I brought this lovely old hand powered bench grinder at eh car boot sale on Sunday. It's unusual find in the fact that it is made for a full size grinding wheel, most are made for a much smaller wheel (I have a few of them) and this is the first I have seen like this.
My trade (carpenter) can be done without power, it was for thousands of years, I'd be quite a bit slower but you'd soon adapt to it. I do as much as I can by hand anyway, as I tend to prefer it and it suits the type of work I do.
One thing I would struggle to do without power is to keep my tools in top condition. Chisels I hone on an oil stone but after a number of sharpens (or more usually - hitting a nail) you need to regrind the bevel. I won't get technical about sharpening here, there are many websites and book dedicated to the subject, but a grinder is essential for this.
In times past they'd have big stone wheels powered by hand, feet or even water. This little bench grinder is somewhere between that and a modern electric one. It's geared, so spins much faster than you turn the wheel, clamps easily to a work bench and runs on one thing - you.
It needs a new wheel, a good clean up and an oiling but otherwise it's in good condition.
I think it's good not to be 100% reliant on electric (the prepper part of me thinks like that) and this little grinder means that even if the power is out I can still sharpen my tools.
What other hand powered tools have people got that are normally electric powered? What else should I be looking out for?
