Palmgren bench grinders- anyone have one?

[bofe954]

Stumbled on them in a amazon review of the Dewalt grinder. Guy claims that they are better built.

One advantage is supposed to be the skinnier motor, which you can see. I also like the bigger tool rests that no one but palmgren and dewalt seem to use.

Disadvantage, a little more expensive, no one seems to sell them, and I've never heard of them.

The motors also seem low on HP relative to the competition, but I am told that the HP ratings are not usually correct anyway...

Anyway I'm debating this one:

http://www.palmgren.com/product_info.php?products_id=154

It's really only about $50 more than the competition. If it's better I'm fine with the money. I don't want to pay more for junk though.

Also any feelings on variable speed vs single speed? The single speed is within $20 of the rest of the competition...

 

[Huxley]

I am looking at buying a 10" 1 hp model. Surprised nobody has any feedback here. 250 views and not one comment.??

I don't see anything mentioned about variable speed on the larger models.

 

[woody 73]

Something tells me they are made overseas from an old search from way back, but I could be wrong. Although I own about six bench grinders none are variable speed ; I bet my lathe tool steel would get less hot if the grinder could run at slower speed.

seems cheaper to buy a model with it built in rather then buying a product to install on a bench grinder, but other members might tell a different story.

http://www.routerforums.com/tools-woodworking/15925-external-speed-control-bench-grinder.html

 

[woody 73]

None of my six are palmgren, four are Baldor and two are Dayton.

 

[Huxley]

Thanks the one I am looking at will be auctioned in a few weeks. If the price is right, it will be a big improvement over my Big Lots $18.99 model. I definitely got my money's worth out of that thing though.

 

[neophyte]

I'm fairly certain that that grinder is an import. Palmgren has sold various imported benchtop tools in the USA for at least the last decade. Some of the same tools were also sold under other brand names including Craftsman. My experience with the Craftsman lookalikes is that they would require a lot of tweaking, at significant extra cost, to get them to a level of quality functionality.

That same bench grinder also seems to be sold under the Dayton brand name, model: 2LKR7. COO is listed as China. There are other similar Dayton bench grinder designs with different size and horsepower specs.

http://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Bench-Grinder-2LKR7?functionCode=P2IDP2PCP


I've never tried to contact Palmgren for extra parts, but unlike a major brand like Dewalt or Bosch, there seem to be far fewer aftermarket sources to buy parts for Palmgren stuff, especially once the item has been discontinued.

 

[tyjoja]

do your self a big favor and take that money and buy a used baldor grinder. Absolutely the best I've had or seen. Smooth, fast and strong. Do a search here and you'll see how much people like them. I bought mine used for less than your looking at on ebay, but definitely look on craigslist.

 

[tyjoja]

Not sure what part of the country your in, but there are some deals on baldor grinders on c.l. Mine is a 6" 1/3 hp and I've never been able to stop it or bog it down.

 

[Ign]

The best I can tell you is that I've had a 6x48" Palmgren belt sander since about '06. In the past 3 years I've used the hell out of it, arguably commercially, sanding thousands of aluminum pieces. I had to replace the switch which is not sealed very well when it filled up with Al dust, twice. And I don't feel it tensions the belt quite as tight as I might like but the belt has never walked around on me.

This is my unit, although it presently shows unavailable:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00068U80S/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1409879273&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

NOW, why so much rambling about a belt sander? Because at the time I was positive the comparable Craftsman unit was IDENTICAL (based solely on pictures and specs). And Craftsman used to sell a cross-slide drill press vise that was obviously a Palmgren. SO, if you do some comparisons even today you may find that some of the present Craftsman-badged bench grinders are Palmgren, and you may have an easier time finding reviews on Craftsman products....

ie if X=Y and Y=Z then X must =Z

If you can get your hands on the big Craftsman tool print catalog it's a great way to compare pics to online shots of Palmgren, and as you flip thru it you'll begin to form many other suspicions of who's making some of Craftsman's tools. Good throne reading.