Wet grinder for making picks.

[femurat]

When you're making picks from hacksaw blades or bristles you have to keep it cool when you grind/file it. At least not let it became too hot to avoid the steel to loose his temper. For this reason a great technique is to keep a glass of water near you to dump the pick into every few seconds of grinding.



And what if you use a wet grinder? You can find it at a very affordable price in some stores, usually sold for filing knifes.

The wet grinder has several benefits, first of all less speed of the wheel to avoid water to go everywhere. Less speed means less powder, less noise, and a LESS DANGEROUS tool!
And you don't need to quench your pick in water every 3 seconds, cause your pick will remain always fresh.

On the other side, I tried this new tool and i discovered that grinding is slower. Less speed of the grinder = less speed of the job.

For me this is a very good solution, hope this helps.

[MBI]

A wet grinder is one of my top choices. I've had one for years for knife sharpening, for times when I have to regrind a blade and remove so much material that it would take hours if done by hand. On the rare occasion that I make lockpicks, it's what I like to use for rough shaping the pick before finishing up with hand files.

[femurat]

Wet grinder + hand files are my favorite tools. Then some sand paper and you've done.
I have to admit that the wet grinder is not the best choice for hacksaw blades: they're too strong and grinding at a low speed could takes too much time. But if you use bristles or wiper blade inserts it's perfect!
Cheers

[savs2k]

i would do it no doubt if i had money for a wet grinder.

[femurat]

mine was 20/30 euro at LIDL

[lunchb0x]

wow that's cheap, mine was $700AUD but it has attachments for sharpening knifes, chisels etc.

[Cuervogrisss]

I have one with 2 wheels for 16 euros.

[ToolyMcgee]

Focused pictures, and a good train of thought. What speed does the wheel rotate at on yours? Do you get wet when you grind?

Personally I dislike the dipping during the shaping process. During a heat treating it is the fundamental, but in shaping it is only important to keep an even temp. Water virtually eliminates excessive heat, but is slower as previously stated.

Is there water thrown back on your goggles, or is the grinder facing away from you spraying all over the shop?

You've made a pick or two that has caught my eye. Keep up the DIY man. Everybody likes it. Looks like there could be some pretty cool hook with this method. Pick your steel wisely.

-T'Mcgee

[Jaakko]

Usually wet grinders rotate very slowly, like a turn or few per second. They are intended for sharpening, not material removal.

[ratyoke]

I use a grinder I got at Harbor Freight that has 2 wheels, an 8" wet wheel that spins at 160 RPMs, and a 6" dry wheel that spins at 3450 RPMs. I only use the dry wheel. It's faster to grind picks even thought you have to constantly dip the pick in water because it spins so much faster.

[scampdog]

have any of you guys out there got a website address for these stores, USA or GB ?
Thanks

[femurat]

Hi ToolyMcgee, thanks for your good words
I love DIY. Building picks is very satisfying, especially when they work well!

On my wet grinder the wheel speed is 250 rpm. It's very slow because, as Jaakko said, it's intended for sharpening knives. It goes CCW and the water drops get caught by the upper side on the left, falling again in its container. A few drops of water may fall out of the grinder, but it's impossible to get wet. I use it on my kitchen top and there isn't water around after the grinding process. I think they set the wheel speed to avoid spraying water around.

With this method I get the best results for hooks, but it also works for diamonds. For more difficult shapes I start directly with my dremel.

Cheers

[Engineer]

Hi scampdog!

The one I use is here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Tools-BE ... 82&sr=8-10

OR http://tinyurl.com/7d2f56

I have picked the cheapest listing of this wet grinder (Click on buy "new/used") it is listed several times on Amazon, sometimes around twice the price. There are cheaper grinders around and some a lot more expensive, but this one seems OK for the price. Its the one I use anyway.

have any of you guys out there got a website address for these stores, USA or GB ?
Thanks

[femurat]

This is a hook I recently made with my wet grinder, a few touches of needle file and a lot of sand paper.
Huge picture warning: I was so proud of it that I made a 1600px wide picture...



It looked shining and smooth, but now that I've seen it so big I think I must give it another touch of polish...

It works very well: the shaft is strong and gives a good feedback, the tip is long enough to raise the lowest pins and short enough to pass over the longest ones.
I think I've found my ideal hook shape, I just wanted to share this

[raimundo]

For short term grinding jobs, you can take a dishwashing soap bottle with the little cap that pulls to open it just a bit, and fill the bottle with water, then with duct tape and a wire coat hanger, poise it over the grindstone so that it can have its little cap adjusted to make a drip or thin stream that will fall just on the piece you are grinding as its on the face of the wheel