[Kartracer55]

My DeWalt bench grinder came today. $99 from MSC. I unpacked it, and it is pretty beefy. The cast Iron base keeps the thing from wobbling, you dont even need to bolt the thing down, because it doesnt walk, even when grinding. Assembly was pretty straight forward, and they were kind enough to give me a parts breakdown if anything goes wrong. Is it a baldor? nope, but its still pretty well built, especially for 99$. 4 amp motor which is the highest I could find on a 6 inch bench grinder for around 100. I already touched up a few things and It is very nice to use. The switch seems durable and the mounts are "solid" with a good amount of adjustability. The eye shields are also nice and easy to use so I wont be taking them off. The wheel shrouds are actually steel, and I must say, they are using some decent bearings in there because it spins up fast but it keeps spinning after you shut it off for what seems like forever. Smooth running and pretty quiet. A slot of grinding a drill bit might have been a nice feature, but other than that, Its an excellent grinder for the money, I cant slow it down.

Too bad its made in china, but Im banking that ALL of them are, so I didnt have much of a choice. Id recommend it, another quality tool from DeWalt.

Jim

 

[andyr354]

hard to find good ones anymore for shure.

I picked up a smaller Dayton USA made one on an auction for $10. Missing the rests but otherwise looks like new. Super smooth and totaly quiet.

 

[PAToyota]

Yep, mine is probably a fifty year old Craftsman I picked up at an auction for $15. Two good quality stones and that thing is solid.

 

[rusted]

I'd like to have two more grinders. Take my little B&D and put wire wheels or buffers on it, and another with two stones, one rough and one for drills, and another with buffers or wires.

 

[D60]

I'd like to have two more grinders. Take my little B&D and put wire wheels or buffers on it, and another with two stones, one rough and one for drills, and another with buffers or wires.

Totally! A wire wheel on a bench grinder is awesome for two-handed clean-up of misc smaller parts and hardware, without having to repeatedly clamp it in a vise in various positions.

 

[andyr354]

For the buffer wheels you could always get an arbor for an electric motor and go that way. I have an extra 1hp motor laying on the shelf I was thinking of converting.

 

[D60]

I've heard of old washing machine motors being used. That could be sweet, if it can spin a large tub of wet clothes it should be unstoppable as a bench grinder ;D

 

[BadDog]

But they are open frames, not ideal for a grinder. I'm collecting parts now for a 1-2 hp 3 phase belt driven arbor grinder. No motor in the way and lots of options, including a keyless drill chuck to hold stones and 1/4 burs and such. Also planning a large abrasive belt grinder in the mix... I'll likely sell my bench grinder when done with the new one, but then again, keeping it set up for more options would be good...

 

[EMG7895]

I saw one on craigslist the other day that was really cool, It was a long table with a shaft on top with a bunch of different size stones and wire wheels and it was belt driven.

 

[eschoendorff]

Yep, mine is probably a fifty year old Craftsman I picked up at an auction for $15. Two good quality stones and that thing is solid.

I got an old 8" Craftsman Commercial... the thing's a beast. One side has a medium grinding wheel and the other has a knotted wire wheel. Great for cleaning and sharpening mower blades, btw. Found a bench grinder stand on clearance at Lowes, took some old junk wood and made a base for it. Added some casters (with brakes) and - voila! I can roll the grinder to the job. It's not pretty, but it works...

 

[Kartracer55]

Ditch the ramps!!!

those things are a deathtrap

 

[makya]

I saw one on craigslist the other day that was really cool, It was a long table with a shaft on top with a bunch of different size stones and wire wheels and it was belt driven.

That's what we use in the grinding rooms at the moulding mills to cut profile knives for the Older equipment. The nice thing is even with a 3450 motor you can still bring it down to 1700-2000 rpm so you don't heat up the steel too quickly.