Delta Slow Speed Grinder update this month?

[Brian Kent]

The Delta 8" Slow Speed Grinder doesn't seem to be available until the end of March

Woodcraft - "Item will ship after March 27"
The Delta Machinery grinder shows the 8" VS but then says "No products in this category".
On Buy.com - "Sold out. Check back soon"
Amazon - "Currently unavailable"

Does anyone know if there is a break in production or a newer model coming out?

[Prashun Patel]

Brian-
I would wait for the Woodcraft to go on sale - which it does a couple times a year. It'll be < $100 then. It's generally reputed here to be a good value. I have one but have not used it because (and here's the 2nd part of my post):

I have the same Delta 6" VS grinder that you probably have. It'll hold you over just fine until you get a bigger one. I'm even running a CBN 8" wheel on mine - although I wouldn't recommend that with a matrix wheel.

My point is if you have the white AO wheel that came with yr current Delta, you should be ok for a good several months. The difference in wheel radius is not really that big a deal that you can't 'get by' until you find a good deal on an 8"...

[Steve Kohn]

I don't know if it's available in your area but the local Menard's store here had the 8 inch VS grinders on sale for $99 last weekend. It comes with one wheel and a wire brush. It also includes a light and wheel dressing tool.

[Matt Winterowd]

I believe Delta scrapped the GR450, and are either releasing a new product or at least a redesigned version. McFeely's is now selling Sheppach slow speed and VS grinders for around $120-140. Might be worth checking out. Comes with white wheels like the Woodcraft, but might not be the generic Asian import. Or it might be.

[Dave Lehnert]

Here is one with the Craftsman badge.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921162000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2#reviewsWrap

Wonder if that model was discontinued with the Porter Cable/ Delta split? Lowe' s has the 6" model in the PC badge. They no longer show the 8" model.

[Brian Kent]

I am planning on using the white disk on my 6" vs for now. I am just "windows shopping".

[Bill Dempsey]

Prashun,
Any "set up" issues to use the cbn 8 inch wheel on your 6 inch vs delta grinder. I have that grinder and would love to go for the 8 inch cbn wheel

[John McClanahan]

If you are looking at the grinder for its low speed, keep in mind that the surface speed of the 8" grinder is quite a bit faster than a 6" VS grinder. I bought one of the Delta 8" VS grinders shortly befor they discontinued them. The overall quality is crap. Must of been made in a Chinese startup factory. The wheels wobble side to side. I haven't dropped the money for good replacements yet, as I'm not sure if that will correct it.

[Jim Laumann]

Brian

As a followup to Prashun's post - I caught Woodcraft's 8" slow speed unit for $89.99 in Jan. I was a little leary of it - since I saw some review somewhere which criticized it for the wheels wobbling. Woodcraft had a enclosure in the box on how to adjust it, but mine has none. It run's very smooth. Very satisfied with it.

It's a nice upgrade from the 6" B&D unit I was using.

Jim

[Prashun Patel]

Bill- I'm not recommending doing this, since I'm not sure how safe it is. However, I'll share my experience.

Since matrix style wheels have the risk of breaking, I believe it's unadvisable to use those wheels without a guard. The CBN does not have the risk of exploding, so that's why I decided to try it.

The hole in the CBN wheel is 1". THis means you need an arbor adaptor. The 6" grinder has a 1/2" arbor so you need to get the appropriate bushing. If you plan to upgrade to a 8" in the future, then get the 5/8" bushing to. Failure to do that is the only (read, dumb) reason I haven't switched mine to my 8" grinder.

I did have to debur the arbor with emory cloth to fit the bushing.

I did not have to elevate the grinder on its stand; there was enough clearance under the wheel - and just enough clearance on the arbor to seat the wing nut.

You'll notice on d-way's site that in a week, Dave is offering a 6" CBN wheel too, so that's an option.

I've been running my CBN on one side and a 6" blue AO wheel on the other. I expected it to wobble, but it runs truer and smoother than ever before.

I've found no issues so far.

The CBN really does live up to its hype. No loss of diameter, no mess, smooth, quiet, fast, wide. The smoothness is the thing that I love best. Running 'regular' wheels requires a good investment in effort or $$ to true up the wheels. I never did that, and just dealt with the vibration during sharpening. This was both dangerous and inefficient (read, really dumb).

Anyway, that's my 2c

[Brian Kent]

I assume that CBN means cubic boron nitride. Just a guess, you know. And it better be good if it costs more than the grinder!

[Steve Kohn]

I found the "wobble" in my grinders are not due to the wheel. It is/was the cheap stamped metal disc's used as washers on the arbor. I'm looking for machined replacements now.

[Ken Robbins]

I just spoke to a salesperson at Woodworker's Supply and was told that the replacement for the
Delta GR450 would be available in late April.





The Delta 8" Slow Speed Grinder doesn't seem to be available until the end of March

Woodcraft - "Item will ship after March 27"
The Delta Machinery grinder shows the 8" VS but then says "No products in this category".
On Buy.com - "Sold out. Check back soon"
Amazon - "Currently unavailable"

Does anyone know if there is a break in production or a newer model coming out?

[Brian Kent]

Hey thanks, Ken.

I went ahead and got a blue Norton 3X wheel for the 6" grinder. If I ever get the 8", I'll keep this one set up for chisels and plane blades.

[Brian Kent]

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2080939/29437/8in-slow-speed-grinder.aspx

Looks like it is back - without the Delta name.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Brain
Your link is to Woodcraft's in house brand. Got some good reviews on turning forum, goes on sale couple time a year, for just under $100. I picked one up last sale, seams to do alright, much better then my $25.00 6" grinder. Tom

[John Coloccia]

I see stuff like this a lot. I suspect that manufacturers will do a run...because I have a hard time believing that there is a factory out there that makes nothing but low speed grinders. I suspect that they have a spec, they do a large run, and then ship them over in containers, so when one guy is out, everyone is out. I also suspect that this is the time that they will do any updates if there's an update to be done.

This is much different than the traditional model of a manufacturer making a product, perfecting it, and producing it. Now, everything is made like microchips. You send the spec, they tool up, they do a big run, and then they're on to something else.

[Van Huskey]

FWIW FWW did a review of grinders this month and found them all to be flawed in the tool rest area so did not pick a top tool but picked the VS Porter Cable as the best value. They only looked at lower priced options so no Baldor grinders etc.

[Kevin W Johnson]

FWIW FWW did a review of grinders this month and found them all to be flawed in the tool rest area so did not pick a top tool but picked the VS Porter Cable as the best value. They only looked at lower priced options so no Baldor grinders etc.


I noticed that Lowes had the Porter Cable 8" VS grinder back on the shelf after an absence that was labeled on the shelf tag as a recall.

[Greg R Bradley]

I believe you may be combining two different products into one.

Woodcraft had (or has) a 1725rpm 8" grinder with friable wheels for grinding tool steel. Seemed like a nice light duty grinder for the price except for the junk stamped steel tool rests.

Delta sold 6" and 8" variable speed 2000-3450rpm grinders with one friable wheel. The big problem with these was the poorly thought out "quick change wheel" mechanism that had lots of problems. Can't imagine who wants to change out wheels once they finally get one perfectly true. The smaller problem was reliability in the speed control & switch. Now that Delta has been bought away from Stanley Black & Decker, hopefully the new company will improve these.

[Brian Kent]

On the Delta Machinery website there are currently no grinders listed. I have a 6" variable speed delta, which has served me well. You are right about the lousy tool rests, so I did not rely on these for long.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Woodcraft had (or has) a 1725rpm 8" grinder with friable wheels for grinding tool steel. Seemed like a nice light duty grinder for the price except for the junk stamped steel tool rests.

I just bought the Woodcraft grinder the last time it was on sale, and it has cast aluminum tool rests. They aren't as bad as the stamped steel that I have seen, but still could be better.