How Do Bench Grinders Work?

Sharpen rough metal edges with the bench grinder. Lawn mower blades as well as lathes, axes, splitting mauls and other tools that rely on nothing more than a somewhat-angled edge to cut with need sharpening with a bench grinder. Use a rough-grade wheel and apply pressure to the metal while pressing it against the turning wheel, thus grinding away the edge of the metal to give it a sharpened edge.

Smooth down welds on sheet metal projects, such as car frames or other projects. The type of wheel you use depends on how smooth you need the finished area, with rougher wheels used for the initial grinding of the weld. Use smoother wheels as you remove the weld and need to smooth the welded area down flush with the metal surface in preparation for buffing and eventually painting or other finish coats.

Remove paint, rust or other finishes from surfaces using the wire brush wheels. Similar to how a metal hand brush can remove paint, wax or other types of finishes from walls, banisters, doors and other areas prior to applying a new layer of finish, a wire wheel on a bench grinder completes the same types of tasks, such as removing oil and grime from spark plugs.

Polish surfaces using a buffing wheel attachment for your bench grinder. Similar to using a handheld angle grinder with buffing wheel attached to polish and buff surfaces, you can attach a buffing wheel to your bench grinder to polish and buff things such as pieces of angle iron or sheet metal.