Carbide Grinder question again.

[garyphansen]

Is the ENCO Carbide grinder the same thing as the Harbor Freight Carbide Grinder? Or is Enco better? Gary P. Hansen

[Bill Pace]

I would venture a guess ---

Prolly like so much of this stuff, just paint and markings. I was in the WT home store in Warren Mi back last summer and they had their version of the grinder on display and it certainly looked the very same as the HF.

Course HF has been steadily inching their prices up and the grinder seems to have taken a pretty healthy jump, getting in the same range as the ENCO & WT. But keep in mind this thing is HEAVY!, so frt could be a big deciding point, -- maybe bringing HF's price back down again?

[Mark Hockett]

I have both the Enco and HF carbide grinders. They are very different. The HF grinder I have is made in China and has a reversing switch. The trays under the table are mounted different and remove without any tools needed. The Enco grinder I have is made in Taiwan, does not have a reversing switch and the trays are bolted on. In my opinion this type of grinder needs a reversing switch to make full use of the table. If I had to buy just one grinder again it would be the HF one.

[Teenage_Machinist]

Also it has been said that some importers have higher quality on small points such as less bondo in Grizzly than HF.

[Forrest Addy]

Regardless of wqhich one you buy, take it apart and check the windings, If they are fused together with insulating varnish no sweat. If you can separate the individual conductors with a questing thumb nail you have one more job to do.

Take the stator to the motor shop for a dip in insulating varnish and a bake. All too often these cheap Asian motors fail prematurely because the final dip and bake was omitted at the factory. When the windings are no immobilizes they are free to buzz against one another, chafe the insulation, and short soon frying the motor. This will happen sooner or later but always at the worst time. Once the motor is dipped and baked it will likely perform and last as well as a US made motor.

One thing. Both these grinders have a potential relay housed in the base casting. Note its position and be sure its oriented the same when you reassemble the motor. This relay requires gravity to return the solonoid.

[Bill Pace]

You have jogged my memory on the reverse issue, Mark -I had heard that, --and it receives bad press every time.
And I certainly agree, I think I use each speed in an equal amount, using the front of the wheel for one side of the tool, reversing and using the back side for the other. Would be a bummer to not have that capability.

[Boucher]

If you are going to use it Buy a Baldor and get it over with.

[rockrat]

Take the stator to the motor shop for a dip in insulating varnish and a bake.

Ok, so if I were a cheap a$$, would buying a can of the spray varnish and cooking in the shop oven get me the same thing? Or do they use something a bit thicker to better fill the voids?

rock~

[10KPete]

If you are going to use it Buy a Baldor and get it over with.

My friend down the road wanted a nice 10" buffer set up. Ordered up a new Baldor 'cause that's the best, right?

Wrong.

With nothing mounted on the spindles it would vibrate itself across the floor.

And so did the three replacement units.

He's still trying to figure out what to buy, but it ain't gonna be a Baldor!

I always thought Baldor was the deal, but I hadn't seen a new one for about 30 years. Somethings changed at Baldor.

Pete

[gzig5]

Baldor has aquired a couple of their competitors over the last few years and I know for a fact that at least one of the facilities they brought in is killing them with quality issues. In the end it is their responsibility to get the problems corrected, and they are working on it. Case in point, 150 HP servo spindle motor. U<V<W have dual leads coming out to the block. They managed to mix U and V on two of the lugs, and they shipped it out that way.