This is a separate topic from the jig used to guide or hold the tool to be ground, but I really appreciate the fact that I, almost accidentally, decided to use the old circular sander as the grinding means. There are many reasons:
1.)I don't have to worry about wheels shattering, I can just turn it on without standing back from it. I am also not in line with the periphery. It is quieter and more pleasant to work with.
2.)I am grinding on a flat surface rather than a curved one. It doesn't impart a hollow to the face being ground. This is important. A conventional grinder's disk shaped stone shouldn't be used on the flat side face (or that's what is generally decreed). So if used properly it grinds hollow.
True, special conical stones allow flat grinding. But they are expensive ( many times more than my entire tag sale sander) and they tie up your grinder -- they limit what you can grind besides machine tools. I often need to sharpen axes etc. , or grind down raw stock, and that would certainly abuse a special conical stone. I have a conventional grinder with conventional stones for these things. Also it accepts special purpose wheels like a green wheel or even a buffing wheel. Not disparaging a conventional grinder, but for sharpening lathe tools now, I greatly prefer the sander.
3.) The sander doesn't require dressing to keep it sharp, or true. Just pop on a new sanding disk. You could buy a lot of sanding disks for the price of a conical stone. And you can change grits in a minute.
4.) I can use the sander for many other purposes that would be unsuitable for a grinding stone -- wood in pattern making, soft alloys, etc.
5.) It is compact, and fits nicely where I need it.
I'd love a Quorn or any of the other wonderful cutter grinders out there, no question, and if one dropped out of the sky to alight on my workbench, that's where tools would get sharpened. But failing that, my precision tool sharpening has moved from the grinder to the sander with no regrets.
