bench grinder purchase

[Howard Pollack]

hi, please excuse all lower case, the shift keys have stopped working. i've been looking at 3/4 hp bench grinders and many of them look exactly the same, from cheap no-name grinders to rikon. does anyone know if there are any real differences between them. thanks. -howard

[Rick Potter]

I would think used. I have a couple Craftsman grinders that get intermittent use, and are 50 years old. See them on Craig List a lot.

Too bad you don't live close to me, I have an 8" Ryobi in the box, that I picked up at a HD warehouse sale and never needed. It's on the to go list.

[Dave Cav]

I don't know about the ones you mentioned, but after considerable research I got a Jet JBG-8A 1 HP 8" grinder through Amazon several years ago and have been very happy. It's a relatively heavy duty grinder with cast iron guards and and runs very smoothly. I spent a lot of time looking for an old iron Baldor or Delta grinder but they just don't turn up that often, so I got the Jet.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Best bench grinder I have ever owned was a six inch, $19.99 special from Lowes. Bought it in 1981. Other than replacing stones, nothing has been do to it. Once bought a slow speed grinder that needed both bearings replaced before it could be placed in service. Contacted vendor, and they sent me two open frame bearings to fix it. Who in their right mind would use open bearings on a bench grinder? Went to local bearing supply house and bought two sealed bearings.