Aldi Workzone Titanium+ Grinder/Sander

[Christos]

Over the last few months I have been reviewing the Workzone Titanium+ Grinder/Sander. The opportunity to review the Workzone Titanium+ Grinder /Sander was provided by ALDI as they wanted someone from the Woodworkforums to review their upcoming Workzone Titanium+ Grinder/Sander. I volunteered to do that review.
As the names indicates it is a combination grinder and sander(sanding belt) as one compact unit.



Due to the limitations of space within my garage I found that I needed to keep the grinder / sander under my workbench and when required move it on top of my workbench. As it is not heavy it was easy to lift and move into position for the task that I required. There is an option to bolt this to a flat stable surface using the available slots on either side of the base of the grinder/sander. Instead of using standard bolts and nuts one might use bolts and wing nuts giving you easier option to remove and store the grinder/sander when not required.

The setup was very smooth as the User Manual is easy to understand. You unfold the cover page and as you read the user manual the referenced figures(photos) are always on displayed. Once the setup is completed I had a good feeling that I was able to complete this setup easily. This is not always the case when normally reading user manuals/instructions. Within the supplied manual/instruction booklet and at the bottom of every page are the After Sale Support contact details, phone number, email address, model and product code. On the last page of the user manual there is an exploded view of the grinder/sander.

The very first thing that I used the grinder/sander for was to make a wooden sword. Yes that’s right a sword. My friend has recently taken up martial arts and required training with a wooden sword. A piece of wood was selected from my hardwood pile and the shape was drawn out. This was then cut out on the bandsaw leaving it just proud of the line. The final shaping / sanding completed on the grinder/sander. Some parts of the handle of the sword were a little hard to sand with the sanding belt due to the tight radius of the sword design, this was done by hand. During the sanding operation I had the unit operating with and without dust extraction. Better to have dust extraction in place as the bottom of the dust extraction housing can build up a layer of dust.



I found that the vacuum cleaner hose fit inside the dust extraction port.



When my friend returned to pickup his wooden sword he requested me to make another one with some modification to the length and handle size. I ended up making a total of three and all using the ALDI grinder/sander to final sand to the line. Due to the amount of sanding I was finding the belt building up some residue of dust a quick swipe with the rubber cleaned it.



I wanted to see how it was to remove and replace the sanding belt, I referred to the user manual for the steps involved. Another easy operation as already stated the instruction are clear. I adjusted the sanding belt with the belt guidance adjustment screw to fine tune a little and only requires the slightest of touch.

The Workzone Titanium+ Grinder/Sander comes with a tray on the bottom part of the body which can be used to contain a fluid to cool down the tool when grinding. For what I have been using the grinder/sander I found that I did not require this option. It is a nice to have as I may use it in the future.

The tool rest on the grinder did not allow me to adjust the angle. It is in a fixed position where it can move closer and further away from the wheel but not pivot.



I reached for one of the many chisels that required grinding and after the first few passes I found that I was getting a variety of facets. A quick way of repeating an existing bevel angle was to hold the chisel against the wheel and rest the tool on the tool rest. Then using my thumb and two fingers(one above and one below the tool rest) I was able to hold the chisel on a pivot point. Turn on the grinder and lightly touch the wheel with the chisel. It gave me a nice clean facet.

My next question was what about establishing a different bevel angle? After thinking about this for a little while I came up with a triangular block of wood that I could rest/secure on the tool rest then place the chisel on top of that.

The sharpening of my axes and the garden shears free hand produced nice results. The axes I have do not require an exact bevel angle as these are only used to hack at the wood. The wood turning chisels were a bit of a challenge as some of them were wider than the grinder wheel and so I only sharpen the smaller ones.

I turned my attention to see if I could shape metal. I picked up two square ended pieces one at 2mm thick and the other at 8mm thick. I marked out a quarter circle radius on both and with light touches on the wheel both were grind-ed to that radius. I did not time the process as it was more to see how the grinding wheel stood up to this sort of treatment. Using the Grinding Wheel Dresser which comes with the machine trued up the grinding wheel after only a few passes.

Another feature of this grinder/sander is the build in light. Easy to adjust and it stays in place when grinding or sanding.

Overall I am very happy with this machine, lightweight and compact.

As part of the review Aldi wanted me to provide the following information.

The Workzone Titanium Grinder/Sander will retail for $99.99 and will be available in ALDI stores from Saturday 21st of February.

[Sturdee]

Christos, I like your comprehensive review, good to know about it prior to the sale.

As I once looked at buying something similar from Bunnings but could not buy replacement belts from them, can you tell me how easy it is to obtain replacement belts and what grits are available.

Peter.

[Christos]

...
As I once looked at buying something similar from Bunnings but could not buy replacement belts from them, can you tell me how easy it is to obtain replacement belts and what grits are available. ....

Let me send the person who I am dealing with an email asking that question.

[Christos]

I received an email reply concerning the enquiry about sanding belts.


Replacement belts are available from the After Sales Support contact (details are on the box and within the user manual)

The sanding paper is available in 80, 120 & 220 grit.

[dai sensei]

A few more facts would help in the review:

• What size is the grinding wheel, dia & width?
• What grit is the grinding wheel?
• How wide is the sanding belt?
• What grit is the sanding belt provided, and is there more than 1 belt provided?
• What size is the motor?
• What are the overall dimensions of the unit?
• What size is the base of the unit?
• Do the shafts run on bearings?
• Is it a direct drive motor or geared, and if geared, are they metal or plastic?
• What size/type of light globe provided? How long is flexible stem?

Some other info:

• You say it is bolted down, but I can't see the bolt holes nor bolts. What is provided, no. d x L? What is access to the bolts like? Can it be used without bolting it down?
• How much vibration is there when running/being used? How noisy is it?
• How efficient was the dust extraction pick-up? ie when on, did it collect all the dust?
• How true was the grinding wheel to start with? Did it need dressing?
• At that price I assume once the grinding wheel wears down you throw it away.

[wheelinround]

Peter/Sturdy you should find replacement belts almost at any hardware store that sells similar even at Supercheap, Total Tools Masters. ALDI do not usually handle such as consumables for tools a well known fact. I'd hate to have to run out of something and then have to contact an aftersales service to wait days before being able to continue............saying this I guess many country and out city town sheds have this problem.

For a small hobby shop an ideal unit I'd say for someone who uses it daily and hard

Christos good write up basic and done as a non technical tradie writer aimed well at those who have less cash to throw around.

Many of Neil's questions could be answered by scanning the manual and placing a PDF of it on here.

[BobL]

Good work Chrisitos !

Probably the most important pieces of information for me would be
Motor RPM
Diameter/width of wheel and belt driving drum
Diameter of wheel arbor
How hot does it get on continuous operation

[FenceFurniture]

Christos, where does the "Titanium" come in?

[Sturdee]

Thanks Christos for the information re belts.

I've since seen the catalog from Aldi and it list the following additional details that may be of interest:

370 W motor,

operates at 2850 rpm,

grinding wheel : 150 * 25mm,

sanding belt: 686 * 50mm

and the unit comes with a 3 year guarantee which means that Aldi is standing behind this product.

Peter.

[Christos]

....For a small hobby shop an ideal unit I'd say for someone who uses it daily and hard ......

When I was using the grinding wheel I would only have the unit on for short periods. Just to touch up an edge and even when shaping it was not on for long compared to when I was sanding. I think during the sanding of one of the wooden swords it was running for about an hour.

[Pac man]

https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-b...15-02-17_16-10

[code4pay]

Purchased one today. Gave it a quick run sharpened a drill bit and shaped a peice of wood. Seems to work as advertised. Purchased 5 80 grit belts from ebay for it for 17.00. The belts silverline had reasonable reviews on amazon.

[nosnow]

Hi
Looked on the box & it is a scheppach Ginder/Linisher Model : bgs 700
so its been around for a while
Cheers Rod