Yesterday, for the first time this fall, I fired up the union made Goodman furnace. Yes, it got pretty darn chilly here, especially in the mornings. My blood is still too thin from the summer so I gave it to my suburban induced softness and switched her on. Ran like a champ, plenty of warm air brought the house temp up in short order.
Also dragged out the LL Bean flannel and the Electrowarmth mattress warmer. I cannot sleep in a cold bed in the fall/winter so I run the Electrowarmth on LO or 2 and it keeps my back and hips from becoming overly stiff. Not even pushing 50 yet and already I feel the ache of age setting in, exacerbated by the cold weather.
On another note, I bought, returned and purchased a better bench grinder so I can sharpen the Husky mower blades.
It started out with a 39.99 POS from Harbor Freight called ahem......."Central Machinery" cough cough. I figured what the hey, it SAID 1/2 HP 3600 RPM, should be good enough to put an edge on Husky mower blades right?
Wrong!
The thing was so pathetically weak that I could stop the motor with just the slightest pressure on the 60 grit wheel. In fact, using a gloved hand, I could grab the wheel whilst running at full chat and stop it with no injury. Seriously.
Well I took it back (it was running very hot also and would shut down on thermal overload) got my money back, did some homework this time. I passed on BIG BOX Ryobi and others as the reviews were basically 50-50. The biggest complaints I read about where lack of motor torque to sharpen anything made of steel. Delta, B&D, Dewalt all were again 50-50. I was not encouraged at all.
Well there is ONE outfit left, in Ft Smith Ark, Baldor that STILL makes bench grinders in the US of A. I shopped on Ebay and finally due to better shipping rates, found a place in Ohio called Mile-x Equipment. For a paltry $12 in shipping, I had delivered a Baldor 612R 6" Grinder, 3600 RPM 1/3 HP unit. Red in color it comes with 36 and 60 grit wheels on 1/2 in arbor holes. It ran so much more smoothly, came up to speed lightning quick, and is far quieter than the Chinese made Harbor Freight unit. I was impressed. I had a 1/8 in piece of scrap steel and in less than 2 minutes of grinding, put one helluva edge and the motor never once balked. And the motor housing remained cool to the touch, unlike the Central Machinery unit.
No it was not cheap and I'll allow the reader(s) of the post to figure out the cost. Suffice it to say, like a Speed Queen, the quality remains long after the price is forgotten. No, I did not set out to grab an expensive grinder but based on my research, I was not about to repeat the Central Machinery fiasco and take a chance on another chinese made grinder.
I was not planning to spend what I did. And what irritates me is how the market is rapidly becoming either stupid cheap or absurdly expensive with little left in the middle. Sure I'll put a wire brush wheel on the Baldor (in case I need to clean up something) but gawsh, isn't there a middle of the road unit out there that does not cost the world yet does a good job for a Gen X homeowner like me?
Also dragged out the LL Bean flannel and the Electrowarmth mattress warmer. I cannot sleep in a cold bed in the fall/winter so I run the Electrowarmth on LO or 2 and it keeps my back and hips from becoming overly stiff. Not even pushing 50 yet and already I feel the ache of age setting in, exacerbated by the cold weather.
On another note, I bought, returned and purchased a better bench grinder so I can sharpen the Husky mower blades.
It started out with a 39.99 POS from Harbor Freight called ahem......."Central Machinery" cough cough. I figured what the hey, it SAID 1/2 HP 3600 RPM, should be good enough to put an edge on Husky mower blades right?
Wrong!
The thing was so pathetically weak that I could stop the motor with just the slightest pressure on the 60 grit wheel. In fact, using a gloved hand, I could grab the wheel whilst running at full chat and stop it with no injury. Seriously.
Well I took it back (it was running very hot also and would shut down on thermal overload) got my money back, did some homework this time. I passed on BIG BOX Ryobi and others as the reviews were basically 50-50. The biggest complaints I read about where lack of motor torque to sharpen anything made of steel. Delta, B&D, Dewalt all were again 50-50. I was not encouraged at all.
Well there is ONE outfit left, in Ft Smith Ark, Baldor that STILL makes bench grinders in the US of A. I shopped on Ebay and finally due to better shipping rates, found a place in Ohio called Mile-x Equipment. For a paltry $12 in shipping, I had delivered a Baldor 612R 6" Grinder, 3600 RPM 1/3 HP unit. Red in color it comes with 36 and 60 grit wheels on 1/2 in arbor holes. It ran so much more smoothly, came up to speed lightning quick, and is far quieter than the Chinese made Harbor Freight unit. I was impressed. I had a 1/8 in piece of scrap steel and in less than 2 minutes of grinding, put one helluva edge and the motor never once balked. And the motor housing remained cool to the touch, unlike the Central Machinery unit.
No it was not cheap and I'll allow the reader(s) of the post to figure out the cost. Suffice it to say, like a Speed Queen, the quality remains long after the price is forgotten. No, I did not set out to grab an expensive grinder but based on my research, I was not about to repeat the Central Machinery fiasco and take a chance on another chinese made grinder.
I was not planning to spend what I did. And what irritates me is how the market is rapidly becoming either stupid cheap or absurdly expensive with little left in the middle. Sure I'll put a wire brush wheel on the Baldor (in case I need to clean up something) but gawsh, isn't there a middle of the road unit out there that does not cost the world yet does a good job for a Gen X homeowner like me?
