Bench grinders

J. Schwiebert

Well-known Member
O. K. Christmas shopping for a bench grinder. A Baldor is good but out of my price range. I don't think Sears this time around so what is a good grinder for home use in say the $75.00 to 90.00 price range. Thanks. J.
 
Look for a used name brand on Ebay. I found a Dayton 3 phase, probably $800 new, for $75 a couple years ago. Worked like new!
 
I agree with Steve. Old industrial quality grinders are a great bargain. I bought a 10" Cincinnati on a cast iron pedestal with brand new 2" wide stones for $100 from a guy who deals in machine tools. He said they usually end up in scrap bins.
 
When there are US made tools available why would anyone buy Chinese made tools from Grizzly?
 
My son got me an 8 inch dewalt for Christmas a few years ago. I like it.

I made a 10 inch mower blade sharpener using 4 10 inch metal cutoff wheels and my old craftsman radial arm saw. I rarely use the radial arm and it makes the best blade sharpener. It can put a factory job on my 2 ft long woods blades that have about an 8 inch cutting edge on each end.
 
As far as I'm concerned a grinder is a grinder however years ago I bought a Delta grinder that only lasted two weeks. I replaced it with one from the dollar store and have been using it since.
 
Check out a JET bench grinder. I bought one several years ago as it came highly recommended. Reasonably priced, built like a tank and runs smooth as silk.
 

Finding an affordable US made grinder is gonna be tough. You're money ahead finding a decent new of used unit and putting GOOD wheels on it.
 
The tool consignment store near me is full of good grinders. I put one there that was made in USA and had fantastic bearings .It was nice and after three or four months of not sellinmg I brought it back home.I was asking 50 bucks.This is not a pawn shop.
 

Don't skimp on bench grinders. Buy the best one you can afford. The cheaper ones shake and vibrate, I have settled on DeWalt grinders, both hand held and bench mounted. They run smooth, and the bench grinders won't shake everything onff of the bench.
 
Not to mention the cheap ones are gutless. I've got the safest bench grinder in the world. Anything catches will immediately stall it, so I won't get a mower blade flung into my face.
 
I'm thinking that the Christmas sales of tools is going to be slow, so I'm waiting to see what goes on clearance later before I buy any more tools.

Just my opinion.
 
I checked the local (Seattle metro) area craigslist for bench grinders and there were plenty of used American made ones going for $15 to $50. I've owned a Harbor Freight bench grinder mounted on a pedestal for more than 10 years and I've got no complaints with it. It's seriously underpowered compared to the Baldor grinders we had at the college welding shop for decades (probably since the college opened as a voc-tech in the early 60's), but that's not a totally bad thing. The Baldor grinders were powerful but unforgiving. The shop rule was that you couldn't wear gloves when using the grinder, but sometimes people did anyway because grinding metal makes it hot. There was at least one nasty accident caused by the wire wheel grabbing a gloved hand and pulling it into the space between the rest and the wheel, removing quite a bit of stock from one finger. I've held small items too close to one of the wheels on my Harbor Freight grinder and removed some fingerprints, but it's not powerful enough to do much more than that. I'd say that putting good quality grinding and wire wheels on any bench grinder should be a top priority.

Stan
 

I do not recommend Harbor-Freight, 'cause more often than not I've gotten burned with that junk, but I did buy a bench grinder from them over 30 years ago. 2 years ago I had to replace the on/off switch. I got lucky on that one.
 
WHY you ask? Sees like your not to well imformed. Safe in saying most grinders are made in China (aka)Harbor freight . sears ect. You sure as he--,will pay through the nose if you can find one made in U.S.A.THATS WHY!!!!
LOU
 
Sorry to be not as informed as you, but my statement stands. I will purchase US made products, new or used before I will purchase anything from Grizzly or Harbor Freight. Sorry again for being so ignorant.
 
1/2 HP MINIMUM, 3/4 HP is Better. Anything LESS THAN 1/2 HP I consider to be not worth my time or money.

:>)
 

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