down? I'm thinking maybe the extra area in front of the grinder's base could be useful in the future.

Opinions?

Also thinking of welding a hoop to the bottom of the platform to hold a bowl of water.

I will post a photo of the parts mocked up prior to welding and drilling.

I used Fireball Tool squares to hold the parts while I welded. I got them because I thought they would be helpful until I got a real welding table. They work well. Not the answer to every prayer, but much easier than trying to get things flat and square on the floor or a Harbor Freight table.
10 26 19 dayton grinder pedestal 01 dry fit small.jpg
10 26 19 dayton grinder pedestal 05 base parts clamped with fireball square small.jpg
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
chief
Posts: 236
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:51 pm

Re: Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by chief »

Steve, I find some space in front of the wheels useful for clamping on temporary accessories, such as jigs for grinding long woodworking chisels and such.

Terry
User avatar
SteveHGraham
Posts: 7788
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by SteveHGraham »

That makes sense. I guess if I don't like it, I can always cut off the excess later.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
User avatar
BadDog
Posts: 5131
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 8:21 pm
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by BadDog »

From experience, grinders tend to have enough small amplitude vibration in use that stuff will walk off a flat surface. So to be a shelf, it would need a lip, not sure what useful features that would present, other than a trough to accumulate grinding debris.

What would you use it for? The only thing I can think of is dresser(s) and a cooling pot. A star wheel dresser is most common to open up a bench wheel, but that would be better served by a holster type mount, and that doesn't trap debris. And a Norbide stick for truing and maybe shaping corners, that would work on a shelf, but again, debris. I've used a diamond nib on them, but that lives in the surface grinder drawer along with it's mounts.

And a cooling pot would also work better in a holster type mount, that's also lower than that shelf would be. Maybe it could go on the back side with the grinder flush with the front to reduce debris accumulation. Likewise with the Norbide stick (etc).

Not sure what else, maybe a pair of pliers (vise grip?) for holding small things that heat up fast? But again, holster would be my thought.

I think I need to get a better wheel, but my 8" grinder wheel tends to develop shallow pockets in the surface that make even supported grinding unpleasant, and off-hand a real challenge. I have to dress it lightly quite frequently.

Oh, and for pedestals, some of my bench grinders are on 2" square tubing for mounting in various places. Others are mounted to HF bases (the heavy one with thick cast base) that I picked up here and there for less than half the cost of HF, one was even free. All have base plates about the size of the grinder. And I like that the pot holsters (when present) make it easy to remove and dump with no risk of dumping.
Russ
Master Floor Sweeper
User avatar
SteveHGraham
Posts: 7788
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by SteveHGraham »

As Terry said, sometimes people clamp various fixtures in front of grinders.

The thing is, I would rather have the space and have no use for it than not have it and then realize I want it.

I'm all done, except for the painting and, of course, redoing two screw holes I put in the wrong places.

It came out fantastic. You can jump on it and ride around without flexing anything. The top is only 11 gauge, so you could jiggle it if you really tried, but why would I try?

I used 1/8" steel for the whole thing. I didn't want a monstrosity I couldn't lift. People love heavy tools, but the truth no one talks about is that using too much material is a hallmark of bad engineering. I can pick the entire pedestal up and hold it above my head. I'll never have to use a machine to put this on a truck.

Here's a big plus: I learned how to straighten warped work with TIG. After I attached the column to the bottom, the bottom, which had been flat, was slightly bent. I knew I could straighten it with acetylene, but I am still waiting for a good deal on tanks, so I don't have gas. I thought about it and realized TIG was an awful lot like acetylene. I didn't see any reason why I couldn't use TIG (no filler) to straighten the base. Looked it up online, and sure enough, it's a standard process many people use. It works great. It's within a sixteenth of flat across the bottom. I could have made it even better, but I felt like that was a little obsessive.

The top is still a little warped. I didn't feel like creeping around, welding a tiny bit at a time, and I could not find a way to clamp it straight while welding it on, so I welded it on fast, and it bowed a little. When all the bolts are in, the grinder forces it straight, so I don't feel like firing up the TIG welder.

I recommend you check out CBN wheels from Woodturner's Wonders. I put my aluminum oxide wheels in boxes when the CBN jobs arrived, and I can't think of any reason why I would ever take them back out. Ceramics are vastly inferior for every type of job I know of. CBN runs cooler, cuts faster, can't blow up, and lasts for decades. You can cut on the side of the wheel safely. They never have to be dressed. And unlike diamond, they're fine with steel. You can also cut non-ferrous metals.

Pay 300 bucks once, and you're set for a very long time.
10 27 19 dayton grinder pedestal 19 finished front small.jpg
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
User avatar
SteveHGraham
Posts: 7788
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:55 pm
Location: Florida

Re: Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by SteveHGraham »

By the way, from a cost standpoint, this thing is a washout. I spent $58 on steel (should have spent more like $45, but still). The wheels were around $23. I made the terrible mistake of buying fasteners at Ace instead of Tractor Supply, so they cost me $20 instead of $1.50. The paint will be $12. That puts me well over $100.

Ace charges a screaming fortune for screws. Tractor Supply charges $2.99 per pound. Lesson learned!

I figure that if I had shopped more wisely, I would still have spent around $85.

It's far better than anything I could buy for $85 (or what I actually spent), but it's not your typical nearly-free, made-from-scrap shopmade pedestal. I just needed a metalworking project, so this is what I picked.

I don't care about the unnecessary steel I bought. I always like to buy a little more metal than I need so I'll have some to use later.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
User avatar
BadDog
Posts: 5131
Joined: Wed May 17, 2006 8:21 pm
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Size of Grinder Pedestal Platform?

Post by BadDog »

On the extra material, absolutely. It always comes in handy, particularly when you have to make something twice. :roll: Like the oil cooler line standoff clamp I made today. Looked perfect in cardboard template, only to find out the that rigid finished product holds the lines just far enough off the desired path that they are into the fan shroud. On to round two, but the upside is that I now see a better plan of attack anyway...

Regarding weight, I guess I'm one of the bozos that like a good heavy base on grinders. I tend to push them pretty hard, up to and including stalls on the 8" Baldor, and the base keeps things from going walkabout. The 8" is on a semi tractor drum, so it's easily moved by tilting it (hang off like counterbalance on a light sail) and then rolling where it's needed. It travels around pretty regularly, but only when I want it to. But getting it in a truck bed would require an engine lift or the like. I'm good with that. And as I said, the lighter grinders either set in receiver mounts, or they set on the HF grinder pedestals. I'm not cool enough and too cheap to have an authentic Baldor base. I could have had one for my 7" Baldor (with the SG wheels for HSS), but unlike the grinder, wasn't worth the added cost in my estimation.

Regarding something to clamp to, that's easy enough if I really needed to without having a front shelf. But I don't ever remember wanting to mount something there other than the shop made tables that mount like heavier versions of the stock. Mine are (or rather some are, those I made) made from 1/2" thick 6" angle iron cut down as appropriate on the mill. They have a fly-cut square surface and have notches that accept a 1" wheel with a back clearance allowing it to tip down to just over 45* while keeping a tiny gap at the wheel. They work great, but spend much of their time in the cabinet rather than on the machine. The 8" still has the stock support, but that's mainly used for large pieces and weldments, so I often want the help steadying the work.

And speaking of that, I find I frequently need to remove the support on them to get the work into position on the wheel. Even the base of the grinder itself is often in the way (or bell, or guard), so putting something even further out in the way would be a non-starter for me. That's one of the reasons I have an arbor (and supporting bits) that I keep planning on building into a remote motor belt driven arbor grinder (1 HP - 8"). Specifically to minimize the stuff in the way when I need to grind something other than simple pieces of structural steel.

As for CBN, I've got SG CBN wheels for just that reason. But haven't really considered getting CBN bench wheels. Perhaps something I should reconsider, but I suspect a better grade of Norton (etc) wheel would make me quite happy. I bought it (barely) used, and suspect the wheel on it came from Baldor (right side is a very dense 1" wide crimped wire wheel for cleaning), and thought maybe they would sell it with better than the typical garbage wheels. But, it is a "gray wheel", and performance isn't at all good. Unfortunately, so far it's been "just good enough" that the pain point hasn't reached the "get that DONE" stage, and so I continue cursing it with some frequency. As much as it cups and needs redressing, you would think it would be gone on it's own by now...
Russ
Master Floor Sweeper
Post Reply