Beefing Up a Harbor Freight Grinder Stand

[@coolHandLuke5150]

Fully polished! LOVE IT

[@LucidAutowerks]

Thank you!

[@michaelevans2989]

I like your idea for this. I'm planning on filling my post with concrete. for the same effect and drilling a hole straight though and add a nut and bolt to secure it. I even have the same grinder Thank god for market place. I'm doing a deep metallic powder blue and burnt copper finish to it.

[@LucidAutowerks]

Thanks! I was going to do the concrete but the steel caps added a lot of weight so I just sent it. Yeah those Craftsman grinders are awesome. Still undecided what colors I want to finish mine in. Possibly black and silver or maybe dark gray and silver sort of like the original finish.

[@michaelevans2989]

@@LucidAutowerks That sounds nice! I wish you luck with it. Are you going to powder coat it or paint?

[@LucidAutowerks]

@@michaelevans2989 most likely powder coat. I’ve been building a new powder coat booth for a few months now but it’s taking forever. I have it set up enough to use it for most jobs but ideally when the booth is done I’ll be building a bigger oven. I just love the finish that you get with powder coating.

[@michaelevans2989]

@@LucidAutowerks i agree i love the powder I'm just starting to learn it. I have a Eastwood dual voltage I'm practicing with. Going to mod it soon to make it coat more evenly. Just need to get my lathe up and running to make new tips. Getting rid of the plastic going to use brass to get a better charge out of it and not waste so much powder.

[@LucidAutowerks]

That’s the gun that I have right now. It works well for flat single color stuff but it struggles with faraday in tight areas. You can get fluidizer caps for the tube if you check etsy. Only works for the newer black DV gun I believe. You can also build a fluidizing hopper that supposedly helps with powder flow. Once I get set up I think I’m going to buy the RC1 from Royal Coats Powder Coating here on KZbin.

[@MySpam-v1t]

Why you didnt filled it up with concrete or sand?

[@ocelblack9823]

You missed the chance to fill the tube with sand or pea gravel while one end was open. The fill would help dampen the vibration that just about every grinder has when starting and stopping.

[@LucidAutowerks]

I was going to fill it with concrete but the pieces of steel added a lot of weight to the tube so I didn’t bother. My grinder is also surprisingly smooth considering how old it is.

[@technology_pro]

Just cap and fill with a lil cement. $10 10 min.

[@LucidAutowerks]

But then I wouldn’t get to use my lathe and weld stuff 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

[@noroomforgloom]

Vise/Grinder stand 4” X 5” sq. tubing it’s 3/8 thick and bought as scrap. GREAT FIND! “I made a rear truck bumper with it also.” 1/4 x 12”sq. plate base 1/4 x grinder base top I try using scrap where I can. Works well for me. Go get em …

[@archangel20031]

Just go to the wrecking yard, pick up the largest disc brake rotor you can find and weld a piece of pipe to it.

[@LucidAutowerks]

That’s kinda my plan for the giant Prentiss vise I have. I’m going to probably build it on a huge brake drum if I can find one. The grinder stand was already bought and just sitting around so I figured I’d do something with it. The cast pieces for the top and bottom are pretty solid.

[@LucidAutowerks]

@richardsink1243 thanks, that’s a great idea.

[@saulsalinas6419]

We sure want to see that grinder restored!!! 🙏🏻

[@matts8023]

Kind of a cool approach. But I am trying to figure out, why did you upgrade a 45.00 grinder stand with 50.00 worth of steel?

[@LucidAutowerks]

It was more like 5¢ of steel. That piece is from when I filled my whole van with metal from a $10 auction win. Even at regular price it wouldn’t be anywhere near $50. Probably about $5 from my local supplier.

[@Radiotexas]

I just bought one! Piece of crap like you so eloquently said! I will use your technique to beef it up. Thanks!

[@timfrye9147]

Do the grinder now. Plz

[@LucidAutowerks]

Will do. Not sure what color I want to do it. Either buy some dark gray powder to match the original finish or do it in black like I did the stand. What do you think?