# Angle grinder



## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

gtothek said:


> Should I get corded or cordless? Do they suck the life out of batteries? Any brand preferences? Looking at Dewalt since I already own some other cordless tools so I can swap batteries.
> 
> Thanks!


Ayuh,.... Go corded if ya expect to do any _Serious_ grindin',.... :thumbsup:

I've been usin' the Dewalt paddle switch 4, 1/2" grinders for many years,...
I like the feel, 'n they hold up, til I kill 'em,....

I've got a Makita 18v cordless,... 
It's handy when away from the truck or other power, for tiny touch ups,...
It Ain't a _Serious_ grinder,...
I've also used a Bud's Milwaukee 18v, 'n have the same opinion of his,...

My Love, is a Tiler on the side, 'n has had a cheap chinese grinder for Years,....
I ran it once, 'n it passes as a decent grinder,...
'n it's served her well in the dusty tile environment,....

I do mostly steel, other metals, 'n fiberglass stuff with mine,...


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## NickTheGreat (Jul 25, 2014)

I LOVE cordless tools. They're convenient and usually powered enough. 

I will never use a cordless circular saw or angle grinder. They just don't work as long as well. 

In a pinch, for a small job, sure.


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## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

I agree with the above.I have a tool trailer full of cordless tools but when it comes to an angle grinder or sawzall I always buy corded.Have a corded Millwaukee angle grinder that sees daily use and is 25+ years old and still doing fine.Plus no $75 dollar batteries going out.


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## 123pugsy (Oct 6, 2012)

Corded for sure.

The Dewalt 4-1/2" has worked great in our manufacturing plant with minimal break downs.


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## concrete_joe (Oct 6, 2014)

always corded for routine daily use. for that once a month 15min grind, maybe cordless.

i will usually buy corded unless the where i need the tool has no way of accessing power in easy fashion. i have decent air compressor too, i still opt for corded even though similar air tool is available.


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

Got a couple of the 20v DeWalt grinders and we get along with them very well. We do a lot of fabrication and modification on site and they get used often. Work great with a cut off wheel, grinding disc or flap disc. The lithium ion batteries the 20v uses is far superior to the old nicad cells that the 18v version ran. They offer ample power and adequate disc speed for all but the most demanding jobs. While not as unlimited as a corded grinder, for most jobs they work fine. If you often need to be grinding continuous for a half hour at a time, cordless is probably not the right tool for the job. 

Same can be said for the cordless circular saws. There is almost no comparison between tools using modern lithium technology and the cordless tools of only a few years ago. Nicad seemed to work fine for drills but high draw tools were almost frustrating to use, that is not the case anymore.


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

Milwaukee's Fuel grinder has gotten good reviews, but I've also seen where it's the one brushless tool they have that is still a battery eater. I'll probably get one because I hate cords that much, but still have a corded one as a backup. 

I don't know if DeWalt has a brushless cordless model, I don't think they do. But if all they have is brushed, don't bother.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Depending on your projects, get both. Corded are great for heavy grinding. Cordless are great for light duty grinding, but more importantly, as a cordless cutoff tool. I have an 18V Makita that works great for what I use it for... and a corded for the heavier stuff.


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## concrete_joe (Oct 6, 2014)

iamrfixit said:


> Same can be said for the cordless circular saws. There is almost no comparison between tools using modern lithium technology and the cordless tools of only a few years ago. Nicad seemed to work fine for drills but high draw tools were almost frustrating to use, that is not the case anymore.


lucky for me, my older ryobi cordless mini circ saw uses same battery shape as the new Lithium ones they make today (One+), thus i rid the old nicad and now use a set of Lithium's with same tool. it really sucks when maker goes from say nicad to lithium and they change the battery shape.


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## iamrfixit (Jan 30, 2011)

concrete_joe said:


> lucky for me, my older ryobi cordless mini circ saw uses same battery shape as the new Lithium ones they make today (One+), thus i rid the old nicad and now use a set of Lithium's with same tool. it really sucks when maker goes from say nicad to lithium and they change the battery shape.



Dewalt still makes the old 18v line of tools and they make lithium battery packs for those too, albeit they are lower amp hour packs. We have many of the 18v lithiums and quite a few tools to go with them, but have stopped purchasing them to begin phasing them out. Much of our 18v Dewalt was getting 6-7 years old anyway. The new style battery attachment method, charge indicator and they higher amp hour packs are a huge improvement all around. Those old 18's can get very difficult to remove the battery when they get some wear and dirt in them.

Have quite a lot of cordless Milwaukee stuff too but their impacts just won't work for us, the body is too fat and does not fit what we need to assemble, they are too heavy and run too slow. The 3/8 impact is our most used tool and the crew will hardly take a milwaukee unless it's the only thing there. I personally dislike the milwaukee drills, but their angle grinder, sawzall and metal cutting circular saw get a ton of use.

We run large crews and buy a couple thousand dollars worth of tools at a time, so a changeover is not to big of a deal.


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## PaliBob (Jun 11, 2008)

*Straight Line Grinder Cuts*

Here is a handy accessory that will help cut straight Lines with Most brands of Cordless or Corded Grinders:
.
http://www.harborfreight.com/safety-guard-for-angle-grinders-45921.html
,


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## Scottg (Nov 5, 2012)

Same old story. Depends what you're doing and where.

But... Id' say corded on this one.

I've got a DeWalt corded I've used for a bunch of tuck pointing and digging out mortar on a retaining wall. As much as I love my cordless stuff; including the 20v DeWalt drill/driver, I can't imagine doing that kind of work with a cordless grinder. If I was just stripping some rust off of some grill work or something; maybe.

Some stuff just still needs to be corded. The drill I use for pockets hole is a corded drill. I'll use the cordless for driving the screws, but for dozens of holes, even good cordless doesn't cut it over time. Angle grinders are typically doing some fairly heavy duty effort for sustained amounts of time. I don't see even the best battery tech reaally cutting it for these particular tasks just yet.

Scott


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## PaliBob (Jun 11, 2008)

gtothek said:


> Should I get corded or cordless?..............!


As others have said "Depends"
.
For drilling Pocket Holes, Kreg says use a corded drill rated at 2000 rpm or above


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

If you buy an angle grinder, make sure it has a 5/8 X 11 tpi mandrel. This is the standard size thread on rotary brushes that screw onto the grinder's mandrel. You can buy rotary brushes rated for the 20 to 25 thousand rpm speed angle grinders spin at at any welding supply shop.

Also, cordless tools that have lithium ion batteries have a lot of power, but be aware that lithium ion battery packs for cordless tools CANNOT be rebuilt the way NiCd and NiMh battery packs can. So, once your LiIon battery pack craps out, be prepared to pay almost as much for a new battery pack as for a whole new cordless grinder. In that respect, at least, corded grinders have the advantage by not having a battery pack in the first place.


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