BUCKTOOL 1-1/2HP 10 Inch Low Speed Bench Grinder, 1750 RPM Table Grinder with 13A Motor, High Precision Wobble-free Wheel Grinder, TDS-250

The media could not be loaded. Reviewing BUCKTOOL SCM8103 10-Inch Variable Speed Wet Sharpener …..I was impressively surprised at the overall workmanship/value at $229.Bucktool workmanship and finish…..overall metal case feels strong, tight and well assembled. The finish on my tool has a manufacturing defect on the surface of the top plate (photo) that does not impact function. Electrical toggle switch and speed knob are solid, smooth and crisp. Electrical power wire and plug meet spec.The 10” honing stone…… appeared smooth and worked well right out of the box. No vibration or wobble when spun at full speed (160 RPM). I was impressed that the stone was very close to true. The stone also turns bidirectional.Jig universal support arm …….. very close to square with the stone (photos). A number of reviews reported issues with this. I adjusted the jig alignment slightly with a little vice work.Stropping wheel…….wheel rotates smooth with only very slight wobble. But it feels “light weight”. It has very thin 1/16” leather (photo) and I suspect it may have to be replaced during the life of the machine. I did locate Bucktool parts (photo) and ordered an extra wheel, stone and jig-arm (being shipped from Hong Kong).Jigs….Nice to have two jigs (short knife and grinding/square-edge) provided. I use the Tormek square edge and truing jigs, which will work with this Bucktool. NOTE - The mounting position of the Bucktool support arm prevents the Tormek truing jig from anchoring on the arm shaft, so I will look at adding a “flat” on the jig-arm to help anchor the truing jig screw.Sharpened my first four plane blades today. Process was easy, and I am glad I used a waterproof mat…..water management vs RPM can be interesting. Sharpening took about 3-5 minutes per blade and my first edge (at 30 degrees) was reasonably smooth and square (photos). However, I did notice the stone is rough and will not leave an extremely smooth edge, especially when sharpening at less than 25 degrees (very fine chips in the blade’s leading edge).Happiness factor….I was pleasantly surprised how quiet this machine runs. Even at full 160 rpm, it is impressively quiet (video), especially when compared to other 10” stone sharpeners. Also, considering the cost, my plane blades sharpened well. But if you are looking for that “razor-super-sharp” result, this stone will probably not get you there. However subsequently lapping the blade on a flat diamond stone for a quick second bevel, does provide a very sharp blade that serves my wood shop well. First impressions, this feels like a solid investment.Overall, quite pleased with “first day” experience. The bidirectional variable-speed wheel that is ready "out of the box" with only minor tweaks, strong metal frame, square support arm, multiple jigs, stropping wheel, compound, 2 year warranty, great value-for-money and “really quiet” yields a healthy 5 stars.

Was surprised by the weight, that makes it solid I like the extra wide wheel it’ll help in sharpening several things

The best "one word" review I can give is "WOW". This is a heavy duty grinder. Very well made. I was looking for a grinder having little /no vibration. This is it. Super quiet. Extra thick wheel guards, thick, machined wheel flanges (not stamped steel). Bright adjustable LED work light. Extra large adjustable tool rests.

I am very impressed with this grinder. Although I haven't had it that long to comment on longevity, it does come with a impressive 2yr warrantee. What I like is the speed seems just right for sharping and the wheels are super smooth, right out of the box. Wobble free, smooth as can be!I would have given it a 5 star except the tool rest are set flat out and the angles are not adjustable so they are rather useless for sharping. I will be replacing them with something more practical very soon.

I began my search for a new 8" bench grinder with a good deal of pessimism. My history with these important tools has been mixed. I have a couple of well-made 6" grinders, but they are underpowered, and I really wanted one with 8" wheels for grinding my turning tools. I am replacing the equivalent model made by Rikon. Right out of the box both wheels of the Rikon wobbled badly. I took it back to the retailer, who insisted that the grinder itself was fine and that the wheel collars were a little asymmetrical. All I needed to do, he said, was to fiddle around with them until the wheels ran true. That didn't work, nor did turning the collars flat, or replacing them with precision-ground ones. Finally, I checked the grinder itself with a dial gauge, finding that both arbors have significant runout. The grinder has sat mainly idle for several years now.Having recently bought several high-dollar items for the shop, I decided that I couldn't justify buying a name brand like Jet or (gasp!) Baldor. Turning to reviews, I saw that the Buck (which I had never heard of) was highly rated. I managed to suppress my skepticism and ordered one.Being about 70% certain that I was going to end up returning this grinder, I decided to check everything before even switching it on. I was dumbfounded to find amazingly tight tolerances! The arbors (shafts sticking out from either end of the motor) are within 0.0002" of perfectly round, and the steps against which the collars rest are within 0.0004". The collars themselves are another matter. Although robust and apparently well made, they are not machined, and near their edges (they have a diameter of just under 2") they wobble by 0.006 to 0.008". That doesn't sound like much (about the summed diameters of 2-3 human hairs), but where it counts, on the periphery of the 8" wheel, that translates to about the 0.025" that I recorded there. I switched out the collars with the aftermarket, machined ones (made by Raptor) I had on hand from the Rikon failure, which wobble only by 0.001-0.002". I consider this to be really stellar performance for a bench grinder in this price range!The Buck grinder is nicely finished. I was delighted to see that the wheel covers, although stamped and not cast like a Baldor, are of heavy construction, probably about 1.5 mm thick (about 16 ga). This is a really high quality grinder for the price, and I highly recommend it.