Tool Review: Skil 3380 6" Bench Grinder with Light

There are many 6” power bench grinders that look very similar to one another but branded differently. They all have two grinding wheels, one on either side of the grinder body, and many of them include safety features and accessories like eye shields, tool rests, and either lamps or small lights. In this class of bench grinders, the Skil 6” Bench Grinder with Light (model #3380) is one of the less expensive models, yet its quality holds up against the others. The Skil grinder is well-designed and sturdily-made. It's a solid, tough bench grinder that should last you a long time. It comes with two grinding wheels, coarse and medium, so you can grind or sharpen many different materials. The grinder has several safety features that make it very difficult to injure yourself when using the machine correctly. There are flat tool rests toward the bottom side of the wheel that you can set your tools or other materials to be ground on, and there are eye shields and spark deflectors toward the top of each wheel. (It's still recommended to wear safety goggles when using the grinder.) Included in each plastic eye shield is a small light that helps to illuminate the wheel and whatever you're grinding. Some grinders include a desk lamp that mounts over the grinder, but this Skil grinder has a light in each eye shield, closer to where you're working. The grinder comes out of the box almost fully assembled. The only things you'll have to do are attach the eye shields in a position that's good for you, and attach the tool rests. The lights are already installed in the eye shields, and the grinder itself and the wheels come ready to use. No tools are required to complete the assembly. The Skil grinder is very easy to use. An on/off switch controls the grinder, and the power cord is long enough for moderate flexibility on where you can use the grinder. If you prefer to keep it stationary on your tool bench, it has holes so you can bolt it down. The only thing that I can fault the grinder for is that it doesn't tell you which wheel is coarse and which wheel is medium in either the packaging or assembly instructions. The grinder is surprisingly quiet during use. The Skil 3380 grinder is a great buy for its price. Its quality matches that of more expensive grinders.  I give this grinder 4.5 out of 5 stars for its ease of use, good function, and great value. Amazon.com currently sells the Skil grinder for $59.23 (with free shipping) and it ranks as the #3 best seller in the Power Bench Grinders category.
(Originally published in slightly altered form on Helium.com, June 2013)

UPDATE: As of June 26th, 2014, Amazon.com has dropped the price of the Skil bench grinder to $49.99 (still with free shipping).