What's the consensus of opinion on Wen tools?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Are they low end- HFlike - junk?
Decent?
Some decent/some not so decent?

I've been looking at a Wen drill press - the 8" benchtop model.
Overall, Wen stuff gets pretty good reviews.

I have a cast iron GMC right now. It's been good to me, but, it's more or less a single speed since the 12 speed/3 pulleys setup is far harder than it should be to change speeds.
I don't want to get rid of it for a junker though. I just can't bring myself to buy one from HF....

I've been looking for a used one, but, you know how that goes..
People think their beat to death Walker Turner - missing half it's parts & with a dead motor - is worth $495, or more.
Anything decent is priced sky high & anything near affordable is beat to death & needs a full rebuild - - or it's one of those things that you put an electric drill in to make it a drill press.(seriously, people were listing those things for $200!!!)

[Charlie Hinton]

It's a tool by tool dealio.
Some of them are the exact same tool as the much more expensive big name counterparts and some of them are exactly the same as the HF counterpart.
I know this is less than helpful but it is what it is.
If the rack/pinion is steel or cast iron the drill press will probably be ok, if it's soft metal it's going to break.
For hobbyist use that's about all that can go wrong.

[michael langman]

Rich, I have a 14" delta drill press with 3 pulleys, and the belts are also hard to change. I did a few things to make it easier.
I bought a belt that was the next size down from the originals at an auto parts store. It works well on the lower speeds but is loose on the higher speeds, but is easier to change when needed.
I turn the spindle instead of the pulleys when trying to run the belt off of the pulley when changing. If you still can't turn the spindle put half inch bolt in the drill chuck with the head of bolt sticking out, and turn that with a wrench. A round metal rod can be used between the pulley and belt to leverage the belt off.

[Peter Kelly]

Some of them are the exact same tool as the much more expensive big name counterparts and some of them are exactly the same as the HF counterpart.Case in point:

Oscillating spindle / belt sander from WEN, $168.74 with free shipping on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6523-Oscillating-Spindle-Sander/dp/B06XGRZ37Q

Same unit from Grizzly (back-ordered), $229.95 + $22.99 shipping - $252.94
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Oscillating-Edge-Belt-and-Spindle-Sander/T27417

[Mitchell Ristine]

Case in point:

Oscillating spindle / belt sander from WEN, $168.74 with free shipping on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6523-Oscillating-Spindle-Sander/dp/B06XGRZ37Q

Same unit from Grizzly (back-ordered), $229.95 + $22.99 shipping - $252.94
http://www.grizzly.com/products/Oscillating-Edge-Belt-and-Spindle-Sander/T27417

Partial hijack. How much better is the Ridgid Osc spindle/belt sander than the WEN?

[Nick Decker]

Partial hijack. How much better is the Ridgid Osc spindle/belt sander than the WEN?

I'd go with the Ridgid, simply for the lifetime warranty. Also, the Wen and Grizzly versions are, unless I'm mistaken, fairly new to the market. The Ridgid has been around a long time.

[Peter Kelly]

From what I've read, the formerly decent Ridgid one has gone through several iterations of "value-engineering" with several substitutions of plastic parts that were once metal as well as some pretty severe quality control issues.

If you search the Lumberjocks forums for "Ridgid EB4424 Oscillating Spindle Sander", you'll see some comparisons to the Grizzly / WEN version which seems to be much more substantial.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I have the following WEN tools:

10" Bandsaw - https://www.amazon.com/WEN-3962-Two-Speed-Stand-Worklight/dp/B016VD8GAA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524759454&sr=8-1&keywords=wen+bandsaw
Belt/Disc Sander - https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6502-36-Inch-6-Inch-Sander/dp/B00NAXSYT8/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1524759473&sr=8-1&keywords=wen+sander
Spindle Sander - https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6510-Oscillating-Spindle-Sander/dp/B00LPFIPPQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1524759473&sr=8-2&keywords=wen+sander
Air Filter - https://www.amazon.com/WEN-3410-3-Speed-Remote-Controlled-Filtration/dp/B00LPD9BDI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1524759494&sr=8-3&keywords=wen+air+filtration+system
12" Drill Press - https://www.amazon.com/WEN-4214-12-Inch-Variable-Speed/dp/B00HQONFY6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524759485&sr=8-1&keywords=wen+drill+press+12+inch

I bought them all around late Spring last year. I was just building out my shop and they had decent to good reviews, a good price, and all free shipping through Amazon.

I bought the drill press because it was variable speed and didnt want to mess with belts. Based on what I have learned since then, that might not have been a good idea but it's working well so far.

I hated the bandsaw the first few months I had it. The blade was junk and I couldnt cut anything well. I upgraded to a Highland wood slicer back in December or so and it's been great since then. The fence and miter gauge are pretty weak though.

The two sanders and the air filter do a fine job.

All of them appear to be identical to machines manufactured by other brands; Jet, Woodriver, Rikon, Grizzly, etc. The WENs were quite a bit cheaper though.

Overall, I am pretty happy with all of them especially for the price. My biggest regret was the size. The drill press is fine but I would much rather have a larger disc sander and band saw. In hindsight, I probably would have gone with the Ridgid over the WEN sander based on functionality.

[Tim M Tuttle]

I actually now see that WEN has an oscillating sander similar to the Ridgid.

[Jon Wolfe]

I like my Wen Air Filter and its $50 less than the comparable Shop Fox. I currently have a Rigid Oscillating Spindle/Belt Sander but it must be 15- 20 years old and it is a great tool. If ever faced with replacing it I would probably choose the Ridgid sander again over the Wen sander and put the older metal table onto the newer Spindle/Belt sander. The Wen sander looks to be a bit unsubstantial weight-wise but I could be wrong. My current Ridgid stays put and I don't have it bolted or clamped to the workbench.
The Wen sander has 32 pounds as a shipping weight.
The Ridgid comes in at 45 pounds.

[Peter Kelly]

$144 for the Scheppach / Shop Fox track saw kit: https://www.amazon.com/WEN-36055-9-Amp-Plunge-Circular/dp/B079FH6ZG9/

[Jim Dwight]

My only WEN tool is a grinder that works fine. It was not expensive and serves my limited needs well. I used to have a WEN circular saw and I beat it to death before finally killing it with a masonary blade cutting concrete. I also had a WEN chain saw that worked great until I tried to use too many extension cords and burnt it up. I look at WEN more like Ryobi than HF. I like some HF tools but some are duds. I have not had any dud WENs. (I have a Ryobi table saw, radial arm and a bunch of 18V - so I am not putting WEN down in my system by saying they are like Ryobi). Come to think of it, I've had some dud Ryobi tools so maybe WEN is better than Ryobi.

[Alex Zeller]

Clearly they are made in a Chinese factory for a number of different brands. Kind of like how the Burt Group makes larger woodworking equipment bought by companies like Grizzly. What I can't tell you is if they are all the same. A company like Harbor Freight may take the "lesser" examples to sell for a lower price while Grizzly may specify more exact standards but pay extra. When it comes to computer chips you always get a wide range of examples. The best of the best are usually clocked at a higher speed and sell for a higher price.

[Grant Aldridge]

I'm sure the tools mentioned favorably here are fine (I'll be cuddling out that spindle sander myself now) but friends don't let friends buy Wen planers. A friend of mine has one of those noise-making self-adjusting board scrapers. I cringed the first time I heard a board go through. No lock on the height adjustment (so the head raises as the board goes through) and two Itty bitty knives. It looks similar to the Bauer one I noticed at HF. Don't do it! Lol

[Mike Cutler]

My personal opinion is that tools, like the Wen line, are perfectly fine for home hobbyists, or maybe a very small shop. You can take the time to "tune 'em up" a bit and have a tool that will last your lifetime.
If you make your living as a machinist, or a metal fabricator, a Wen drill press is probably not the right choice.

My drill press is a 12", Delta, bench top model, purchased in the early 90's. I think it cost around a $100.00 at Home Depot at the time. That little "piece of junk", has served me very well through the years, and is still in use in my shop. It was pretty "rough" out of the box initially, but a few hours with emery paper and Kroil and it's been fine since.
I think you'll be fine with the WEN, as long as the speed variances match your needs.

[Bill Carey]

Partial hijack. How much better is the Ridgid Osc spindle/belt sander than the WEN?

I had a Rigid one for 2 years and it died. Looked at the Grizzly and the Wen - bought the Wen. The wen seems to have more power than the Rigid ever did, and the belt rotation is counter clockwise, which for me is a plus. The Wen is slightly louder than the rigid, but not by much. And the Wen has a 1 1/2" dust connection port, and a smaller footprint. I had to shim the table on the Rigid, not so with the Wen. I'm happy with the Wen, and like using it more than the Rigid.

[Mark Rainey]

Got a Wen 14 inch bandsaw for 450. Disappointed. Bad blade, cheesy fence. Packed it up & returned it. Got a Rikon 10-326 for 1000 and put a new blade on it and in general, working out well.

[Matthew Carver]

I have their band saw and disc sander. They've worked fine for me. I've not used it for any real furniture grade wood working. I use them to make lawn games and they've served me well. I also have their thickness planer and it works fine. It does seem to be a clone of others. I'm not ready to spend the money on an upgrade for it. But as folks have pointed out they are made in the same factory as many others. So I'm still learning also where the actual quality upgrade point is.

[Nick Decker]

Rich, try my approach: Before buying, send the company an email and ask a few questions. Doesn't matter what the questions are, make up something. The test is how quickly and how well they respond. The point is, if they don't respond well before the sale, they'll probably do worse after they have your money. They're obviously selling stuff that's about the same as other importers, customer service might set them apart.