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Best grinder

Alan Weinberg

Alan Weinberg

Joined
Feb 18, 2023
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Location
Orange, CA
Is the Rikon 1 hp the best? I’ve searched this site but there is no thread discussing pros and cons of various bench grinders. My current mongrel brand may not last—it got real hot when I left it running 10 minutes or so. I use Wolverine system with it.

Let’s talk grinders.
 
I'm sure some sort of Baldor is the best. That's way out of reach for me. I've had a Powertec grinder off Amazon since I started turning in 2017. Rikon seems to be pretty respected for the more affordable grinders. If my powertec dies that's what I'll probably go for.
 
I have a dual AEG 200mm dia, picked it up second hand from another turner retiring. Its high speed around 3k rpm would prefer 1400 rpm but the price to good to miss as it came with Vicmarc grinding jigs . I actually have three grinders , the AEG has CBN wheels, a regular 8" grinder for conventual wheels and a old Atlas 6" standard plus a slow speed horizontal wheel on top. Its probably over 60 years old still going well.
 
In the USA, Baldor is best, period. They don't make hobbiest machines, every grinder they make is built for industrial use, and expected to last for decades under hours of use on every work shift.

I've owned a 7", 1800rpm Baldor for over 20 years. It operates as well today as on day 1, and I'd fully recommend it but for one small issue to today's woodturner- CBN wheels are almost non-existent. Well, they are available from 80-600 grit, but as far as I can find, only available from Woodturners Wonders, and that company seems to be working hard at drilling themselves into the ground. They didn't bother calling me back to confirm stock of a 600-grit 7" wheel, an easy $150 sale for them. (See recent discussion threads.) If you only intend to run stone wheels, get the 7" Baldor, all day long.

If money were no object, I'd pay the $1400'ish to buy the Baldor 8" 1800rpm grinder, and you'll find CBN wheels for it from every Tom, Dick and Harry.

If not the Baldor in the USA, I guess I'd look at the 1hp Rikon, and even research the 1725rpm Jet bench grinder. I know nothing of the Jets, so do your homework to see if their slow speed are built the same way as their 3600rpm grinders (i.e. cast iron construction, motor power, etc.).

I wonder if Dayton (sold through Grainger) makes a slow speed grinder? They are as industrial-based as Baldor, but not typically domestic-built.
 
I have both the slow speed Rikon 1 hp grinders and the Baldor. For sure, the Baldor was far beyond the Rikon. They both come up to speed in the same amount of time. One big difference is that the Rikon runs for long time after you turn it off with the heavy CBN wheels on it, while the Baldor comes to a fairly quick stop. My Baldor grinder was under $1000 when I bought it. The Rikon does go on sale once or twice a year. The 1/2 hp Rikon is way too underpowered for me, but a lot of people use them. Chances are that if you buy one brand new, some one will have it for sale cheap right after it arrives.... I did get 2 new CBN wheels from D Way at the Oregon Woodturning Symposium, and they are VERY heavy. Jimmie has a new manufacturer. I am not sure how long it will spin after I turn it off. I use a tool to bring it to a halt. Of course, the tool rests that come with it are junk. I think it had a light on it, and if it did, taking that off was the first step. They are worthless.....

robo hippy
 
There's ;little doubt in my mind that the Baldor grinders are the best ones available. That said, for the hobbyist use I have for a grinder the 1 HP slow speed Rikon does just fine. I also have a couple of other 1/2 and 3/4 slow speed ones that are relegated other uses.
 
Grainger (not the cheapest source out there) has 1hp 8" variable speed grinders (900-3600rpm) from Dayton and Jet, give or take $900. Still a steep price, but variable speed sounds like it could be handy.
Edit- the link above works, takes you to their bench grinders. Scroll across the top row of grinder photos to click on the variable speed machines.
 
My favorite is the Metabo I keep in my welding shop. For lathe tool sharpening I have the “1/2 speed” 1/2hp Rikon, the old “No Name” Woodcraft bench grinder, and a 1 HP Rikon. None of them get hot during use.

All run true, use CBN wheels with the spherical washers, no difference in the function. The 1/2 hp is fine for aluminum CBN wheels; I was told the 1 hp may be better for the heavier steel CBN wheels but have no experience with those.

JKJ
 
robo hippy said:
I have both the slow speed Rikon 1 hp grinders and the Baldor. For sure, the Baldor was far beyond the Rikon. They both come up to speed in the same amount of time. One big difference is that the Rikon runs for long time after you turn it off with the heavy CBN wheels on it, while the Baldor comes to a fairly quick stop. My Baldor grinder was under $1000 when I bought it. The Rikon does go on sale once or twice a year. The 1/2 hp Rikon is way too underpowered for me, but a lot of people use them. Chances are that if you buy one brand new, some one will have it for sale cheap right after it arrives.... I did get 2 new CBN wheels from D Way at the Oregon Woodturning Symposium, and they are VERY heavy. Jimmie has a new manufacturer. I am not sure how long it will spin after I turn it off. I use a tool to bring it to a halt. Of course, the tool rests that come with it are junk. I think it had a light on it, and if it did, taking that off was the first step. They are worthless.....

robo hippy
Click to expand...
I got a CBN from D-way. Weighs 17 lbs. I have a 1 hp Hercules grinder from H Freight. That’s the issue. That weight is crazy.

Looks like 1 hp Rikon is a good value. Baldor is the money doesn’t matter option. Does Baldor go on sale?

Wonder how Jet JBG-8A 1 hp at $355 is?

Know anything about Wen? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZVS2PS5?tag=bg1-772522-20
 
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As good grinders go, Baldor is the last man standing. Back in the day Baldor was a low cost also-ran in the industrial grinder market. Users bought them because they were as good as they needed to be and performed reliably.
These days, the Dollar Store type grinders are what the home workshop guys go for because they are 1/6th the price of the good stuff. Rikon is a popular brand of this type of bench grinder with the retail sellers. Today's home workshop users accept wafer thin aluminum end bells and sheet metal wheel guards as "normal".
A lot will depend on your point of reference and experience in defining what a "good" bench grinder is or isn't.
 
1HP Rikon slow speed with CBN, and the import Woodcraft with the old style wheels here. No complaints, but ever since I got a Tormek they both get a lot less use…
 
I have not used the best grinder, but I have used some very good ones. The old Deltas they used to use at Craft Supplies school were very good. I started with an old 6 inch, not recommended. Then I bought a lower end Delta 8 inch. It was tolerable, but the main problem was it took 10-15 seconds to get up to speed. It also had a bit too much vibration for my liking. I now use a Jet 8 inch, nothing to complain about with it.
 
Alan Weinberg said:
I got a CBN from D-way. Weighs 17 lbs
Click to expand...
Note that D-Way’s current CBN wheel offerings currently include two lines: a “heavy weight” and “light weight” wheel option to accommodate various grinder HP ratings.

Heavy weight CBN wheels on lower HP grinders isn’t a big deal if you don’t continually turn the grinder off between sharpening sessions. Some turners just let the thing spin up then leave it running while turning for “instant” resharpening… so the additional start time for a heavy wheel isn’t a big deal in that case.
 
I will agree Baldor is the best grinder likely more torque and less vibration. It’s Indusrial. However what we do using CBN or stone wheels it isn’t necessary for me to buy one. I have the 1/2 hp Rikon and the 3/4HP Woodcraft no name. The 1/2 HP Rikon does just fine with two steel CBN wheels. It does take about 8 secnds longer to come up to speed, but sharpening tools there is no way I would ever bog it down. I have no desire to upgrade to a 1 hp Rikon for 8 seconds quicker start up. And IMO it really doesn’t make any difference the grinder you have as long as it runs true and has very little vibration.. None of these grinders will sharpen tools any better than the other, IMO
 
Not sure why a turner needs or cares about the "best" grinder. We tend to remove tiny amounts of metal at a time, no need for grinding behemoths. We also tend to immediately replace the factory supports with jigs and tables that are better suited to our work habits. If my Rikon only lasts another 20 years while an industrial strength Baldor would go another 100 with the kind of use I give it I think that will be someone else's problem either way. As long as the runout is low enough to sharpen our tools successfully I think it's good enough.

Now a grinder from any maker with decent dust collection would be worth considering. AFAIK Baldors and other industrial machines are no better at that than the medium priced units common to many of our shops.
 
Steve Tiedman said:
In the USA, Baldor is best, period. They don't make hobbiest machines, every grinder they make is built for industrial use, and expected to last for decades under hours of use on every work shift.

I've owned a 7", 1800rpm Baldor for over 20 years. It operates as well today as on day 1, and I'd fully recommend it but for one small issue to today's woodturner- CBN wheels are almost non-existent. Well, they are available from 80-600 grit, but as far as I can find, only available from Woodturners Wonders, and that company seems to be working hard at drilling themselves into the ground. They didn't bother calling me back to confirm stock of a 600-grit 7" wheel, an easy $150 sale for them. (See recent discussion threads.) If you only intend to run stone wheels, get the 7" Baldor, all day long.

If money were no object, I'd pay the $1400'ish to buy the Baldor 8" 1800rpm grinder, and you'll find CBN wheels for it from every Tom, Dick and Harry.

If not the Baldor in the USA, I guess I'd look at the 1hp Rikon, and even research the 1725rpm Jet bench grinder. I know nothing of the Jets, so do your homework to see if their slow speed are built the same way as their 3600rpm grinders (i.e. cast iron construction, motor power, etc.).

I wonder if Dayton (sold through Grainger) makes a slow speed grinder? They are as industrial-based as Baldor, but not typically domestic-built.
Click to expand...
Steve, if you found an 8” Baldor grinder for $1400 you should have not knocked people over to get to the head of the line. Unless the price has dropped since I last looked - about a year ago - they were going for close to two grand. If I could accept a Baldor with a 6 or 7 inch wheel, then yup, that would be the price, give or take a couple hundred.
 
robo hippy said:
I have both the slow speed Rikon 1 hp grinders and the Baldor. For sure, the Baldor was far beyond the Rikon. They both come up to speed in the same amount of time. One big difference is that the Rikon runs for long time after you turn it off with the heavy CBN wheels on it, while the Baldor comes to a fairly quick stop. My Baldor grinder was under $1000 when I bought it. The Rikon does go on sale once or twice a year. The 1/2 hp Rikon is way too underpowered for me, but a lot of people use them. Chances are that if you buy one brand new, some one will have it for sale cheap right after it arrives.... I did get 2 new CBN wheels from D Way at the Oregon Woodturning Symposium, and they are VERY heavy. Jimmie has a new manufacturer. I am not sure how long it will spin after I turn it off. I use a tool to bring it to a halt. Of course, the tool rests that come with it are junk. I think it had a light on it, and if it did, taking that off was the first step. They are worthless.....

robo hippy
Click to expand...
Interesting that your Baldor comes to a stop fairly quickly. My 7" Baldor can spin for well over a minute after turning it off.
 
Donna Banfield said:
Steve, if you found an 8” Baldor grinder for $1400 you should have not knocked people over to get to the head of the line. Unless the price has dropped since I last looked - about a year ago - they were going for close to two grand. If I could accept a Baldor with a 6 or 7 inch wheel, then yup, that would be the price, give or take a couple hundred.
Click to expand...
Hi Donna. Acme Tool, Baldor 8" 1800rpm, $1399.99.

Tools For Working Wood builds it up with cbn wheel for about $1800. But you're right, deep past $2000 is typical.

Even the Acme Baldor is too rich for me.
 
From what I read, here and other places, for the money, the $400 one hp Rikon seems best value, Baldor the best if money doesn’t matter. Wonder if and when it goes on sale? Made in China, so tariffs may be a future factor.
 
@Alan Weinberg, In general, 8" Baldors are in their 8100 series of model numbers, maybe others as well. Here are a couple 8" 1800rpm Baldors, 3/4hp, mfr. list prices over $2000. More models can be found here.

If I were to step up to an 8" grinder, I think the 1hp Rikon may need to be the way I look. As much as I love my 7" Baldor, and I'll never part with it, I can't justify the purchase price. And honestly, my only interest in an 8" grinder is for a 600 grit cbn wheel. I can get to that result other ways.
 
Alan Weinberg said:
Here are 2.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately adding a dust port doesn't equate to good dust collection. I've used grinders like those, they catch perhaps 2/3rds of the grindings with a strong vacuum. I suspect it's the same issue that one has with chop/miter saws-- the dust s being thrown off in all directions and you need a lot of the wheel or blade exposed to be able to use the machine.
 
Alan Weinberg said:
I got a CBN from D-way. Weighs 17 lbs. I have a 1 hp Hercules grinder from H Freight. That’s the issue. That weight is crazy.

Looks like 1 hp Rikon is a good value. Baldor is the money doesn’t matter option. Does Baldor go on sale?

Wonder how Jet JBG-8A 1 hp at $355 is?

Know anything about Wen? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZVS2PS5?tag=bg1-772522-20
Click to expand...

Wen makes decent low-end tools. I have some of their stuff.

I look for a balance between price and performance. I bought a 1/2 HP Bucktool grinder on a recommendation when I was just getting started. It does a fine job. If I were going for that mid-range grinder, I'd go Rikon.

17 pounds? Wow. I bought UF-Sharp CBNs. They weigh 3 lbs. That's not to say they are good, but I haven't had any issues.
 
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William Rogers said:
I will agree Baldor is the best grinder likely more torque and less vibration. It’s Indusrial. However what we do using CBN or stone wheels it isn’t necessary for me to buy one. I have the 1/2 hp Rikon and the 3/4HP Woodcraft no name. The 1/2 HP Rikon does just fine with two steel CBN wheels. It does take about 8 secnds longer to come up to speed, but sharpening tools there is no way I would ever bog it down. I have no desire to upgrade to a 1 hp Rikon for 8 seconds quicker start up. And IMO it really doesn’t make any difference the grinder you have as long as it runs true and has very little vibration.. None of these grinders will sharpen tools any better than the other, IMO
Click to expand...
I have 2 of the 1/2hp Rikons, both with steel CBN wheels from woodturners wonders. They work just fine. IMO the HP is not an issue unless you need (want) faster spin-up.

The thing I will note about these grinders is that flange on the shaft is tiny (the wheel should register against a flange to be true) . So getting a wheel to run true can sometimes take some fiddling. Not a problem once you get the wheels true - unless you need to swap wheels often. I had to take a file to one of mine to square up the flange a tiny bit. I don't know if that flange is better on the 1hp grinder - but something to consider.

Weird thing is that one of mine spins up in a couple seconds, the other takes significantly longer (10s or so). Doesn't matter which wheels I have on which grinder. I've run them without wheels and it's the same. They both spin down at the same rate - a couple minutes (so the bearings are equivalent). Measured winding resistance and capacitor and they're the same to the degree I can measure. So something is different but I can't tell what. Anyway, I apparently just got lucky on the faster one. Take-away, I guess, is that these grinders are pretty variable with respect to each other. YMMV.
 
Steve Tiedman said:
@Alan Weinberg, In general, 8" Baldors are in their 8100 series of model numbers, maybe others as well. Here are a couple 8" 1800rpm Baldors, 3/4hp, mfr. list prices over $2000. More models can be found here.

If I were to step up to an 8" grinder, I think the 1hp Rikon may need to be the way I look. As much as I love my 7" Baldor, and I'll never part with it, I can't justify the purchase price. And honestly, my only interest in an 8" grinder is for a 600 grit cbn wheel. I can get to that result other ways.
Click to expand...
Agree that Baldor is out of my price range and that Rikon 1 hp is probably best. Wonder if it goes on sale. I’ve got a 600 grit CBN—love it.
 
Dave Landers said:
The thing I will note about these grinders is that flange on the shaft is tiny (the wheel should register against a flange to be true) . So getting a wheel to run true can sometimes take some fiddling. Not a problem once you get the wheels true - unless you need to swap wheels often. I had to take a file to one of mine to square up the flange a tiny bit. I don't know if that flange is better on the 1hp grinder - but something to consider.
Click to expand...

With the spherical washer sets, all CBN wheels I’ve put on various grinders have run absolutely true, no exceptions. I don’t use any flanges with CBN.
 
John K Jordan said:
With the spherical washer sets, all CBN wheels I’ve put on various grinders have run absolutely true, no exceptions. I don’t use any flanges with CBN.
Click to expand...
I'm referring to the "step" in the shaft on the inboard (motor) side that the wheel needs to butt up against. It's just way too tiny on these grinders. I also use the spherical washers (on the outboard side), but if the wheel won't seat well against that step/flange/whatever-you-call-it, it makes it hard to true the wheel.
 
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