Sealey Bench Ginder

[GregLaROCHE]

I’ve been looking for an second bench grinder. Has anyone had experience with this brand. What quality are they. I’m not looking for top notch professional, but want something that will work and last a few years.
Thanks

[country gent]

How big of a bench grinder are you looking for? 6" 8" 10".... . What basic uses, sharpening tools polishing simple hand grinding? Will you ever want to buff with it? Wire brush? Look at the wheel spacing, height and weight of the unit. Also amperage and horse power of the unit. Another thing to look at is rpms. for sharpening tools and other fine work the low speed grinders produce less heat and distortion. Im not familiar with Sealy. Look at it and research it a little see what its got to offer. Also look at baldour, and some others.

[Jackpine]

cg makes good points. I have six bench grinders, all of which came from local auctions or garage sales over the years. Different grit and size wheels and wire brushes and buffing. Paid $5 to max of $20 for each of them. The one that I use the most is at least 50 years old. Have only ever had one quit. It was a lower end, well used import, I had given it to my son. He bought a used Kabota tractor with triple blades, and it came with five sets, all of which were in BAD shape. I worked it REAL hard for two hours straight on a very hot day, and fried it, but I should have known better.

One big difference can be the size of the motor housing. Some are small in diameter than others, and if you are grinding something long, that extends in front of the motor, the larger housing can cause an issue.

Depending on what you are using it for, the quality of wheel and being able to keep it dressed can be bigger benefits than the actual grinder itself.

[smithnframe]

I have a 10 inch bench grinder I bought from Harbor Freight about 10 years ago that gets used very hard in my shop in south Texas. Hot in the summer and coid in the winter!

[metricmonkeywrench]

I have a 15+ year old Harbor Freight 10 in model pressed into service as a buffing stand and a 8-10 year old 8in Craftsman variable speed currently sporting a wire wheel and fine stone. Both serve my intermittent needs for mower blade cleanup and other odd jobs.

Both have sufficient power to send whatever I'm not holding on to well careening across the garage.

[country gent]

I still have an old home made grinding Jack in use. from back in the day. Its basically a couple pillow block bearings and shaft 2 pulleys and an electric motor. This one is set up for 12" wheels and 2 speeds ( step pulley like a drill press). For sharpening tools and cutters I have a low speed grinder ( 60 grit one side, 180 grit other) I also have a 8" grinder set up with silicon carbide wheel one side ( 80 grit) and diamond wheel other for carbide tools.

While bench / pedestal / snag grinders don't get as much attention here, Finding the right grit size and material, bonding, and hardness is important in the grinding wheel. To hard and the wheel loads and doesn't break down producing much more heat. to soft and wheel breaks down to fast costing life. Proper truing and dressing of the wheel is important also. This keeps the wheel sharp and true. Last is proper mounting of the wheel. Always mount with the blotters on, check for cracks before mounting ( hang wheel on screwdriver and tap lightly with another. A nice ringing means wheel is good a dull thud there is a crack and wheel should be destroyed). When starting a grinder for the first time after mounting wheels stand off to side and bump on and off several times up to speed. stand off to side when starting it up always.