Newbie needs to buy a grinder

Hi, folks! First I must tell you all that I have been watching this
newsgroup for about a month and find you all very informative and highly
entertaining! Thanks!

I have been dabbling in stained glass for about 2 years now and have finally
gotten brave enough to make a greater commitment to the art! My very first
kiln is coming in next week so I can try my hand at fusing/slumping glass.
Extremely excited!!! And I have decided that I would also invest in a glass
grinder and put the manual grinding to rest (or at least reduce the amount
of time spent at it.)

Hence I would like to know what grinder you would recommend. What are your
thoughts on the new grinders that have a pump system rather than the sponge?
Have any of you used the new "easy" replacement bits? Price, although not
the deciding factor, is always a consideration.

Thanks in advance for what I am sure will be the best information money
can't buy!

Lori
(flamenwind)

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of
enthusiasm."
Sir Winston Churchill

Inland Wizard, going on 5 years without a single problem.
"FlameNwind" wrote in message
news:NyV1g.2178$Fy1.474@trnddc02...
Hi, folks! First I must tell you all that I have been watching this
newsgroup for about a month and find you all very informative and highly
entertaining! Thanks!

I have been dabbling in stained glass for about 2 years now and have
finally gotten brave enough to make a greater commitment to the art! My
very first kiln is coming in next week so I can try my hand at
fusing/slumping glass. Extremely excited!!! And I have decided that I
would also invest in a glass grinder and put the manual grinding to rest
(or at least reduce the amount of time spent at it.)

Hence I would like to know what grinder you would recommend. What are
your thoughts on the new grinders that have a pump system rather than the
sponge? Have any of you used the new "easy" replacement bits? Price,
although not the deciding factor, is always a consideration.

Thanks in advance for what I am sure will be the best information money
can't buy!

Lori
(flamenwind)

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of
enthusiasm."
Sir Winston Churchill

It makes little (if any) difference which make you get. They all work
the same. It's a cheap little electric motor in a cheap little plastic
box. Personal brand preference is about as trustworthy as personal
preference in cars. Ford, Chrylser, GM - all essentiall the same.
Same applies to grinders.

If you're getting into kilnforming, you might seriously consider
skipping the grinder and go straight to a Wet Belt Sander. A WBS is
the single most valuable tool for kilnforming after the kiln itself.
Our shop uses a WBS sander exclusively and reserves the grinders for
teaching stained glass beginners.

wrote in message
ups.com...
It makes little (if any) difference which make you get. They all work
the same. It's a cheap little electric motor in a cheap little plastic
box. Personal brand preference is about as trustworthy as personal
preference in cars. Ford, Chrylser, GM - all essentiall the same.
Same applies to grinders.

If you're getting into kilnforming, you might seriously consider
skipping the grinder and go straight to a Wet Belt Sander. A WBS is
the single most valuable tool for kilnforming after the kiln itself.
Our shop uses a WBS sander exclusively and reserves the grinders for
teaching stained glass beginners.


Once again you show that you just "don't get it".

Here's a newbie getting a new kiln and just embarking on a new hobby, and
yer ignorant ass is trying to set him up with production shop equipment.
You are so far out of touch with reality.....

Why don't you stick to exporting Moose poop...at least that is something you
are qualified to shovel.

How do you expect to compete within your recently mentioned retail shops in
US if you don't want to sell beginners grinders? What will you sell? Why
would you even want to open US retail shops since you claim the SG biz here
is going down the toilet? (and you won't be selling grinders, so what WILL
you be marketing?) I have never had the need for a belt sander and i reckon
i've been fusing way longer than you. I started with a microwave kiln in mid
seventies. And you? You would do well to stop misleading these people, they
will find out what you are about soon enough and then your American glass
endeavors will drop over 40% just as the rest of your SG biz has! m!

wrote in message
ups.com...
It makes little (if any) difference which make you get. They all work
the same. It's a cheap little electric motor in a cheap little plastic
box. Personal brand preference is about as trustworthy as personal
preference in cars. Ford, Chrylser, GM - all essentiall the same.
Same applies to grinders.

If you're getting into kilnforming, you might seriously consider
skipping the grinder and go straight to a Wet Belt Sander. A WBS is
the single most valuable tool for kilnforming after the kiln itself.
Our shop uses a WBS sander exclusively and reserves the grinders for
teaching stained glass beginners.

Only a fool would argue that a grinder can come close to duplicating
the work of a wet belt sander.
I suggest this "newbie" stop wasting his or her time with a pair of
such fools and consult with someone that actually knows what they're
talking about.

http://www.warmglass.com/phpBB/index.php

wrote in message
ups.com...
Only a fool would argue that a grinder can come close to duplicating
the work of a wet belt sander.
I suggest this "newbie" stop wasting his or her time with a pair of
such fools and consult with someone that actually knows what they're
talking about.


I've used the same Wizard grinder every day for 20 years, how's that for
personal recommendation? I also own a big full size wet belt sander that I
picked up over 10 years ago. I think I turned it on twice in all that time.


--

JK Sinrod
www.sinrodstudios.com
www.MyConeyIslandMemories.com

"FlameNwind" wrote in message
news:NyV1g.2178$Fy1.474@trnddc02...
Hi, folks! First I must tell you all that I have been watching this
newsgroup for about a month and find you all very informative and highly
entertaining! Thanks!

I have been dabbling in stained glass for about 2 years now and have
finally
gotten brave enough to make a greater commitment to the art! My very
first
kiln is coming in next week so I can try my hand at fusing/slumping glass.
Extremely excited!!! And I have decided that I would also invest in a
glass
grinder and put the manual grinding to rest (or at least reduce the amount
of time spent at it.)

Hence I would like to know what grinder you would recommend. What are
your
thoughts on the new grinders that have a pump system rather than the
sponge?
Have any of you used the new "easy" replacement bits? Price, although not
the deciding factor, is always a consideration.

Thanks in advance for what I am sure will be the best information money
can't buy!

Lori
(flamenwind)

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of
enthusiasm."
Sir Winston Churchill


I can recommend, based on personal experience, either Wizard or Glastar
grinder, get the largest your budget will allow.
You may not use it every day, but you will use it more often than a wet belt
sander. If you can afford both, knowing the wet belt sander is considerably
more money, then get both. We have one of everything in my studio, and we
do use the wet belt sander often, BUT we don't "just" do anything, we do
everything, so without knowing what you are going to focus your talents on,
I can't say suggest one over another. That is other than to say, a grinder
can do everything a sander can do, a sander can do nothing a grinder can do.

As with all work, it's a personal choice. I chose the equipment that
takes the least time while doing the best job. With SG, the
difference is the WBS saves considerable time. With kilnforming it's
flat out stupidity, to chose a grinder instead of a WBS. The only
intelligent reasons for using a grinder instead of a WBS for warm glass
work is you either can't afford a WBS, or are waiting for yours to
arrive. The non-intelligent reasons are you prefer taking longer than
necessary and you like producing inferior work.

On 21 Apr 2006 08:56:43 -0700, wrote:
difference is the WBS saves considerable time. With kilnforming it's
flat out stupidity, to chose a grinder instead of a WBS. The only
intelligent reasons for using a grinder instead of a WBS for warm glass
work is you either can't afford a WBS, or are waiting for yours to
arrive.

Or you need precise inside curves on your pre-fusing pieces and a wire saw
isn't in your budget. Or you're doing something like cabs for which the
rounded-over edge is actually preferable. Or you're doing both leaded and
warm-glass work, maybe together in a single piece.

Ideally, you'd have both. Anyone who thinks a WBS can take the place of a
grinder is either an idiot or is selling wet belt sanders, and anyone who
thinks a grinder can take the place of a WBS is going to have to make up new
cursewords when they wear out the ones they already know. They're different
tools and they have different strengths. Trying to use the one when you
need the other is eventually going to lead to frustration or pain or both.

In non-glass terms, saying "I don't need a circular saw; I have a roto-zip!"
is only slightly less insane than saying "I don't need a roto-zip, I have a
circular saw!"