What 8" slow grinder do you like?

[Mark Gibney]

I'm shopping for an 8" slow grinder to sharpen gouges.

I see Rikon have one priced at $100 thru Woodcraft right now. They go up in price from there.

From what I've read online I gather the smoothness of the machine matters to the quality of the sharpening, and so I'd like to get something decent. I've learned before to buy the right tool the first time.

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered, so please direct me to the forum links that I haven't found if that works for you.

thank you, Mark

[Bruce Wilson]

I got this one from Woodcraft when they had it on sale. Otherwise I probably would have gotten the 1/2 HP one you are referring to. I have not had any issues with it.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/rikon-8-1-hp-slow-speed-grinder-80-808

[Ken Glass]

I am fond of my Rikon 8" low speed grinder. It is quiet and is very well balanced right out of the box.

[CHARLES D Richards]

I got this one from Woodcraft when they had it on sale. Otherwise I probably would have gotten the 1/2 HP one you are referring to. I have not had any issues with it.
https://www.woodcraft.com/products/rikon-8-1-hp-slow-speed-grinder-80-808


I have the Rikon 1/2hp and 1hp unit and much prefer the 1 hp grinder for its quick start and stop.

[roger wiegand]

Hard to beat the Rikon 1hp. Mine is perfectly smooth and a quarter the price of a Baldor.

[Dick Mahany]

I have a Delta 8" variable speed grinder about 10 yrs old. I can't recommend this model for slow speed as mine surges on slow speed and the speed regulation isn't smooth. It has plenty of power and it has one Aluminum oxide and one CBN wheel and has been reliable, but I think the variable speed is too gimmicky and will likely purchase the Rikon next as it gets so many positive reviews.

[James Tibbetts]

Another vote for the Rikon 1 hp. 3 years on it and no problems. AlOx on one side and CBN on the other with no vibration.

[Wojciech Tryc]

another vote for Rikon 1/2hp, no problems at all, little slow to start and stop, but otherwise very good

[Greg McClurg]

I have the Woodcraft slow speed grinder, porter cable variable speed and the Rikon 1 hp...the Rikon is by far the best.

[Mark Gibney]

And we have a winner. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please put your hands together for Rikon.
Great to get feedback like this.

Thank you all, Mark

[Reed Gray]

I got the Rikon 1 hp as my 3rd grinder, the other two are Baldor. For the price, it is a good deal. I have all of mine bolted down to plywood for easy moving when I do demos as I always want my own grinder. So, when I took the rubber feet off of it, there was 1/8 inch wobble in the feet, so I ground about 1/16 inch off of the two feet diagonally, to get it to sit flat without rocking. I took the light off of it, pretty much worthless as in not bright enough, and the stem is so short, it doesn't really get to the wheel where you need it. The wheels had about 1/8 inch wobble in them, and since I use CBN, I tossed them. I wouldn't give them to some one I didn't like.... The wheel guards were okay, but for my robo rests, one side fit fine, but the other side I had to ream out the bolt holes and rotate the guard about 10 minutes counter clockwise so I could slide the rest up to the proper distance. It is noisier than my Baldor grinders, but the wheels come up to full speed in the same amount of time and there is almost no run out in the shaft. Oh, I had to shim up my Wolverine base about 5/8 inch to get it to proper height. Good deal for the money, and I think they go on sale at WC also... I haven't tried the 1/2 hp Rikon, mostly because I prefer more muscle rather than barely enough....

robo hippy

[David M Peters]

Another vote for the Rikon 1HP. I used the 1/2HP grinder (with two CBN 4-in-1 sheels) for a years and while it worked fine it's slow to start up. I wanted to move to wider, square CBN wheels so I bit the bullet and got Ken's 1HP combo unit (https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/rikon-grinders/products/rikon-1-hp-grinder-with-one-radius-edge-and-one-4-in-1-cbn-wheel). It was really nice having perfectly mounted wheels right up front and also not having to store/dispose of all the stock guards and rests.

[Mark Gibney]

I pulled the trigger on the Rikon 1 hp slow speed.
Looking forward to putting this grinder into use, I have a lot of legs to turn in the next month so it'll be in action right away.

thank you all, Mark

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I paid $2.00 for a grinder on a stand. Older than dirt and geared with pulleys down to about 600 rpm. Unfortunately, the thing is on a huge metal base and weighs a total of about 130lbs. It has a 7/8 arbor which won't be easy to find smaller grind stones for. I am not sure it is commercial made or home made. Everything about it is overbuilt. I rarely use it because the motor sits a foot below the grindstones and I need to make a shield to keep filings and grit out of the motor works and pulleys. Until then I have the Rikon I got at Woodcraft.

[Lamar Wright]

I'm in the 8" Rikon slow speed crowd