Harbor Freight Bauer 6" benchtop grinder. I recommend this to friends.
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- This is NOT a sponsored video, nor does Mat with 1T Fit and Finish have an affiliation to Harbor Freight.
In this review I unbox and review the Harbor Freight Bauer 6" Bench top Grinder. This grinder is a 1/3hp grinder with a course and medium grit aluminum oxide stones. Out of the box it has protective covers, tool rest and Battery operated led work lights.
I replace the medium grit aluminum oxide stone with the Harbor Freight Warrior 6" wire wheel. With some small modifications, the grinder and wire wheel work great!
The grinder is smooth out of the box with both stones very balanced. For the small horse power the grinder is quite powerful and able to take care of most common small grinding applications around the shop. I've used it to sharpen mower blades, cut groves for welding and knock off mill scale.
The warrior 6" wire wheel seems well built. I've not noticed any of the wires ejecting off the wheel, and the wheel seems pretty well balanced. Even on this 1/3 hp grinder the wheel takes mill scale and paint off tools and parts quickly,
Over all, I recommend this grinder, and give it 5 stars for fit and finish.
I too had read the HF reviews and I had a lot of questions about the performance of the grinder but your review helped me out a great deal and I will certainly consider buying this. Thanks for the review.
Hi John thanks for the comment. I'm really glad that the review helped.
Just found your channel and bummed you're not making any new material. Thanks for this review!
Hi there Joel, thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
Unfortunately, life circumstances have required me to put the channel on hold for a bit. I DO have a few videos that I've shot and hopefully will be able to get them edited this fall. Besides, HF hasn't come out with any new tools that I need and/or feel compelled to review.
Thanks again for watching and taking the time to comment.
-Mat W/1T
I rewatch your video. Again fine job. I like the bench grinder. I'm gonna get one like yours. Thank u. Can't wait to see your table or bench for your next video.
Howdy Losmoore. Thank you for watching and leaving a comment! I honestly don't know how I got away without a bench grinder for so long. Over the year I've been using (several) angle grinders to get the job done. This is so much more convenient and less expensive than a couple of the angle grinders I've purchased in the past. It's so handy that I'm planning on purchasing another one!
Thanks again for the comment. If you haven't had a chance please subscribe, like and share.
The grinder stand build will be coming out soon.
-Mat W/1T
I got 1 works really good and the price was good too.
Hi there Micah! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.
This is such a handy piece of equipment to have in the shop. Why didn't I get one sooner? (Now I have bought two more since I made this video!) :)
Thanks again for watching. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to my channel.
-Mat W/1T
Hey Matt, i just got my Bauer 6 in bench grinder with that wired wheel as well. Thank u for your review.
Hey Losmoore! Thanks for watching and the comment. I'm so glad you found my content useful. That's exactly why I started this channel.
If you get a chance please subscribe.
Thanks again.
-Mat W/1T
How is your 6 inch handling wire wheels, is it bogging down when taking rust off a piece?
U did good on your review. Thank u.
Howdy Losmoore. Thank you for watching and the comment. I have built a stand for this grinder and will be posting it soon.
Should have an update in the description of this video when I check the RPM on this grinder.
-M@ W/1T
I dont know if you still check the comments or questions for this video but I will take my chances. I have seen people say that you are supposed to dip the edge you are grinding in water from time to time to make sure you dont burn the metal. Do you suggest doing so or does it depend on what you are working with?
Hello Chr B thanks for watching and taking the time to comment. Yup, circumstances have required me to put the channel on hold for a bit.
It all depends on what you're trying to do. If you want to sharpen a knife or chisel then yes, you do not want the metal to heat up too much. Being that a blade is so thin it can heat up quickly and remove the temper. If it's steel, it can become brittle.
If I need to remove a large chip or gouge in a knife or chisel blade I do two things. Grind and quench before it gets too hot and reduce the speed of the grinder. I use an inexpensive router speed control also found at HF.
If I'm just grinding away a piece of steel to shape it and don't really care about the temper, I will grind away and either let the piece air cool or just dunk it to cool it down.
Sometimes I will keep a bucket of water under the grinder or abrasive cut-off saw to catch the sparks.
Thanks again for watching and taking the time to comment. Hope I answered your question.
-Mat W/1T
I recently subbed to your channel. Good content and good attitude. What area are your from? Sounds like either northern states or Canada. I do ceramic tile and stone installation by trade and must say the work I have seen you do is really good, especially for a guy that seems to do some of everything. Anyway keep up the good content and I’m confident your channel will grow 👍🏼
First, I'd like to thank you for the compliment! It's truly an honor to receive a compliment from a fellow tradesman. Would like to see some of your work.
You are correct, just below the Canadian Boarder, Eh! in Central Montana. That might explain a little, why I've had to be diverse. That, and I am not wealthy, so I've had to repair, make and build things my whole life.
Honestly, I believe that being able to set tile requires the ability to think of things conceptually and three dimensionally. I'm pretty slow and methodical. If you take your time and work through it, almost anyone can do it.
At the end of the day, most everything boils down to craftsmanship. Good ain't good enough.
Thank you again for the sub, the compliment and support!
Great video! I always wonder if the grinders are worth buying.
When I build the stand for this one, I'm going to put a potentiometer or speed control onto it so I don't burn up my chisels and knives. Other than that, It's pretty solid. Besides, bench grinders are pretty basic and simple.
Thanks for the comment Mr. Hoffer!
$40 ITC club pick one up today
How did you determine that the wheel on left was course? I just picked one up and there’s nothing in the Manuel or on the wheel to specify.
Hey there, thanks for watching and leaving a comment.
Of the two wheels on the grinder one appears slightly darker. In a side-by-side comparison the course stone looks like it has a slightly larger grain. The finer wheel will appear to have a sharper or crisper edge. Looking at about 3:02 on this video you can notice the difference between the two wheels. The stones themselves should be marked as to what their grit is as well.
Hope that helps. Thanks for watching.
-Mat W/1T
Does this 1/3h.p have enough power to use wire wheel and really be able to remove rust etc.. from a piece?
Hey there 6atlantis, thanks for taking the time to comment. Thank you for watching as well.
My apologies for taking so long to respond to your comment.
To answer your question, yes it works well. Of course, there is a little bog down, but this little grinder is my "go to" when it comes to cleaning up rust and loose paint on small parts. Since this video I've put the HF Warrior Router Speed Control and built a stand for it. Both work quite well.
Thanks for watching!
-Mat W/1T
Can you provide the rotation specs on this, please?
Hey there Ty. Thanks for the comment and watching!
I've ordered a tachometer to check the actual speed. I'll update on this comment when I have the actual number. This is also why it's taken so long to respond.
For now, I looked a the manual and the "motor no load speed" is 3,450 RPM.
Thanks again for watching. I'll have an update soon.
@@Mat-W-1TFandF I appreciate the update.
Can u show how to balance it and how to sharpen mower blade and what grit u use ?
Hey Losmoore. Thanks again for the comment.
My grinder was well balanced out of the box. It surprised me actually. When I put the wire wheel on the balance was off a bit until I realized that the plastic spacers moved freely inside the washers. I had to glue them in so they would stay in place until I could torque down the keeper nut and washer.
I just used the finer grit wheel to sharpen the mower blades. It's a pretty straight forward process for sharpening. Taking the guard off might make things a bit easier.
Thanks again for the comment. Please let me know if this was helpful.
-Mat W/1T
Can you put a polishing attachment on one side?
Hey Chasewatter1581! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.
Yes, you can put a 6" polishing wheel on this machine. You could put one on each side if you wanted and put black emory or brown bobbing on one and red or white rouge on the other side for fast polishing. (I might have to try that).
Thanks again for watching and for leaving a comment!
-Mat W/1T
Can we sharp knives with this?
Hello Merttekkin. Thanks for watching and the comment.
Yes, you can sharpen knives with this. You have to be careful with the temperature of the blade though. It can get too hot and you'll lose the temper. This will make the edge too brittle.
HF has a great product called a "Warrior Router Variable Speed Control Dial". This varies the voltage going to the grinder which changes the speed of the wheel. I use this for anything I don't want to use the temper. I also use a cup or bucket of water near by to keep the metal cool.
Thanks again for watching. If you get a chance please subscribe to my channel.
-Mat W/1T
This guy is funny
Hey there Jamal, thanks for watching! I appreciate the complement and do attempt a bit of humor along with useful content. If you get a chance please subscribe (if you haven't already). More content is coming!
Thanks again!
-Mat W/1T
@@Mat-W-1TFandF I already did. Keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.
So you dont attach the grinder to the bench, remove the guard and are wearing gloves which can easily get pulled into the grinder, pretty much everything you should NOT do
Hey there ImperialEwok. Thank you for watching AND thanks for the comment!
You are 100% correct with all of that. :)
I only had the grinder detached from a solid platform for the review. I have since built a stand for it, to which it's firmly fastened.
During the review, I found that with the guard on the wire wheel side the grinder struggled to get up to RPM. When it finally reached RPM it was nearly useless for work considering that using the wheel lowered the RPM every time a work piece touched it. With the guard on the wire wheel, it was unacceptably noisy. I actually tried to trim off some of the wire strands in order to make it work with the guard. It didn't really work out well so, I just left it off. Maybe fabricating a guard to fit the wire wheel side would be a good video? Not a bad idea at all. :)
Yes! Wearing loose clothing and gloves is somewhat dangerous around grinders. Ideally, I try to use vice grips or pliers when using a grinder. Maybe I should do a video showing what happens if a glove or loose clothing gets caught in the wire wheel? It is 1/3rd HP. With only one stone wheel, the inertial force is also somewhat lowered.
Using all high RPM shop tools comes with inherent risk as you well know. The best we can do is mitigate the risk as best we can. I apologize if anything in my videos has encouraged unsafe behavior. This video was an attempt to review a very useful shop tool not necessarily the operational parameters of said tool. Please be careful when using power tools! :)
Fun fact, I actually whacked my ungloved finger in my dad's old grinder when I was a kid. I prefer to wear gloves these days. (not to mention the heat generated)
Thanks again for watching! Thank you for the comment. Please feel free to view and comment on more of my videos.
-Mat W/1T