Modding a bench grinder, would this work?

[berad001]

I just got an 8 amp 1/2HP 8" table grinder, seems like its pretty standard issue to rip the whole thing apart and take off what you're not going to use assuming you're using it as a buffer/polisher. The downside of having this is I can't polish heavy stuff with it, I cant stand there for and hour at a time holding up a 50 pound piece of metal. So getting back on track as I was ripping it down I wondered, would it be possible to pull this thing down to just the motor and buffing wheel, weld some handles and brackets to it, and suspend it from a ceiling beam? I was thinking of getting some high strength sailing bungee and attaching it so it will almost be in zero gravity hanging there. What do you guys think?

you can mount a flex shaft to the end of it ,, just put it on a mobile stand

[Matt Harwood]

I think hanging it will cause problems with the laws of physics. It'll spin the wheel until the load of the wheel is greater than the inertia in the motor--then the motor will start to spin instead. Not very effective. You'll also be limited to the amount of force you can apply, which will be equal to the weight of the motor.

For polishing larger items, get a flex shaft as suggested, or get some felt bobs for your drill or angle grinder.

Hope this helps.