If you look around online, you’ll find lots of stained glass sites that say you don’t really need glass grinders to finish your stained glass projects professionally and beautifully. What they don’t tell you is how much easier a glass grinder makes it to fit and set your glass pieces properly. A glass grinder can turn hours of tedious hand grinding into a few minutes of work. In fact, once you’ve gotten used to creating your projects with access to a stained glass grinder, you’ll find yourself using it in many different ways, including shaping and smoothing edges, drilling holes and adding texture to glass surfaces.
The top of the line glass grinders are certainly expensive, but you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a decent quality grinder for use in your stained glass project. The cheapest glass grinders for beginners start at around $50, and are perfectly serviceable for a beginning hobbyist who doesn’t expect to create larger pieces, or to create many pieces.
Those who are a little more advanced or who expect to create larger stained glass projects will likely be more satisfied with mid-range glass grinders, which feature more powerful motors and more options for expansion. The mid-range stained glass grinders, generally in the $100 to $150 price range, often accept a variety of glass grinding bits and can be expanded with various accessories to increase their usefulness in your glass workshop.
If you’re buying a glass grinder for the first time, you’ll want to take several things into consideration. These aspects and features will help you make your choice among the many glass grinders on the market.
More Torque Equals More Power Equals Less Work
The torque rating on glass grinders refers to the amount of power with which the bit will rotate. The more torque a motor has, the more firmly you can press your glass piece against it without slowing or stalling the rotation of the bit. While you’ll always have pieces that require a very delicate hand, having more power at your disposal means that you can grind away rough edges and do serious shaping much more quickly.
Larger Work Space Allows You to Work on Larger Projects
Choose glass grinders with a larger work platform to give you more versatility. A small work surface can make it difficult to handle larger pieces of stained glass. You can always add a second, smaller work platform for more delicate work.
Glass grinders take the tedium out of creating beautiful pieces of stained glass and allow you to concentrate on the creative part that you enjoy the most. Why work harder than you have to when stained glass grinders can make it so easy?
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