Bench Grinder - New or Old?

[Doug Hobkirk]

I have two 8" grinders and one must go.


Craftsman Industrial 1HP - 1.1A 4500rpm No Load - 4500rpm No Load - 60 seconds to "coast down from full RPM"
Old Stanley - 5.0 Amps - "Ball Bearings" - beefy wheel mounts -beefy tool rest hardware - "No Load 4500RPM" / "Load 1450-1725RPM" (seems to run much slower than Craftsman w/ no load other than mounted wheels) - 16 seconds to "coast down from full RPM"

Both seem to grind great, both are quite smooth, I cannot notice either one slow down when I grind a RR spike real hard.

Wrinkle 1 - I am not familiar with the orange tool rest on the Stanley and it's the only tool rest I have for that side.

Wrinkle 2 - I have another grinder tool rest (Craftsman, new) that I got at a garage sale - no instructions - geared lateral movement

Questions:


I'm a home owner and getting into woodworking seriously - space is limited - which grinder is the better choice?
How is the orange tool rest used?
Is the silver tool rest useful?

[Jeff Hallam]

I believe the slower rpm is better for sharpening woodworking tools, there's less chance of burning your edges. That Stanley looks like it is built pretty tough, it would be my choice.