Congratulations on the purchase of your new grinder. There were a lot of considerations to be made before the purchase was finalised. What size of grinder and how much torque (power) did you need? The size of your work station and the type of projects you will be doing usually will dictate which one you buy. The larger the work surface the easier it is to grind. The more torque it has it will grind faster and more efficiently. You also made sure your grinder will let you add accessories in the future. Accessories that can be added are different size and grit heads, face shields, backsplash and additional work surfaces. |
Once you remove the grinder from the box please make sure you read all of the directions before starting your set up. This way you will make sure that you apply lubricant to the shaft of the grinder so that the heads will be easily moved or removed. You will place the grinder head onto the shaft with the Allen screw on the flat side of the shaft and not tighten the screw too tight or you will dent the shaft and have trouble taking it off later. Start the head off at either the top or bottom of the head so when it starts to wear out you will remember which way to lift or drop the head. If you are not going to be using your grinder for any extended period of time remove the head. |
Now is the time to add your face shield to the surface of the grinder. (I always use one because I don't like to eat glass, wash my face with it or cover my hair with it, although it does look nice and sparkley with all of the glass dust on top) If you do not want to add a face shield you must always wear protective eye wear. (A trip to the hospital to remove glass shards is not very nice and will also take time away from your project.) Set your grinder at a level that is comfortable for you so that you are not straining or bending over to work on the work surface. |
Now you will fill the resivoir of the grinder with DISTILLED WATER (not tap water as the dissolved calcium carbonate will bond the glass chips together like limestone) and GRINDER COOLANT. This will help your grinder heads last longer for the diamond grit will stay cooler while you are grinding. Place a splashguard around your grinder to help with the overspray. You may now plug the grinder into a grounded outlet. (never remove the ground plug or override it, remember you are working with water and electricity.) If you use the stand for the face shield, it can prove handy to put some vaseline on a Q-tip and apply it to the tops of the screws holding the stand to the work surface. If you need to remove the stand in the future (ie. for a really deep grind) the screw heads won't be rusty and full of glass chips. |
You are now ready to start grinding. Check over your check list: over head lighting is on to help see and reduce eye strain, elevate one of your feet if you will be grinding for a long peroid of time as this will take some of the strain from your back, have a towel or paper towels handy to dry pattern pieces before you put them on your pattern to see if they fit. (I put a cover of mac-tac on my patterns to help keep them dry at all times.) Make sure that the sponge is placed properly up against the grinder head at all times so that the water is going onto the head to help keep the diamond grit and the glass cool. If you see any white powder on the glass reposition the sponge so that there is enough water going on the grinder head. |
Place the glass to be ground flat on the grinder surface and press gently against the grinder head. Do not press hard because the shaft will bend over time or the glass is cutting your thumbs! After time if you find yourself pressing the glass too hard against the head it may need to be moved to a new space on the head where there is no wear on the diamond grit. Just undo the screw with your hex key and move either up or down the head to a new spot. |
Once you have ground off all of the excess glass and the pieces fit the pattern nicely you may now clean up the grinder. We clean the reservoir out after every use because glass dust is harmful to you and your grinder motor. Use a rubber spatula or plastic putty scraper to remove the majority of your grinding residue. By using distilled water you should not have any hard water deposits but if you do, clean with white vinegar or a lime removal product (carefully). Always rinse your plexy glass shields under cool running water so they don't scratch by rubbng glass dust into the surface. I use a piece of clear practice glass with the edges wrapped in copper foil (so I don't cut myself) in my glastar face shield. This way I can just wipe off the dust or else use water or windex to clean the glass. Make sure that you always rinse the sponge under clean running water to remove the glass dust as well. If you don't the sponge can get so full of glass dust it will become as hard as the glass and your grinder head will wear out faster. A clean grinder will last a number of years. Happy grinding! |