My beloved Home Depot 7" (or 8", I don't remember), Ryobi bench grinder, used less than 100 times since it was new last year, gave up the ghost. Not all the blue smoke got out, just enough that I have to give the wheel a good spin to get it moving then wait, and wait, and wait for the wheel to get reach full RPM. It's not that annoying because while it's spooling up, the wheels entertain me by doing a "jitter-bug" dance for me. Just attempting to grind a HSS tool will slow the thing down.

I don't want to infer that all the grinders of this brand are NG, just reporting that mine had the longevity of a Higgs Boson. I checked out the grinder reviews of a number of familiar brands and though the names differed, they all suffered from mild to sever vibration. So I thought to go for a used grinder still made in USA. Good luck finding one in 115 vac single phase. So I bought the bullet and ordered a model 762 Baldor. Sucks that it lacks cast tool rests but I have no doubt the wheel will be turning long after I'm not. The new grinder is 1/2hp with a 7"x1" wheel on a 5/8" shaft.

Sadly, as of March 1st, Baldor is no more. It seems to have merged (been bought out by?) ABB Global (Chinese?) I'm hoping against hope that my grinder will be NOS, made in the USA, and with a Baldor badge.