well,i was out with the little woman today lookin at junk and whatever else i could fit in my grubby mitts before we got a cart and what did i find?a bench grinder for $25! yeah yeah,it's some no-name-made-in-taiwan stuff but for the price it'll be decent if it lasts for a few uses.beats bustin out the hand grinder and worryin about losin my 5 best friends!!i havent used it yet so i cant comment on the quality.anyone else pick up one of these? creepy
You have to watch the cheap power tools. I bought a chinese angle grinder and it doesn't carry hardly enough amps to carry a good load on the disc and it gets really hot, but what did I expect for $10?
I have an el-cheapo 3/4HP bench grinder... I think I paid $25 for it and the stand. It was cheap and a no-name, but it works just fine and is actually built pretty solid feeling, metal casing and such. Pretty powerful, I've never bogged it. The only gripe I have is that I had to bolt the stand to floor because it vibrates itself around like crazy, it would literally dance all over the garage.
if had no real complaints w/ my cheap harbor freight tools. Even better now that a lot of the tools there have that lifetime guarantee for an extra $10.
I have that Big Lot's bench grinder, must be an Ohio thing. I also got a $10 drill there that works great...
alot of times if your using something ( a tool) once or twice a week you can get away with the cheaper tools,when you have a shop or make a living with them you have to get better quaility. I had one of those cheapo bandsaws where i work for ever & its fine.We get those "traveling" tool shows going thru & i buy **** all the time from them, no problems yet.(knock on wood). Druss32 I bet if you looked at a few things on that grinder you could get it going. Probably just a pinched wire or disconnected. I noticed that alot of the chinese tools aren't bad, we give them specs they build it to those specs, if the workers **** up over there they shoot ya!!!! Thats great quaility control!!Very insperational!!lol At those traveling tool sale you can even buy a chinese pellet gun for $20 that pretty good for keeping strays outta you garbage!! JimV
I've got one of the same bench grinders...had it about 5 years. It will bog down pretty easy but if you take your time it'll do ok.
I don't like to cheap out on tools, always get the best tool you can afford. I have to admit, I bought a cheap benchgrinder about 8 years ago for $50, it still works but it isnt exactly my first choice since I had my 50 year old Baldor grinder I bought 3 years ago, for $30 used. Tools were made so much better back in the day.
I just did a $20 chineese bench grinder pedestal. Castings on both ends, and a single 3 inch tubing leg. Welded the pieces to make the whole thing stable, and added about 25 lbs of lead wheel weights to the tube before sealing it up. Did a great job of putting the m*** low and damping vibration. Nicest freestanding grinder pedestal I've ever used, and a great budget solution. Probably lots of **** you could drop in the tube for the same effect.
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