8 in. 5 Amp Variable Speed Bench Grinder with Flexible Work Light

I'm very satisfied with this purchase. shipment was early, undamaged, and packed very well. After unboxing it I turned it on to make sure all was good before I take everything out. it wobbled slightly at certain speeds, but that is to be expected until you check and true the stones. I swapped them re seated the stones and it purrs now. smooth as silk. I immediately sharpened some bits and blades and was very happy. nice to purchase something and it exceed my expectations. I purchased the stand and really like it also. WEN has just earned a new customer. Also my light stays on. if WEN makes corrections from feedback, that would really be impressive.

From slow speed to high speed, this grinder delivers!

Very simple to assemble no problem at all it is an excellent product definitely would recommend it indefinitely would buy their product name again Great machine I'm very happy thank you

Wen variable speed grinder is a nice addition to the shop. My old fifty plus year old gave up the ghost and while searching I came up with a few variable speed units and they all looked the same except for color and price. WEN beat them all and the price has since dropped. I give it a five star rating because after assembling the spark arrestors/eye shields and tool rests, turning it on there was a quiet hum as it starts and builds speed; no wobble! Some people reported wheel wobble in their reviews, but only after turning off the grinder and as it slowed to a stop did mine have a tiny amount; at operating speed it is smoooooth! The video is with the grinder on the workbench and not bolted down; it did get put on the grinder bench after and bolted, though. This gem comes with a drill bit rest and wheel dressing tool, neither of which is mentioned in the write up by WEN. I had just bought a bit sharpener before this arrived.

Although this grinder has room for improvement, I have to say that overall this is a good grinder from the price. Balance is great and the noise is low enough to have a normal conversation while it is running full throttle. The speed is controlled by potentiometer so as you turn the speed dial the speed increases. This is a great design to allow you to dial in the exact speed you want for the job. And at 5 amps, it can handle almost any job you would need it for. Packing material was adequate for shipping to home. There were a few scratches in the paint out of the box, but that's not a real issue. There are just a few gripes in the design. With the lamp, it is very convenient, however, it has two flaws in my opinion: 1. the arm for the lamp does not stay in place while using the grinder. Vibration causes it to move while in use. 2. The lamp does not turn on until the grinder is turned on. This is not to say it is a design flaw or poor function, but inconvenient in my opinion. I would not and will not be re-wiring the lamp to resolve this. That's just not a good idea.. The accessories are a great addition, however, they do not mount square to the wheels out of the box so some "squaring" will be needed if you're sharpening chisels or other fine tuning jobs. Overall, it is a good grinder for the novice or intermediate tradesman.

This is the Wen 8” variable speed bench grinder (model 4280). The speed can be adjusted from 2000 rpm to 3400 rpm. It comes with one 36-grit wheel (gray) and one 80-grit wheel (white). The wheels are 1” thick for a 5/8” arbor. A work light is built in, but you have to supply your own bulb (they recommend a 40-watt or less R20 bulb). A nice touch is the quenching pot at the front of the unit. After unpacking the unit, you have to assemble the tool rests and the eye shields/spark arrestors—not a big deal. Photo 1 shows you the parts that come with the grinder. After I set up the grinder, I realized that in order to remove the wheels you must remove the tool rests (you always want to do a ring test on any new grinding wheel to make sure it wasn’t damaged/cracked in transit, even if it comes installed on a new grinder). So I removed the tool rests, removed the wheels and confirmed that the wheels were not damaged. Photos 2 and 3 show the Wen branded wheels. I didn’t have the recommended R20 bulb on hand, but I did have a PAR16 LED bulb (a little smaller than the R20 size). I put it in, plugged in the grinder and turned the switch on top of the lamp holder. To my surprise, the light did not go on. It turns out that the grinder’s power switch must be on for the light to go on. I think this was a poor design choice. I’ll re-wire the grinder so the light is connected directly to the AC power and turns on/off independently of the grinder’s power switch. Photo 4 shows the assembled grinder, minus the quenching tray (I forgot to put it on). Next I wanted to see how much the grinder vibrated so I turned it on without securing it to my workbench. Amazingly, it hardly vibrated at all, even when I increased the speed. I must have gotten lucky and have decently balanced wheels. I even sharpened a chisel with the grinder not being secured and had no problem. Overall, it’s a decent grinder for the money, however, I took off a star because the tool trays are not square with the wheels—I’ll have to fix that (in addition to rewiring the light). Also, the hardware for the tool rests seems a little flimsy—after adjusting the tool rest to the desired angle, it’s not a smooth operation to adjust the distance from the tool rest to the wheel. Other than those items, the grinder runs smooth and has plenty of power. It also comes with a wheel dresser, an add-on tool rest for drill bits, and a 2-year warranty.

Nice grinder, have had no problems. The only thing that concerns me is that the motor seems to get very hot if used for any length of time

Very nice machine works great.