Terry, I’ll never sell it, but I’ll put you in my will 
I have 3 bench grinders, all old school vintage items that work great (well one is old and Taiwan made but still ok).
One of them has buffing wheels, not a ton of uses for it once you have buffed everything in the house but great when you need it, just be careful to not eat through the wheels too fast.
One of them has classic grinding wheels, it gets used off and on, depends on what I need it for, only use it for sharpening lawnmower blades and things like that, the rest is for general grinding.
The last one gets the most use by a massive margin, it has wire wheels installed and can be used for just about everything. It is great for cleaning up any metal item, rust is not match for it. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I didn’t have it for so many years.
I also have an old Delta disc / belt sander combo I use for sanding and sharping drill bits. Once you make the jig it works great for keeping cheap drill bits working.
I bought a Harbor Freight 6” buffer last year. The paint job was horrible. When I pulled off the label, the paint came with it. So I took it completely apart and repainted it. My labor was worth more than I paid for it! Oh well. At least it looks better than it did.
I have learned though the years to always show for tools (unless money is no object) on craigslist and get vitage American made tools over new china made tools.
The qualty is not even in the same ballpark. My bench grinders are rated as 1/3 to 1/2HP yet easily outpower modern 1HP grinders due tot he fake ratings they give them (just like the china lumens).
Now for things like cordless drills naturally new is better since they did not have lithium batteries or brushless motors in vintage tools.
At this point I have a grand total of $0 in my workshop by carefully buying items off craigslist and upgrading as better things came along. Then generally being able to sell the old ones for a profit.
I have one identical to this re branded Abbott from memory. Mine must be around thirty years old as well. I fitted a green wheel to one side of mine for carbide tools and have a fine wheel on the other for HSS.
Its good to see another old tool out there that is still going strong. 
It depends on what you’re doing, but once you get the hang of using a bench grinder for shaping and rough sharpening you won’t want to be without one. Not doing much fab work or polishing anymore, wire wheels (especially the brass one) get the most use. The fine-grit wheel comes next, then the coarse wheel. I mostly grind twist-drills back to sharp and restore wrecked chisels these days. Haven’t buffed in years; I’m not certain where that stuff is now but I know I have it and at one time it was the most-used. Buffing really well takes a knack for doing but once you master it you can make almost anything gleam like a mirror. Harbor Freight has cheap metal drywall pans or you can use a cheap bread pan meant for kitchen baking for a handy quenching basin.
The cheapest grinders are OK for wires, buffing, and lawnmower blades but that’s about all. One quick way to tell how good a bench grinder is is to see how solid the tool rest is; that’s crucial to getting a well-shaped grinding job done. Also check for end-play on the shaft. A belt sander can do a lot of things equally well or better as can an angle grinder, and a mini-tool like a dremel is a necessity for the small work. Best to have all kinds of tools so you can select the right one for the job then everything goes SO much easier and better 
Phil
Nice to hear you have one as well. As you can see, I take care of my tools. I do clean it every once in a while. And yes, I will re- dress the coarse wheel tomorrow…lol! Bad bad Glenn for not noticing it was clogged!
I wont post a picture of mine. :person_facepalming:
Yep my grinder is only a baby model if i use it enough i will get a bigger one later. My angle grinder is 850w but it never gets used.
I agree TA i am looking for an old lathe. I am just looking to see what is in the market. I will buy that after i get my welder i think the welder will get heaps of use so that comes first. I have been looking at a Australian/ British lathe but i think if its to old parts will be a pain to get. Some one next to my gf parents place has a raglan lathe i think they are British but it has no tools or accessories with it. Its cheap 450 dollars. Then i will have to sink extra cash to fix it and get all the parts.
I just got a belt sander i can always put that in the vice and use it sharpen i had to upgrade from my Random Orbital Sander to sand a wall.
I think because i have been using my rotary/Dremel tool for so long i can gauge the amount of pressure i need to use on the grinder. I have the proper sharpening kit i used it once to redo a point on a kitchen knife it took so long. This knife was much quicker to fix using the grinder.
Out of all my test i can only recommend you use 1 of the buck clone out of the 3 i have bought unless you want to end out like me lol.
I already knew it was a lost cause. I have many things I never touch anymore but they are staying here.
Dont get me started on hoarding lol
Hoarding flashlights is how BLF started lol
Back when I was about 12 years old, when visiting a friends farm, his kids and I got into the workshop and discovered that the grinder could make some great sparks. Then we burned down the workshop 
My wife use to hate it. Now she loves that I hang on to everyting. Here is an example. I have files of every shape and size. Today she needed a file and all the ones she tried from the tool boxes just were not working. So I take her to my special box. She does not have a key to this one. I open the bottom drawer and take oit a set of 8 nicholson files that have mever been used. I have not even put a handle on any of them. Her first response was what is special about these except they are new. I laughed amd laughed. Handed her the file she needed and said go try now. 5 minites later she was done. She says wow those really dig in. I said it's a Nicholson, google it when you have time. Half an hour later she comes running out to shop "do you know how much just that one file I used costs'? I said I know what it cost 10 years ago. LOL 10 years ago she wanted me to sell off about half my tools. A ton I inherited from my dad a few years back. He was an engineer and would only use what he believed was the best. My answer 10 years ago. 'HELL NO" She inventoried all but my private box. Found out what it would cost to replace them. Never asked again.
She will turn a wrench as fast as any man. You only find one of those in a lifetime.
Gotta learn somehow. Bet ot didn't happen again lol.
Probably not a smart idea to lets kids play with a grinder! Back in the days it would of been okay lol Oh well. As long as you where not blamed all good.
Nicholson aye. Very expensive i bought some hobby size files they where expensive like 40 dollars lol. I also like the Bahco files some are made in Europe.
Grinding benches!
I like those as well. Very hard to find. I have files in every box. I've played giitar for 35 years. I normally cut myown bone saddle and nut for my Martin acoustic. It took me quite awhile to learn to do that. Even spending with Martin certified Luthiers. I wasted a lot on cheap files and bought tons of them in those years. Fonally I bought a set from the factory that they agreed to sell to me. Never bought a cheap file again. Got 2 sets of Nicholson files
The set that I have never used and the set that that has still not worn out.
My bench grinder is an inexpensive Ryobi, performs home duty just fine. Used for lawn mower blades and the occasional bracket fabrication for various projects.
I made a buffer 30 years ago using a 1/2 hp motor from a water pump, added a switch and machined an extension for the shaft. I use the buffer much more often than the grinder.
I have a fire extinguisher close by just in case. I’ve never accidently started a fire before, but always that first time.
i use mine for everything.
including “grinding’’ wood
yes wood gets in the grit
no fires yet
i grind aluminum
plastic
same thing
never change the wheel
don;t even know what it is
medium i guess
that aside, i had heard that “if you just get one power tool, it should be a bench grinder’’.
reason being, you can make other tools with it.
which i also do.
one-off wrenches, drivers, doohickeys for one thing, one time, very easy out of steel, an old bolt, anything
wle