One of the most taken for granted tools in my shop is the bench grinder. Since I mostly work with wood, grinding metal isn’t a top priority. I was fortunate enough to inherit an old Sears bench grinder from my late grandfather and my shop has only one, sitting alone and unused on the workbench, collecting sawdust and rust. I use it once or twice a month, sharpening a few dull chisels or to clean up some rusty old hardware from a furniture refinishing project.
It wasn’t until a few months ago when my bench grinder broke that I realized how important it really was. Chisels stopped working right. Blades got dull. There was a serious lack of sharp objects around. After several sad attempts at trying to repair my ancient bench grinder, I sent it to the tool graveyard.
So I decided to go to my local home improvement center, check out the neighboring hardware stores and maybe swing by a few yard sales. I drove to a few yard sales, found a few bench grinders only to find that they to were ready for the tool graveyard and not my workbench.
As I drove to the big home improvement center downtown to look over the newest bench grinders, I wanted to buy a bench grinder that would last as long as the old one I had and possible pass it down to my grandchildren when I die, so they can put it in their workshop and collect sawdust.
Before I made it out of the house and to the local home improvement center, I did a little research on the internet and looked up a few bench grinders. I had my eye on the DeWalt DW758 8-inch bench grinder. Since I own so many other DeWalt tools, I figured I couldn’t go wrong there.
I found the DeWalt DW758 8-inch bench grinder in the aisle and I took a look. I took it out of the box and found it had the typical solid design standard in all DeWalt tools, but it lacked the bells and whistles I was accustomed to in many DeWalt tools. And at around $150, it only came in third place.
My next choice was the Ryobi 6-inch thin line bench grinder with light. This bench grinder easily could tie for first place. The best thing about this bench grinder was its price. At around $50, this was the cheapest bench grinder in the store. It is especially nice because it comes with a gooseneck lamp and amber tinted eye shields. But I only gave it a second place because its motor just wasn’t big enough at only 2.1 amps, compared to the DeWalt’s at a powerful 4 amps.
Once I had seen this bench grinder in the store, I knew it was for me and my number one choice. The Delta 23-710 sharpening center was the perfect choice for me. With its versatile work station, I can use the 5-inch white wheel to sharpen chisels, blades and other tools just like other bench grinders. Then I can use the horizontal honing wheel to do precise work for perfectly sharp tools every time. With the specially angled work stations, I don’t have to worry that my wood planes won’t have the correct cutting angle. Best of all, I can use the honing wheel wet or dry for specific tools and blades.
I bought the Delta 23-710 sharpening center for about $190. The price was a little more than I planned on spending, but I felt satisfied when I made the purchase and I still enjoy using this awesome bench grinder to this day.
