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Hi Bob, A bench grinder would be for ruff cutting before a finish depending on stone grit. Less control over shape. Of course this all depends on the part design. A belt grinder is easier to shape with and can produce a finer finsh faster. I believe a belt grinder would be considered a stationary unit where a belt sander would be a portable unit. Belt grinders are more expensive to orperate because of the belt cost vs stone cost. Depending on the finsh required, air tools will finsh really well as you can very rpm on different stones and that produces a finish patteren. Example: You ever noticed how SS sinks look in the rounded corners? They have a very nice looking swril patteren to the corner finish. That is done with a air die grinder with a balled stone at about 800rpm. Varying the rpm will produce a different finish with the same grit of stone. A nice table 3" or 4" belt grinder is very nice to have in a home shop as you don't have to consider production costs. Very handy to use and you can produce some very nice work with one. I would buy grinders in this order for working metal:
5" Side grinder Makita makes a great 5" sidegrinder
8" bench grinder or larger
3" belt grinder or larger. you can also make one pretty simple.
Air tools and only if you really had a need for them. Expensive for what a home shop would use them for. Norton makes the best belts and stones. T_Bone
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