Which Bench Grinders Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 9 bench grinders options head to head. JET came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
JET
Price shown in test: 528
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Shop Fox
Price shown in test: 250
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“leaving out the subjective categories the jet is by far the best performing bench grinder finishing in first place in every test but it is very large and expensive”
Best in 1 of 9 measurements, including Average finish score.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Time to full operating RPM
- 1JET2.0 seconds
fastest of all brands, no drill needed to help it start
- 2Shop Fox8.1 seconds
- 3Rikon5.11 seconds
aided by a lightweight included wire wheel
- 4Delta
very close to 7 seconds
- 5Herculesabout10.8 seconds
(stated as 3 seconds longer than Bauer's 7.8 seconds)
- 6Bauer7.8 seconds
(also stated later as 7.87 seconds in the closing recap)
- 7SKILaround10 seconds
- 8WEN8.4 seconds
- 9Performance Tool19.8 seconds
slowest of all brands
No-load RPM
- 1JET3591
- 2Shop Fox
variable speed range around 2160 to just over 3580
- 3Rikon
variable speed range roughly 2100 to just over 3500
- 4Delta
variable speed range 2100 to just over 3400
- 5Hercules
variable speed range around 2100 to just over 3500
- 6Bauer3577
- 7SKIL3570
- 8WEN3583
- 9Performance Tool3559
Noise level
- 1JET72.8 decibels
- 2Shop Fox77.3 decibels
- 3Rikon76.1 decibels
noisier due to the wire wheel
- 4Delta72.5 decibels
- 5Hercules74.3 decibels
- 6Bauer74.9 decibels
- 7SKIL73.9 decibels
- 8WEN65.6 decibels
quietest of all brands
- 9Performance Tool83.7 decibels
loudest of all brands
Wheel stop time
- 1JETaround90 seconds
- 2Shop Fox1 minute 34 seconds
- 3Rikon44 seconds
- 4Delta48 seconds
fastest at that point in the video
- 5Hercules1 minute 22 seconds
- 6Bauer1 minute 48 seconds
- 7SKIL80 seconds
- 8WEN2 minutes 20 seconds
- 9Performance Tool2 minutes 23 seconds
Weight
- 1JETalmost63 pounds
heaviest of all brands
- 2Shop Fox40.61 pounds
- 3Rikon38.27 pounds
- 4Delta40.27 pounds
- 5Hercules40.5 pounds
- 6Baueralmost35 pounds
- 7SKIL26.25 pounds
- 8WEN29.45 pounds
- 9Performance Tool23.75 pounds
lightest of all brands
Torque stall test (downward force)
- 1JET60 pounds
described as totally destroying the competition
- 2Shop Fox11 pounds
tied with Hercules, Delta, and Rikon
- 3Rikon11 pounds
tied with Hercules, Delta, and Shop Fox
- 4Delta11 pounds
tied with Hercules, Shop Fox, and Rikon
- 5Hercules11 pounds
tied with Delta, Shop Fox, and Rikon
- 6Bauer10 pounds
same as WEN
- 7SKIL5 pounds
one pound more than Performance Tool
- 8WEN10 pounds
same as Bauer (barely holding on at 9 pounds before that)
- 9Performance Tool4 pounds
(began struggling at 3 pounds), 6 pounds less than WEN despite matching WEN's 3/4 horsepower rating
Electric motor lie detector test (15 min sustained load)
- 1JET95 degrees F
at 10 minutes, 106 degrees F at 15 minutes (tied coolest with Shop Fox), watt meter maxed out around 1800 watts
- 2Shop Fox92 degrees F
at 10 minutes, 106 degrees F at 15 minutes (coolest yet, tied with JET), stalled at 1325 watts, second highest wattage after JET
- 3Rikon105 degrees F
at 10 minutes, 116 degrees F at 15 minutes, stalled at 1250 watts
- 4Deltaclose to100 degrees F
at 10 minutes, 117 degrees F at 15 minutes, stalled around 1250 watts, about the same as Hercules
- 5Hercules103 degrees F
at 10 minutes, 125 degrees F at 15 minutes, stalled at 1250 watts
- 6Bauer120 degrees F
at 10 minutes, 130 degrees F at 15 minutes (same as WEN), stalled at 1150 watts, about 50 watts more than WEN
- 7SKIL
expected test range 340 to 360 watts based on its half-horsepower rating, 110 degrees F at 15 minutes, made it to around 700 watts before stalling
- 8WEN
running a little over 570 watts sustained (close to its 4.8 amp / 3/4 hp rating), 112 degrees F at 10 minutes, 130 degrees F at 15 minutes, held on until 1100 watts on a separate max-torque burst test
- 9Performance Tool
explicitly failed to pass this test; narrator states it does not make enough torque for its rated 3/4 horsepower
Wheel wear test (groove depth from screw)
- 1JET0.018 inches
- 2Shop Fox0.042 inches
same as Delta
- 3Rikon0.024 inches
less wear than Delta and Shop Fox
- 4Delta0.042 inches
the light-duty tool rest came loose during this test, noted as a design flaw
- 5Hercules0.0045 inches
the least wear of any brand tested
- 6Bauer0.061 inches
- 7SKIL0.005 inches
no motor stalling during the test unlike Performance Tool
- 8WEN0.005 inches
not very friable, in good condition after the test
- 9Performance Tool0.09 inches
motor stalled multiple times during the test under light pressure, described as too friable
All measurements (2 more)+
Average finish score
- 1JET
first place in every quantitative test; still ranked first overall once the subjective build quality assessment is included
- 2Shop Fox1.7
average finish leaving out subjective build quality; 1.8 average finish once subjective build quality is included
- 3Rikon2.3
average finish both with and without the subjective build quality assessment
- 4Delta2.8
average finish once the subjective build quality assessment is included, tied with Hercules
- 5Hercules2.8
average finish once the subjective build quality assessment is included, tied with Delta
- 6Bauernot tested
- 7SKILnot tested
- 8WENnot tested
- 9Performance Toolnot tested
Eye shield impact test
- 1JET
the ice shield broke in the steel ball impact test, same as Performance Tool
- 9Performance Tool
the ice shield broke in the steel ball impact test, same as JET
- 2Shop Foxnot tested
- 3Rikonnot tested
- 4Deltanot tested
- 5Herculesnot tested
- 6Bauernot tested
- 7SKILnot tested
- 8WENnot tested
How it was tested
- time to reach full operating RPM
- no-load RPM measurement
- noise level in decibels
- time for the wheel to come to a complete stop
- weight
- working torque stall test (slow downward force applied until the motor stalls)
- electric motor lie detector test (15-minute sustained load under a car-battery/inverter rig, watts and motor temperature measured, max wattage until stall)
- grinding wheel wear test (four-inch screw pressed into the spinning wheel, groove depth measured)
- eye shield impact test with a steel ball
- subjective build quality assessment of tool rest and eye shield mounting
“leaving out the subjective categories the jet is by far the best performing bench grinder finishing in first place in every test but it is very large and expensive”
