Best Bench Grinder for the Money! (Bench Grinder Buyer's Guide)

I got the 8" DeWalt on Amazon for $137.00 and it runs fine with almost no vibration that I can tell. My shop has lights so a model with a built in light just seemed superfluous as I can see fine in there. I got the Wen stand for it and bolted it to the concrete floor, and as I'm 6'8" I also just went to the hardware store and bought a longer piece of pipe to make it sit higher. I kept my old 6" grinder and changed the heads on it to a wire wheel and a buffer.

I have an old 6" bench grinder that works fine, BUT ;-)

I am retiring it and am upgrading my 100+ year old big stone pedestal grinder. I have had never used big stones tucked away for decades.

EVERYTHING I tried to shape or sharpen on my 6" grinder, even while dipping tools in water, blued. 3450 RPM is just too fast. I suspect that 1725 used on some of the 8 inch bench grinders, is also too fast, ideally. I have to get a couple pulleys yet to reduce the RPM's a bit more; aiming for a reduction from a 1.25 HP 3450 motor to around 1000 RMP's or slower even.

I have another ancient 2 stone pedestal grinder that I have stripped, and am making it into a double wire wheel setup. Starting with a 1725 RPM 1/3 HP motor, geared down by about half RPM's or less. This makes a much safer wire wheel, less likely to throw off wires, and is much easier on the parts being cleaned.

My big stones are not good for final sharpening, but will be far better for everything else I have been doing with a 3450 RPM 6" grinder.

For chisel and turning tools, I will likely also just order diamond wheels and build a lower speed unit. Lower than 1725 RPM. Maybe use step pulleys for variable speeds as well. Likely build a sharpening jig too.

Did Harbor Freight discontinue hercules grinders? Only Bauer now?

OK let me tell you how SPOILED I am getting, after having just upgraded all of my power tools to modern and top of the line.

My bench grinder came in today. It is a DeWalt. With me, it s always a DeWalt. It's the 8 inch and, well, they don't sell 20 different models of this. It is the ONE 8" bench grinder that DeWalt offers. So I got it unboxed, I installed a wire wheel on one side, I slapped on al of the guards and I cranked it up. It started spinning around in a circle. That is what bench grinders do so, preflight check complete.

Then I turned it off and went on to do something else. A minute or so later it was still spinning. So I tried to turn it off again, but it was already off. I thought "self, you handsome devil, is the switch broken?" So I unplugged it...and it was still spinning. Now I thought the time had finally come, and Skynet was in control. Then it hit me...

"Self, you handsome but spoiled bastard, you have grown so accustomed to all of your new, modern, upgraded tools that you forgot...everything that spins does not have, nor need, a brake on it! So, I grabbed a screwdriver and stopped it the old Bedrock way.

This must be what you Harbor Freight guys go through every day.

I recently bought a second hand bench grinder 6 inch but it's definitely better built than the new version of it. Record power is the brand but I'm not sure if you have them ?

I run an 8” Balfour passed down to me from my father in law who was a farrier for 50 years. Still runs smooth as can be. Are there newer fancier machines? Yes. But it is an incredibly well made tool.

Baldor is the best, Dewalt is second best for the price.

Baldor is a motor company....Why wouldn't the motor be made in USA? You don't know much about tools.

Incredibly informative....but, I'm scratching my head at the thumbnail. Mind you, these days a year is a friggin' eternity with the supply chain, and economical apocalypse that is getting worse by the day. What was going on a year ago when you made this video could very well be irrelevant, as of this comment. But, that said, why the dig on the DeWalt? I'm in the market to pick one of these up, hence my watching the video, and price-wise it's very affordable, and has glowing reviews. I'll be using it primarily for cleaning rusty bolts, and sharpening...so, I'm wondering why it didn't make the list. I was seriously considering the Wen, as well...but, I believe the DeWalt is cheaper (at least at the moment).

Hey Bear, this was a Grrrrrrrrrrreat video. Thanks

I have a 6 inch Ohio forge bench grinder that I bought 38 years ago when I was 16 years old and it has been excellent and I can't fault it, it has a lovely deep humming drone sound when I use it

HART or WEN?

im sure u all know this my ryobi is junk!!! wobbly wheels n thich blk washer dropped out of it, can anyone tell me where it goes as the wheel bolts r in place, n how to balance them.....also does hp equate to amps? n what the dyi shop amp min we should get 3, 5 etc?

Old news but I bought a wen 6in grinder. First impression was cheap on top of cheap. Then I turned it on and had to grab it quickly before it fell off the table. Any way, long story short, I did all the tricks and more to get things balanced. Git it to a barely acceptable vibration. But this still bothered me. So I tore the whole thing apart and installed the shaft into my lathe. What I found was stunning. The right side part that the stone rests on was not in line with the rest of the shaft. It was machined off at a slight angle. So there is nothing I can do. Ok, later I might machine it straight and make a spacer to get it inline with the shaft. Will never ever buy a wen item again.

I bought a Wen and I am here to tell you don’t waste your money. Ended up buying a jet a month later.

I would like to here your thoughts on the DEWALT 8in & 6in bench grinders thanks 👍👍👍

A few words about parts and support would be nice. Especially for the variable speed ones where the control boards burn out after a while. For example the 8" Craftsman control board sells for $125 (if you can find one) which essentially renders the grinder useless where the Grizzly and Wen variable speed boards going for about $25 (reasonable). Delta on the other hand is never in stock. 
Just my 2 cents.

Baldor makes their motors in the US. Everything they make is high quality, and made for 100% duty cycle under industrial conditions. The motors are completely sealed and will last forever...

Would have loved some more discussion on what makes a 500-1000 grinder worth more than a 1000... is it the precision of how true it spins? the reliability of the motor? just the cast iron diesel-ness? Can you put a vfd on em? etc

I just got a 6in dewalt and it runs smoooooth right out of the box. My old one had no guards and failing bearings so the dewalt is kind of amazing after dealing with that👍

Bear, I want to tell you... not related to the video in any way, other than that this was the video playing when I finished the task.

I just finished sorting, categorizing, and properly storing all, ALL, of my hardware fasteners, brackets, hooks, o-rings, doohickeys, and all that type of nonsense that ends up filling magnetic trays, cluttering shelves with half used boxes, in drawers' bottom corners, mayonnaise jars, coffee cans and shoeboxes. Took 3 days.

i bought a WEN (sorry I don't remember which model but it was around $60 5ish years ago) both grinding wheels basically disintegrated with the slightest use. The trueing mechanism seems like a good idea but that wouldn't have saved my model.

About that Grizzly, and I may be wrong and a bit cynical here, but I think you're harboring some personal bias on that one.

baldors are spectacular. of course, the baldor motors are USA-made.

Recently purchased Delta 6in variable speed bench grinder. Runs so hot after a few minutes that it can burn my hand. I'm looking for one that runs cool. 6 inch, variable speed. How has experience with this? Please and thank you.

bear go away....weird

i am sorry, this might be a great vid.. but this voice your using with the bear, is hard for me to understand, being legally deaf and using a hearing aid, the vocalization is too fast and hard to understand. i had to slow the vid down and use the caption to try to understand what the information was being presented..

Many thanks for this excellent video which covers very well the subject. I have now a much better idea of the situation of this market in USA. In comparison, here in Europe (France for instance) we have less choice in the area of variable speed bench grinder than what you have in USA and it is entirely made in China. We have european products and these are as expensive as what you have in USA (more than 800 euros for an 8 inch variable speed grinder). I have two 6 inches single speed grinders and two 8 inches (one is variable speed and one single speed). Again, many thanks for this excellent video and for the very useful information included.

Hi, I have made a padestal stand for my 8 in bench grinder. It weighs about 37 lbs. The only problem is that when the grinder is switched off and is slowing down the grinder with the stand resonate and vibrates at 2 rotating speeds. Can u tell me how to fix this. I can share pics of the padestal stand if possible.

Ok, so I read a comment that you didn't include Dewalt because it did not have variable speed. But your video still shows a Dewalt grinder, along with a clickbait title of "don't waste your money". Meanwhile, in that same comment from before, you say that Dewalts are excellent grinders. WTF? Fwiw, those kind of misleading titles make we want to stop watching your content. And this "best bench grinder for the money"? All you're doing is an extremely basic walk-through of every [variable-speed ONLY] grinder you can find. And not even a meaningful [read "expert"] opinion provided on what the actual "best grinder for the money" is... Such an incredibly pointless video... I want my 10 minutes back (I skipped through a lot of the blather, thank goodness).

Baldor, and Dayton, used to be the big dog's. Not sold by big box store's. You have to get them from , McMaster Carr, or Grainger. Or a real tool vender that is similar. And yeah. If you top quality you have to pay!

8" Hercules is my choice...I sharpen my bowl gouges ect so i needed variable speed, and my Rockler jigs had to fit.
The new Bauer is nice.

What am i watching

It boils down to this, it all depends on what you plan to use it for and how often. Moderate users get a $150 dollar one on sale at $99 bucks and it will last most people a lifetime. In a machine shop, get the industrial one preferred a Baldor, the one in our mechanics shop must be about 80 plus years old and still kicking fanny. Casual users can get by with one that normally costs around $100 on sale at 50 or 60 bucks check clearance, open box, or if there is no more in stock talk to the manager and ask them about the floor model I have saved over 30 to 40% percent on some items I bought off the floor all with the same manufacture warranty and I have yet had to return or repair anything.

Exactly the video I was looking for.
Thanks for the knowledge....
And the bear puns 😁

Make your own stand pipe is cheap..

They all come out of the same Chinese factory that's why they all look the same...USA tool companies don't manufacture tools they buy and sell tools...or assembled in U.S. stamped made in the U.S. I blame the government not regulating 100% made in the U.S...but than again who can afford or want to spend $900 for a bench grinder for DIY ..just because it was made in the U.S.A

I went with a dewalt 6 inch. Idc about the name of the tool, or variable speeds. I wanted a/c with above 1/2 horse power. I'm Just tired of stalling out my grinders with barely any pressure.

Watch out for shitty under powered bench grinders, these little 150-250w motor aren't worth a wank, they lose speed faster than a semi on a mountain climb. It's very annoying and makes doing any job a pain.

How do you not include dewalt?

Hey Bear. Like the dewalt grinders. And getting a buffing wheel.
Quick question- do you use any wood lathes and do you have a preference?

Get a Hurcules 8in variable speed bench grinder from harbor freight or a Wen 8in variable speed bench grinder. But for you that have more money get a Jet 8in variable speed bench grinder. And just to put it out there a buffer is not a bench grinder. If you do want an ok buffer get a central machinery 6in 1/3hp buffer/from harbor freight or if you have more money get a Jet 8in variable speed buffer. I hope this helps

As someone who used to be involved with supplying Baldor with their motors - I can confirm the motors are 100% non-usa import. They even paid us extra to remove our manufacturing tags and replace them with theirs. Was our best company to deal with - however good luck finding a USA motor...anywhere.

I got a 7 inch Dayton, model: 4Z908B 1/2hp 3450rpm(tr/mn) 7.8 amps. It’s not super old but it’s also has to be at least 10 or 15 years old if I was to guess. My dad got it a few years ago from somewhere. I would have to say I don’t have any complaints. It has an on off switch and plenty of power for anything I’m doing at home while being small enough to to be a bench top grinder.

Very informative videos

Is it possible to add a device to a non-variable speed grinder to make it variable

Thanks

Where was the DeWalt? I was curious and you click bated me.

Very much appreciated on the video that is quite informative.