Baldor grinder $775 on Craigslist

[dennis thompson]

I don’t understand how a used Baldor grinder can be worth $775.
Amazon has a DeWalt for $100 or a Jet for $260. Don’t they do the same thing?
Help me understand this:)

[Patty Hann]

I don’t understand how a used Baldor grinder can be worth $775.
Amazon has a DeWalt for $100 or a Jet for $260. Don’t they do the same thing?
Help me understand this:)


I think Baldors are still made in the US. (That alone will double the price of a chinese made one)
I know [hign end] jewelers and clock repair craftsmen and they swear by Baldors.
Bearings probably are better.
I've seen them on ebay (still not cheap) but maybe worth a look-see.
I bought Handler polisher (Redwing), 1/3 HP, US made (Baldor was 1/2HP) because I couldn't afford a Baldor.
But I'm not in business and don't use mine everyday.

[Aaron Inami]

The Baldor grinders are considered "precision grinders". They are extremely well balanced (no wobbly grinding wheels) and have heavy cast iron table surfaces to hold your material. These surfaces can be adjusted to an exact angle. These grinders are what is typically used to custom grind lathe cutting bits. The current price for a new Baldor grinder is about $2500.

The $1200 Baldor grinders do not have the heavy table surfaces and are really only good for sharpening knives and lawn mower blades as well as course grinding material off pieces of metal.

The cheap Dewalt grinders are the bargain basement stuff you get at Home Depot. Just for grinding edges smooth or lawn mower blades or stuff like non-precision chisels. They are impossible to use for "precision" machining.

I think there is a "Chinese" version of the Baldor precision grinder that can probably be had for about $900, but I cannot remember who makes it. Harbor Freight used to have a Chinese Baldor Grinder available for about $300.

[Tom M King]

There are lots of sizes of them, and some cost more than the smaller ones which still aren't cheap. With or without the pedestal matters too. I have one on a pedestal, one buffer on a pedestal, and another buffer that gets moved around. All are probably 50 years old and still run smoother than any 200 dollar grinder with some other name on it.

Baldor is my first choice in electric motors too. I bought one that came off of some sort of plumbing machine that the fan had been crushed on. It's a TEFC motor. I had my motor guy put new bearings in it, cut the crushed fan off of it, and it's run for 4 months a year for five years inside a 4' barn fan for the horses during the hot season. I figured it was worth a try since the motor is inside the fan, and has air moved over it by the big fan, so it didn't need the built on fan.

[Bruce Page]

Baldor grinders & buffers are very high quality. I wish they weren’t so darn spendy.

If tool rests make the grinder then my little Delta is worth more than I realized. Shop made rests out of some scrap 4140 steel. It was only after I made them that my welder buddy told me that 4140 is a bear to weld…

[Bill Dufour]

Probably a Baldor tool and cutter grinder. Has small cast iron tables, mounted on trunnions with mitre slots. Plate mounted precision wheels, often diamond or green for carbide. Designed to grind lathe tools and such to a given angle. I paid $200 for mine.
The Grizzly knockoff is over 255. Not sure if that includes wheels or not
Bill D

https://www.amazon.com/BALDOR-ELECTRIC-522-DIAMONDWHEEL-GRIND/dp/B0040C1BAC/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=baldor+522+grinder&qid=1674793205&s=industrial&sr=1-3

[Lisa Starr]

The Baldor is definitely a premium grinder. When I had my machine shop, we had dozens of them. They just ran, all day, everyday, and ours were abused. If one did have a problem, they are repairable/rebuildable. That's what your paying for when you purchase one.

[dennis thompson]

Thanks to all those who responded in a thoughtful and explanatory way, I now understand the differences

[Aaron Inami]

Most of these grinders have small tool rests "IN FRONT" of the grinding wheel. These are really only good for doing course work or grinding edges off metal, etc. The cheaper models usually have really bad balance - i.e. the grinding wheels wobble all over the place (side-to-side, front-to-back, etc.).

Keep in mind that the grinding wheel is curved, so if you are grinding from the front, it is going to grind a "curve" into your piece. This is not considered a precision grinder. However, grinding a sharp edge onto a knife (for knife making) is perfectly fine using this method, as long as the grinding wheels are stable and do not wobble.

The grinders with tables and tool rests to the "SIDE" of the grinding wheel allow for a perfectly flat grinding. For example, if you had a lathe cutting bit where you needed an exact 78 degree flat angle on the end. That's what the Baldor Precision Grinders are used for. Here's a pic for example:

https://www.sherline.com/product/3007-14-hss-tool-set/#description

Bruce Page - you have a nice grinder with good side support (albeit small). However, the best you are going to get is a 90 degree flat angle. This may serve perfectly well for your needs.

[Andrew More]

The cheap Dewalt grinders are the bargain basement stuff you get at Home Depot. Just for grinding edges smooth or lawn mower blades or stuff like non-precision chisels. They are impossible to use for "precision" machining.

FWIW, I have one of the 8" DeWalt grinders. The tool rests were total junk, so I removed them. Installation of the Oneway Shapening Jigs (around $150-200) was sufficient to allow me to regrind chisels and plane irons well enough to allow for further sharpening and polishing to a fine edge.

[Bruce Page]

Bruce Page - you have a nice grinder with good side support (albeit small). However, the best you are going to get is a 90 degree flat angle. This may serve perfectly well for your needs.

You can’t see it in the picture, but the tool rests are adjustable. That said, most of my lathe bits are carbide insert based so I seldom need to pivot the rests. I agree, I should’ve made the rests wider. Hindsight is 20/20.

[Bill Dufour]

Note that regular solid grinding wheel are not supposed to be used on the side faces, only on the circumference. The tool and cutter grinders have metal plates backing the wheels so side grinding is allowed.
Bill D

[Bruce Page]

Note that regular solid grinding wheel are not supposed to be used on the side faces, only on the circumference. The tool and cutter grinders have metal plates backing the wheels so side grinding is allowed.
Bill D

Bill, that is the standard warning, I agree. However, light grinding on the side of the wheel is fine, IMHO.

[Steve Mathews]

And then there are the very nice Tradesman grinders. I have a few Baldor grinders but always wanted a Tradesman.

[Bill Dufour]

I bet it costs more to buy two quality 10" grinding wheels then to buy one cheap 8" bench grinder with cheap wheels that may explode on first startup.
BilL D

[Dave Roock]

I purchased a Wen grinder a few years back - have been very impressed at how good it has been for such a low price. If it was a daily production tool then I would have chosen a high end product. 5 stars so far.

[Rollie Meyers]

I have a couple of Rockwell 7" grinders from the early 1970's, one single phase & the other a 200 volt 3 phase, sweet machines that cannot be replaced new today, plus a few Baldors, & a JC Penney 6" made by Baldor, all of them are better then the throwaway garbage sold today by everyone other then ABB/Baldor.

[Bill Dufour]

I saw a cheap China made grinder taken apart. The motor case looked like a normal 3/4Hp or so size. Inside the actual motor was several inches in diameter smaller with very long extended shaft lengths inside the case. Probably a good 1.5" air gap between the outside of the coil and the inside of the case all around. And 2-3 inches of shaft between the rotor and the bearing on each end.
Maytag used to put concrete weights in their washing machines to impress the buyers with their heavy solid construction.
Bill D

[Jerry Bruette]

I saw a cheap China made grinder taken apart. The motor case looked like a normal 3/4Hp or so size. Inside the actual motor was several inches in diameter smaller with very long extended shaft lengths inside the case. Probably a good 1.5" air gap between the outside of the coil and the inside of the case all around. And 2-3 inches of shaft between the rotor and the bearing on each end.
Maytag used to put concrete weights in their washing machines to impress the buyers with their heavy solid construction.
Bill D

Or maybe the concrete was to dampen vibrations from an unbalanced load. I know some of our members here recommend doing the same thing with a lathe.

[Bob Cooper]

remember the original ibm pc keyboard?