How loud is a bench grinder?
A JET bench grinder is rated 75 dB at 3 ft. without load in JET's manuals, whether it carries 6, 8 or 10 in. wheels. Only JET's 12 in. IBG-12 is rated higher, at 80 dB.
These are JET's dry grinder figures, copied from its manuals and product page:
- JWBG-8HS (8 inch): 75 dB at 3 ft. without load
- JBG-6W (6 inch): 75dB at 3ft. without load
- JBG-8W (8 inch): 75dB at 3ft. without load
- IBG-8 (8 inch): 75dB at 3ft., without load
- IBG-10 (10 inch): 75dB at 3ft., without load
- IBG-8VS (8 inch): 75 dB at 3 ft., without load
- IBG-12 (12 inch): 80dB at 3ft., without load
Seven figures, two values. JET gives one number to a 1/2 HP 6 in. grinder and to a 1-1/2HP 10 in. industrial machine, which tells you more about how JET reports noise than about the grinders. JET writes dB with no weighting letter and names no test standard, so these figures are compared only with each other.
Under each specification table JET adds a footnote: its values are emission levels, "not necessarily to be seen as safe operating levels." A number taken 3 ft. away with nothing on the wheel shows how idle machines compare. Pressing a chisel or a bolt against the wheel adds the sound of the work itself.
Is a slow speed bench grinder quieter than a regular one?
No, a slow speed bench grinder is not quieter on JET's paper. The IBG-10 turns its wheels at 1800 RPM and the IBG-8 at 3600, and JET's IBG Series manual rates both at 75dB at 3ft. without load.
JET's variable speed IBG-8VS points the same way. Its inverter drive runs from 900 to 3600 RPM, and its manual still gives a single 75 dB at 3 ft., without saying which speed was used. A slower wheel heats a tool edge less, which is the usual reason to buy one, but JET's figures give no noise reason.
Rikon sells 1,750 RPM grinders such as the 80-805 and 80-820, yet the English manuals on Rikon's site print no noise figure, so they cannot take the question further.
Is a wet sharpener quieter than a bench grinder?
No, a wet sharpener cannot be shown quieter than a bench grinder on makers' figures. Tormek and JET give sharpeners dB(A) values with no distance, while JET's dry grinders get plain dB at 3 ft.
These are the three wet sharpener figures, as each maker printed them:
- Tormek T-8: LpA 59 dB(A), LWA 54 dB(A), KpA 2.5 dB(A)
- Tormek T-4: LpA 70.5 dB(A), LWA 78.2 dB(A), KpA 2.5 dB(A)
- JET JWS-10: acoustic pressure, idling, 68.7 dB(A); acoustic power, idling, 74.0 dB(A)
Only the two Tormeks share a table, so only they are ranked, and the T-8 is 11.5 dB lower in sound pressure. JET's JWS-10 is listed beside them without a rank, because JET specifies idling and Tormek specifies nothing. Pressure and power are separate quantities, as our sound power and sound pressure explainer sets out, so neither Tormek's LWA nor JET's acoustic power is ranked against an LpA.
A wet sharpener also does a different job. The T-8 turns its stone at 100 rpm and the JWS-10 at 90 to 150, against 1800 to 3600 RPM for JET's dry grinders, and water keeps the edge cool. It is built to sharpen and hone edge tools and removes steel far more slowly than a dry wheel.
Why the Tormek T-4 page and plate data disagree
Tormek's T-4 product page lists its motor as "Quiet running, 54 dB", word for word the line on the T-8 page. The safety document prints 70.5 dB(A) of sound pressure and 78.2 of sound power for the T-4. We use the document, which says which quantity each number is.
The T-8 numbers carry a quirk of their own: sound power, 54 dB(A), is printed below sound pressure, 59. In the T-4's row and in JET's JWS-10 figures, power is the larger number, and the 54 on Tormek's pages matches only the T-8's power figure. We quote both as Tormek printed them and rank the two Tormeks on pressure.
Is there a silent bench grinder?
No, no maker we checked calls a bench grinder or sharpener silent. The nearest wording is Tormek's "Quiet running, 54 dB" on its product pages, a figure Tormek's own safety table contradicts for the T-4.
The lowest number we found for any machine here is the T-8's LpA of 59 dB(A), and the T-8 is a 100 rpm water-cooled sharpener rather than a grinder. Among dry grinders the floor is JET's 75 dB at 3 ft., shared by six models.
For the angle grinder that often does the rough work before a bench grinder or sharpener, the figures come from a separate set of maker declarations.
JET and Tormek are the only brands we checked that publish noise figures for bench grinders or sharpeners sold in the US. DEWALT and Rikon print none, and Makita's figures appear only on a regional site.
DEWALT's US instruction manual for the DW756 and DW758 specifies ear protection rated to ANSI S12.6 (S3.19) and warns that noise may contribute to hearing loss, but it gives no decibel figure. We found no European manual for either model on DEWALT's sites.
Makita Vietnam's pages list a sound pressure level of 74 dB(A) for the 6 in. GB602 and 77 dB(A) for the 8 in. GB801, naming no standard or distance. Makita USA's site returned no product for either model number, so neither is a pick.
Rikon's English manuals for its 80-805 and 80-820 slow speed grinders print no noise figure. JET's own JBG-8B page shows no sound rating and links an older JBG-A manual without one, so that grinder sits in the also considered list.
