Best Bench Grinders - Top Picks, Reviews & Complete Buying Guide

Bench Grinders: The Ultimate Buying Guide

As you are reading this, you have probably heard about these typical bench grinders designed for DIY in and around the home. But there are also a couple of other types of grinders and those are:

• Die Grinder: A hand-held rotary tool, used for grinding as well as sanding and polishing metal. Furthermore, the same can be done with wood and plastic.
• Angle Grinder: A hand-held tool, used for grinding and polishing.

A die grinder is designed for detailed work, so it has to be smaller than an angle grinder and it is very portable. The angle grinder is somewhere between the die grinder and the bench grinder.

It is also portable, but at the same time big enough to grind large surfaces.

Both the die and angle grinders are great as they can be carried, but the power and versatility of the bench grinder cannot be achieved.

What can I use a bench grinder for?

Those interested in buying a bench grinder would probably know all the things that can be done with it.

Still, there are number of different uses that many people are not aware of.

Bench grinders are so versatile tools which can be useful in a number of ways.

• Carpentry – You can use it while building furniture or renovating your house to smooth the rough areas and level joints.
• Flooring –  The flooring is nowadays so easier when a bench grinder is used. It will remove grout, raise nail heads much quicker and easier.
• Painting – It can be helpful even with preparing surfaces to paint as it can swell or remove old paint. In this case, a bench grinder works as sandpaper but with greater efficiency!
• Plumbing – Bench grinders can also be used for plumbing as you can cut worn out pipes with a grinder or it can help you smooth them out.
• 6-inch or 8-inch – Bench grinders can be either 6 or 8 inch machines. These numbers represent the size of grinding wheels. The 6-inch is good for home use as it is powerful enough to carry out light tasks, while the 8-inch wheel is designed for professionals.

What are the types of wheels available?

Besides choosing a quality bench grinder, it is also of great importance to choose the right type of wheel.

In order that your work is quicker and easier, you should get acquainted with all the characteristics of available grinding wheels and then pick the one that suits you best.

Firstly, the material that needs grinding can determine the type of wheel you are supposed to use.

You have an aluminum oxide wheel which is designed to be used for grinding steels.

Furthermore, there is a silicon carbide abrasive that should be used for cast iron.

Very hard materials would require a softer grade of wheel, while softer materials require with harder grade wheels.

Here are the types of them:

• Straight wheel – The most common type of wheel designed for sharpening chisels. It has different sizes and it is best for surface grinding.
• Cylinder wheel – This is a hollow wheel which can only be used with horizontal or vertical bench grinders. Its size is very large, and by using it you will produce flat surfaces.
• Tapered wheel – This kind of wheel should be used for grinding threads or gear teeth and it is designed for more delicate work.

There are more types of wheels such as saucer wheels, diamond wheels and cut-off wheels.

We will not speak more about them, as they are very rarely needed for home usage.

What do I need to have in mind prior to buying?

There are five important things you need to have in mind prior to buying a bench.

• Identify your needs – Once you identify why you need a bench grinder for, half of the work will be done, as it is most important thing to consider before purchase. Finding a suitable bench grinder for you can be difficult, but if you are not sure of how powerful it should be, it is suggested to buy a more powerful one. If you are planning just to sharpen then you should look for a machine with a lower RPM, but the higher RPM is necessary if you will be using it for buffering. Reasonably, it will have a higher price.
• Decide your budget – The decision-making process can be a little bit easier if you are aware of the amount of money you want to give for a bench grinder. If your budget is not so high, you should avoid the high-end brands and look for those more budget friendly ones. You cannot expect extra quality features in those low-cost one, but still there are models produced by not so famous brands that are of good quality and offer all essential features.
• Select a reputable brand – It is true that the better brand product you choose, the more money you will have to give for that. But, when it comes to better quality, it is certain that those more expensive ones have improved characteristics and greater durability. Still, there are some lesser-known brands which offer the quality machine at an affordable price. If you are not sure which one to buy, and you have money, then DeWalt and Craftsman models should be your choice.
• Compare the market – As you have read, we offered only five models which we consider the best and the most popular among customers. However, there are so many other brands offering bench grinders on the market and you can take a look at more reviews before making a decision. If you do not have time for a research, be sure that picking one of those mentioned on this list would not be a mistake. We highly recommend them and we are sure that you will not regret buying any of them.
• Time to purchase – Once you have made your decision and it is time to buy your new bench grinder, you should check the warranty period that the product comes with. Additionally, you should check whether the grinder has any accessories which cannot be easily bought if needed.  The last thing you need to do is to read all of the instructions well.

Conclusion

Which tool you are going to choose highly depends on your needs and budget.

The more expensive tools are usually more durable and of higher quality, but they require a longer period of time for a good research.

A bench grinder is not like any other tool and the aim of this article was to help you gather the necessary information, save some time with on researching and determine which one of bench grinders is ideal for you.

Being that bench grinders are more popular nowadays, there are many great brands offering quality models at competitive prices.

If you are willing to pay more, you can definitely find high-end bench grinder which can stand heavy operations.

In case you are on a budget, you will have to think about those designed for lighter tasks, as they are usually more affordable.

I hope you liked my article about Bench Grinders, if so, please share or comment.