Ratings & Reviews for DELTA 8-in Variable Speed Bench grinder

Sharpening Drill Bits

Grinder worked well, except I had to true up the stone to sharpen drills.

Great Machine Bad Wheels

I bought this because it had variable speed control. I tried for 4 hrs. to balance the wheels that came with it to no avail. The vibration was so bad it would shake the machine off the bench. I ended up buying new Norton wheels and had them both balanced in 20 min. Put them on and now it runs smooth as silk.

Disaster with Delta name on the front

The first one didn't work out of the box. Wouldn't start at all. I left the room and 15 minutes later I realize I left it on and it was starting and stopping intermittently. Exchanged it for another. Big mistake. The second one vibrates so much I had to bolt it to the 6 inch concrete floor in my basement, where it proceeded to shake my entire house. My wife came running down thinking the washing machine was out of balance! Seems the same place in China is now making every brand's bench grinder a...

Good grinder

A well built grinder. Runs quietly with good RPMs. Like the variable spped

Good out of the box

Grinder was good straight from the box- very smooth running, good speed control, plenty of power- tested by sharpening several sets of badly abused mower blades. Assembly was easy- took 10 minutes max, directions not required, its obvious what goes where. Tool rests are adequately sturdy and adjustable for general grinding.

Missing parts, mediocre Delta customer service

The package was missing parts. When I called Delta's "customer service", I sat on hold for 5-10 minutes only to have them tell me they couldn't help me over the phone and that I would have to email them. So I sent an email outlining the missing parts, including part numbers and my contact info. A day later, I received an impersonal email asking if I wanted the missing parts sent to me or if I wanted to return the grinder to the store. Really Delta, is it that hard to address customers by na...

For the price, good deal

There was some wobble and vibration during startup . But smoothed our after coming to full RPM. I needed a dedicated grinder for lathe tools. I replaced the 36 grit wheel with a norton 150 grit and the vibration at start up was a little better. Like one other reviewer who wished it was a slower RPM So do I. But for my purposes it does all I need.

You had one job.

Problems 1- The pictures in the directions look like photocopies of photocopies of photocopies. They are small, blurry, and lack NECESSARY detail. 2- The individual parts in the manual are NUMBERED, but upon ATTEMPTING to assemble, the pictures needed are LETTERED. So if you struggle to discern exactly what part the instructions are referring to, you are out of luck as numbers and letters do not correspond. 3- Out of the box, parts were missing. I'm done. In my opinion, this is ripe for a l...

Delta 8-in Grinder

Like all things I buy from Lowe's this was a really great purchase. I like the speed control the best, as I need to slow it down to do some jobs.

Not ready for prime time!

Permit me to say initially that I have owned a six inch, single speed Delta bench grinder for almost forty years. It has moved with me around the country and been an invaluable addition to my small shop. However, I recently began using a wood lathe for projects. I need to keep the lathe tools very sharp. Although the 6" bench grinder worked well for gouges (with the appropriate jig), it did not perform well for items like a bowel scraper. The stamped tool rests do not permit enough movement...

If is breaks, no support from Delta

Worked great for two years and then went belly up. Called Delta for Warranty support and was told that the nearest repair shop was 80 miles away. They would not send me the parts so I could fix it. To buy the part is $60. I'm throwing it in the dumpster and buying another brand. The Delta warranty is worthless. Sure didn't get my $120 out of it.

Good home unit

This replaced a 50+ year old grinder. The good news is that it has guards the old one did not. The bad news is that it has guards the old one did not. The Guards are made in a way that makes it almost impossible to sharpen some tools like a large ax. By not installing the top guards (the ones OSHA probably considers most important) it is possible to get these large blades on the wheel. I expect the manufacturer had no legal choice but to make the guards this way but they do make common uses of a...

Very pleased with my grinder

Just unpacked and assembled my new 8 inch bench grinder. Works very smoothly, but the assembly instructions are terrible and the bolts that hold on the tool rests are way too short. I could not use the lock washers, so I will have to buy two longer bolts. This kind of stuff I find no excuse for. The shirt and tie designers should unpack and assemble 100 units of everything they design so see what they messed up on. This simple mistake causes a buyer a lot of time and effort and after spending go...

Good Value but not great

Just picked it up from lowes and while I am impressed with the "core" of the machine I am disappointed by the mounting screw for shields and work area.... First of all - assembly was a bit tough if following the manual - poor description of all the parts that make up spark shield and tool rest. But main beef is with the knobs and bolts; if you tight them so that the shield is actually straight and firm then you are risking stripping the threads.... if you don't tight them well...then the attachm...

Just Got Lucky?

I bought this 8 inch grinder as a replacement for my old one. Out of the box I plugged it in to find only minimal vibration. With my own stone dresser, I dressed the stones that were slightly out of round and reduced the vibrations to near zero. Purrs like a kitten. Then I put the machine to work, polishing some door handles. After nearly 2 hours of continuous running at full RPM, I was delighted to find a warm motor not hot. I work all of my tools hard, sometimes too hard, but I feel this machi...

Pleasant Surprise

After reading many reviews on grinders I decided to purchase this Delta. My local Lowes had one instead of ordering online. I was shocked at how well it worked right out of the box. Didn't have to do anything to the wheels!! Very quiet, no vibration, without securing it to the table. Maybe I got lucky but I'm very happy with this product.

Works as it should

I bought this grinder yesterday so I only have around 10 minutes of use out of it so far. I read multiple reviews from this and other grinders saying how rough they ran. I was surprised how smooth mine ran right out of the box. It was so smooth that I used it and it wasn't even bolted down to the table. The directions were missing some good detail and illustrations, but I managed to put it together in a few minutes... It's not that hard. Everything was included to assembly the tool properly...

Issues fixing the wheel wobble

I bought this thing with the idea that it would be something better than a cheap HF grinder. Got it home 5 hours ago and since then I've trying to make the grinding wheels run without wobbling and vibrating. Spun the wheels all kinds of ways to no avail. Checked the arbor and looks to be straight. Finally I flattened the flanges on a belt sander and that reduced the wobble somewhat. The only thing I have left to check is the shoulder on the arbor where the inside flange rests to make sure that i...

Lamp loose

Love everything about grinder, runs smooth at all speeds. Only problem is the lamp arm keeps falling to one side. Not stiff enough. Can't seem to find anyway to adjust or tighten. Any thoughts?