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Steve Mellott
05-11-2019, 1:12 PM
Our woodturning club is fortunate to be able to meet in the basement of a local church, but we need to move our equipment before and after each meeting. Has anyone purchased or built a grinder stand that can easily be moved? (Many of our members are in the age 60-80+ range.) Obviously, we want the portability without losing any of the stability. Pictures would be great. Thank you!

Chris A Lawrence
05-11-2019, 5:18 PM
I had my grinder on a cabinet i made out of 3/4 pine cabinet plywood that was maybe 20" wide x 18" deep and waist high. Just make sure you use double locking casters. I had 2 locking ones on the front and 2 that just swiveled on the back.

John K Jordan
05-11-2019, 5:29 PM
Our woodturning club is fortunate to be able to meet in the basement of a local church, but we need to move our equipment before and after each meeting. Has anyone purchased or built a grinder stand that can easily be moved? (Many of our members are in the age 60-80+ range.) Obviously, we want the portability without losing any of the stability. Pictures would be great. Thank you!

Steve,

I made one. I used a length of steel I-beam and welded steel plates to top and bottom. I made the bottom plate wider than the top for stability and bolted the grinder to the top plate. I've been using this for over 20 years with successive grinders, in wood shop, garage, and now in my little metal-working shop. It has always been quite stable. You have to be careful welding the bottom plate since the heat can warp even a 1/2" thick steel plate as the weld cools. If it does warp it will bend upwards on the outside and allow the thing to rock - in that case small feet could be welded to the bottom.

I simply "walk" or slide mine across the concrete floor but it could be moved with a dolly, or better, with some retractable casters. Or some fixed casters mounted in the back that don't contact the floor until the whole thing is tilted backwards, perhaps by means of a "handle bar".

I have another pedestal grinder someone else built that is also incredibly stable but at a cost of weight - it uses a 2" square steel tube welded to a steel plate on the floor. The steel plate is 1-1/2" thick and 14" square and HEAVY! It would definitely benefit from three foot-operated casters - one in the front and one on each side at the back corners. In fact, I think I'll do that - the thing must weigh 100 lbs.

Edit: sorry, I don't have photos. Could measure if you might want to make one. The cabinet (with drawers) would have some strong advantages if you have the space.

JKJ

Chris Fairbanks
05-12-2019, 12:26 AM
I have one similar to this one on amazon and it works fine for me. Not the easiest to move around since it does not have casters but is fairly stable when sharpening tools.
https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Power-Tools-23-040-Grinder/dp/B016WEAUJI/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=grinder+stand&qid=1557634957&s=hi&sr=1-4

Alex Zeller
05-12-2019, 1:21 PM
I use a tool cabinet. Works well for me. It's easy to move and can securely hold lots of tools, supplies, and other equipment. I actually am using what I think is called a pit cart with a shelf on the side. I doubt I could make something for what the cart cost me.

Eric Danstrom
05-12-2019, 3:55 PM
I use the hated Harbor Freight grinder stand with a set of their 2" braked casters but I don't think it's stable enough for a wide range of users. I'd built a sturdy, stable base cabinet with casters to be safe.

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Dick Mahany
05-13-2019, 10:14 AM
I built a mobile cabinet many years ago. It has been surprisingly stable with four locking casters (of which I typically only need to lock two.) I have since upgraded the right side to a CBN wheel and a Robo-Rest not shown in the photos. That caused me to move the grinder forward in order to sharpen skews and sharp angled tools which in turn threw the center of gravity off. I remedied that by rotating the grinder so that it faces the rear of the cabinet and all is now well. Fortunately the grinder was mounted to a sub base that secures to the top with a couple carriage bolts and knobs, so relocation was easy.

I previously had a three leg stand and it wasn't heavy duty enough or stable enough so this cabinet has been a big improvement. What I like about this arangement that I can move the grinder to where ever it best fits what I'm working on. Having the grinder only a few steps from the lathe makes it super convenient to do quick touch ups in process.

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John K Jordan
05-13-2019, 1:30 PM
Our woodturning club is fortunate to be able to meet in the basement of a local church, but we need to move our equipment before and after each meeting. Has anyone purchased or built a grinder stand that can easily be moved? (Many of our members are in the age 60-80+ range.) Obviously, we want the portability without losing any of the stability. Pictures would be great. Thank you!

If you want to consider something other than a stand, this is what I like best after trying several things: stainless steel tables on casters.

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They do require having enough space but they have some nice pluses:

- The height is right - extremely important for sharpening, especially when sharpening by hand. It is recommend to have the grinding wheel about the same height of your lathe spindle. Some of the movements used for sharpening are similar for movements while turning.
- Easy to roll around, sturdy when the wheels are locked.
- There is enough space for several grinders. I use wheels from 80 grit to 1200 and one grinder would not be enough for me. (I have five grinders/Tormeks now on two of the tables.)
- Large wire shelf below, adjustable height.
- The stainless steel is easy to keep clean, especially nice if using a water wheel like the Tormek.
- Nothing to build, just bolt together. I bought these at the local Sam's

JKJ

Bill Boehme
05-13-2019, 1:33 PM
You might consider the Sorby belt sharpening system or Tormek which are light enough to be carried.

Kyle Iwamoto
05-13-2019, 4:32 PM
+1 Alex. I put my mini lathe on a rolling tool cabinet. Cheap. Picked it up for 110 bucks at sears. Will probably serve well as a grinder mount. Some more expensive ones actually lock, which may be of interest if you have to trust others. Lots of tools and things fit in that.

Ricc Havens
05-14-2019, 9:48 AM
if you want to consider something other than a stand, this is what i like best after trying several things: Stainless steel tables on casters.

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jkj


grinder envy!!!

Perry Hilbert Jr
05-14-2019, 9:27 PM
sorry if this has been suggested already. I have used this idea for a couple items. A stand with four legs for stability but two cross pieces down low that hold wheels out a few inches and barely off the ground. On the opposite side, cross pieces up higher that stick out like wheel barrow handles. Easy to move, mobile and when sitting is planted firmly on four legs. My father in law made a stand like that for one of his tools years ago. No rolling across the floor, no fussing with setting and releasing brakes., no casters, just two old lawn mower wheels about 5 or 6 inches in diameter.

Bill Dufour
05-14-2019, 11:15 PM
Common method is a big truck wheel or a car wheel and tire with a pipe welded up the center instead of an axle. weld plate on top and bolt grinder there. Same idea for volleyball poles. Easy enough to roll a short distance. Some times the tire is filled with concrete.
Bill D

David M Peters
05-15-2019, 1:07 PM
I'd argue that an off-the-shelf tool cart is the best way to go. Plenty of drawer storage and if needed you can encircle the sides with PVC tool holders.

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John K Jordan
05-15-2019, 4:24 PM
grinder envy!!!

Ha! You want maybe I send you a spare grinder? :) I've given away two in the last few years.

Since that picture I've added another Tormek, bought used from Classifieds here. There is a fantastic Metabo in my little weld shop, a spare under the bench, and four angle grinders, probably used the most.

Jeffrey J Smith
05-15-2019, 9:06 PM
I went with the built cabinet approach, added locking casters and a compartment on top to raise the grinder to elbo height for comfort and use the space (with filtered venting) for my vacuum pump. Stores most things I need at the lathe, but rolls out the way when not turning. Ignore the bungie cord - I'll get around to finding those hinges one of these days...
The tool rack comes in handy and holds an old desk lamp to boot.
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tom lucas
05-16-2019, 1:57 PM
Our club simply has the grinder mounted to a piece of 3/4" plywood that gets clamped to a convenient table at location, or directly to the lathe toolbed. It probably weighs 20 - 25 lbs and is easy to carry.

Steve Mellott
05-16-2019, 2:48 PM
Thank you very much for all the responses! I think we may use a sturdy tool cart with locking casters. It seems to provide both the storage and mobility we need. When we get everything assembled, I will post a picture (at least try to post a picture). Thanks again.

John K Jordan
05-17-2019, 7:59 AM
Thank you very much for all the responses! I think we may use a sturdy tool cart with locking casters. It seems to provide both the storage and mobility we need. When we get everything assembled, I will post a picture (at least try to post a picture). Thanks again.

If you are will be building a cart you can easily control the height. You can google height of grinder for sharpening lathe tools for guidelines and reasoning.

Alex Zeller
05-17-2019, 1:00 PM
I have my Tormek clone on a shelf on the side of my cart. That way I can open the top cover and since the shelf is screwed in place I could set it at any height I want. It's an inexpensive Harbor Freight one but works great for me. I can take a picture if you would like.

Steve Mellott
05-17-2019, 7:20 PM
We are tentatively planning to build the stand so the center of the grinding wheel is the same height as the lathe spindle. That was recommended to us by Eric Lofstrom who demonstrated for us several years ago. If that is too high for some people (same problem with the lathe), we can build a platform for them to stand on.

Mike Peace
05-17-2019, 8:31 PM
Steve, I would opt for Perry's solution with the two large wheels barely off the ground. Bob Black has a couple of tools in his shop that uses this approach except his wheels were wooden of about the same diameter. This would be easy to tilt and move by one person and very steady.

Alex Zeller
05-19-2019, 2:04 AM
Here's what I use. When not in use I roll it into the corner out of the way as my basement doesn't have a lot of room. I set the side table a little lower than I think I would of with a slow speed grinder. With the Tormek style grinder you tend to sharpen higher up on the wheel. However it's easy to adjust. The leg for the side stand just fit into a slot and the weight on the shelf kept it from coming out. I didn't care for that so I put a couple tack welds so it can no longer fold down. The last thing I wanted was the shelf to drop and have my grinder fall. Being a Harbor Freight tool box I don't think they put much thought into it when they copied the design.

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