Hi friends,

So after years of flat-grinding on a granite plate and hack-sawing long bolts shorter only to have to file their ends, I think I'm ready to finally "break down" and buy myself a bench grinder. I have nothing against power tools, rather, just the space they take up ( my shop is exactly one half of our 12x20 garage).

As a hobbyist (mostly) hand tool wood worker and a home owner, I'm really looking for something that's multi-use tool here. I don't imagine I'd be using this tool every day but nevertheless, but I've fallen DEEP into Analysis Paralysis all the same, especially when it comes down to the grinder's speed. Yes, I will grind the bevels on my chisels/plane blades (will I hollow grind EVERYTHING, probably not). I'm not a wood turner or carver (and I don't know that I ever really plan to be). But I also can't imagine I won't sharpen my lawnmower blade this way, too. Recently I had to grind (sand) a flat edge on a bunch of washers and that SUCKED by hand, so I know I'll be doing that kind of work, too.

I've gone back & forth literally a dozen times between "Get the slow speed; a little more time on some projects doesn't matter next to not frying your plane blades," and "Screw it, get the 3450 speed; you can learn to grind tools safely and then still lean into roughing off material if/when you have to." I've read that variable speed grinders can eventually wear their motors out in a way dedicated speeds tend to not (or, at least, not as quickly). Any observed truth to this?

I know wheel material matters, in terms of what task I'm doing (white aluminum oxide for sharpening woodworking tools vs silicon carbide). I do eventually hope to upgrade one wheel to CBN for my sharpening but that'll have to wait for funds (should that affect my decision at all?).

Any advice or suggestions would be well-received and appreciated. Thanks!!