# Angle grinders



## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

I am thinking of getting one, there are cheap, $40 ones are some as high as $200. Is there any major advantage on going with the more expensive one? I want something that will be versatile and take various blades for different jobs from cutting/grinding metal or concrete. I don't mind paying more if it's really worth it. There are also different blade sizes, which size is more popular and can easily get blades for?


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

I had a cheapo one - it lasted about 8 months of very light usage and it was dead. Had to throw it away. I replaced it with a Porter Cable (refurb). After 2 minutes of usage, it caught on fire. Luckily, the company sent me a replacement, which probably wouldn't have been the case with another cheapo. I like to shop refurbs - as long as it's from a decent company you get a better tool (usually with 1yr warranty) at Harbor/Northern prices. I might think differently if I were a contractor depending on it though. In refurbs, I found a lot of decent offerings in the $40-$60 range.

I don't know if there are any that take a lot of different wheel sizes. Most of the guards are fixed, and will only allow a cutting wheel of that size to fit in there. I think the standard 4" has a wide variety of offerings (metal/concrete/tile/wire-brush).


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

same here. You don't need to get a top of the line but I would suggest staying away from the rock bottom tools as well. I toasted one pretty good and I wasn't really working it that hard.


I have a mid range dewalt as a replacement that I am quite pleased with. 

Find something that feels good in your hand. A lot of them have switches I do not like to use due to them being in an odd place and it requires some odd motions to defeat the safety and then turn it on.

I'll have to look but I think it was a Bosch that had just recently come out. The body is smaller than most (which is another big negative with a lot of them) so it made it nicer to hold onto. Seems like the reviews were pretty good as well.

well, I can't seem to find what I was thinking of.


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## cain8858 (Jun 11, 2009)

4.5" seems to be the most popular/common. I have used several and at the moment have a cheap one from harbor freight. It works, but I am not really confident with it using larger grinding tooling.

Depending on your usage variable speed can be quite useful. In addition to the harbor freight one, I have a variable speed one that when coupled with some polishing pads is quite useful for polishing the edges of granite tiles and such tasks.


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

nap said:


> Find something that feels good in your hand. A lot of them have switches I do not like to use due to them being in an odd place and it requires some odd motions to defeat the safety and then turn it on.


I did not like Makita for that reason. It was also one of the reasons I went with the rather unconventionally-shaped PC with the lock-on trigger:













b_corwin said:


> 4.5" seems to be the most popular/common.


Yes, I was mistaken when I listed 4". 4.5" is the common size.


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## nap (Dec 4, 2007)

personally I'm not all excited about Porter Cable (nothing specific mind you) but that looks nice. I like the shape and trigger placement.


I was looking around and I think it might have been a Fein grinder I was thinking of.










but they are definitely on the high end of prices (I think that one is like $210). I haven't heard enough about their tools to know if they are worth it or not as well.

another point about both of these last 2 grinders: the gear head is fairly thin (low profile). That can mean a lot in certain situations.


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## burnt03 (Sep 20, 2009)

I had a Mastercraft 4 1/2" grinder that I had used when I had my old Landcruiser. Ended up stripping all the paint off that thing (and lots of rust) with that grinder and a whole lot of coarse wire wheels. It eventually burnt up on me but got it replaced with no hassles. Still have it today and would buy it again.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Nap you can’t go wrong with Fein tools. They are meant for heavy use. We had one for the longest time and would bring it to job sites and grind welds off beams, clean burs, cut pipe, cut bolts, etc and then one fine day when on the job some SOB stole it. So now we have a 9’’ Fein grinder which we lock up in our truck when not in use.
this is the baby now.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

hyunelan2 said:


> I did not like Makita for that reason. It was also one of the reasons I went with the rather unconventionally-shaped PC with the lock-on trigger:
> 
> Yes, I was mistaken when I listed 4". 4.5" is the common size.


Weird. I have a 4.5" Makita for 15-20 years, have used the heck out of the thing, and can't complain at all. I don't know where it stands on the "bad to good" spectrum, but I've been happy with mine.


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## WirelessG (Mar 22, 2009)

The only grinders that I buy are Metabo. See the link below for the one that I bought from Amazon for light duty work (buy light duty, I mean removing mill scale and spatter, cleaning/blending welds, polishing steel, and even some limited cutting of 1/4" and thinner material). I imagine you are probably not looking for something heavy duty and I think you would be happy with this one. If you are wanting to use is as a wood sander, you would be better to get a 6" grinder, but they start getting heavier & pricier the bigger they get. The difference in features are basically power/wheel speed, variable speed, and electric brake. Other than that, the cheap ones vibrate and wear out quicker. Some have arbors with hex nuts for fastening the disks. This one comes with a 2-pin wrench that reaches down into the arbor nut to loosen/tighten it. I like this wrench better than the standard wrench (although there are prolly other manufacturers that have modified their wrenches to reach down and inside of the disk with something other than the 2-pin.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B3Y82Q


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## michaelcherr (Nov 10, 2010)

I have 3 angle grinders, cuz it's easier than changing discs.
I wait till I see a harbor freight sale: $10-15 for a 4 1/2".
Haven't broke one yet. I do work them pretty hard, but I don't use them day in day out.
The risk with harbor freight is that it will break when you need it most, but since I have 3, that risk is almost nothing.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

I've got a dewalt 18V cordless, a black and decker, and a porter cable.

- Dewalt is perfect for when you just need to cut/grind one little thing. It's convenient but has no endurance.

- The black and decker is light 

- the Porter cable will city anything. but is heavy.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep them in mind when I go to HD. I'm kinda leaning towards Fein but not sure if they'll have em. I'll see when I get there.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

Red Squirrel said:


> Thanks for the tips, I'll keep them in mind when I go to HD. I'm kinda leaning towards Fein but not sure if they'll have em. I'll see when I get there.


I've never seen Fein at HD. Of course, I really haven't looked either. But my guess is that they're a little higher-end than will be carried there.


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## canadaclub (Oct 19, 2006)

Nap...check the weekly Canadian Tire catologues. They have a 7amp single speed grinder on sale every once in a while for $19.99. It doesn't come with a case or any disks but my daughter got me one for Christmas about 3 years ago and it still goes strong, and I am constantly using it. Last month they went on sale and I bought another one. 

Dave


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Red Squirrel said:


> Thanks for the tips, I'll keep them in mind when I go to HD. I'm kinda leaning towards Fein but not sure if they'll have em. I'll see when I get there.


HD does not carry Fein tools...


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Hmm kinda figured, then I'll see whatever they have. I'm guessing they'll have Dewalt or Ridgid.


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## VIPlumber (Aug 2, 2010)

Hey Red,

I have a Cdn Tire 5" angle grinder and am very happy with it. And you can't beat the lifetime warranty they give.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

If I ever buy a new grinder I guarantee it will have a trigger switch.

A grinder can be a dangerous tool and I never could understand why you couldn’t easily shut it off from the operating position.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Red Squirrel said:


> Hmm kinda figured, then I'll see whatever they have. I'm guessing they'll have Dewalt or Ridgid.


Yeah they should have Dewalt, Ridgid, Milwaukie, Bosh, Makita etc…


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## canadaclub (Oct 19, 2006)

kwikfishron said:


> If I ever buy a new grinder I guarantee it will have a trigger switch.
> 
> A grinder can be a dangerous tool and I never could understand why you couldn’t easily shut it off from the operating position.


A very valid point Ron..I have had a few skips before, guess I just got used to expecting it so was more careful. I suppose, because of the high RPM on such a small disk by the time something went wrong it would be too late anyway,,the damage would already be done. I agree variable speed tools are better for safety...they sell cars with a pedal, not an on-off button.

Dave


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

I agree a trigger is the way to go on a grinder. We used to have an old grinder at work with an on off switch it was good when you were paying attention and remembered to turn it off but when you didn’t you sure new it. :whistling2:


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## canadaclub (Oct 19, 2006)

LOL Epson..besides, they wouldn't sell those for $19.99:thumbup:


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

canadaclub said:


> LOL Epson..besides, they wouldn't sell those for $19.99:thumbup:


Yeah only the expensive ones the cheapo’s can’t afford to make you dance…:laughing:


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

I ended up getting a Dewalt 4 1/2 inch. Can't wait to fire it up! 

And I did not realize Epson even made power tools. How often do I need to change the ink? LOL

And think mine is an on/off switch. I figured they were all trigger. Seems kinda dangerous to have a tool like that with an on/off. Should I be wearing any special kind of gloves when working with one? Seems my hand is dangerously near the blade. I guess the guard should catch anything right? Safety glasses are probably a given. I wear them with my dremel.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

I have three Bosch', two DeWalts, one Makita, one Milwaukee and a Fein. They all see plenty of concrete and tile dust routinely. The Bosch' seem to be the better tools at this point, but the Fein drives an 8" floor planer diamond cup and doesn't get used that much. They all have slide/rocker switches that can be locked on but the DeWalt switches are the funkiest and most awkward to use. The Fein gets hot quickly and sometimes gets too hot to hold on to for very long.


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

Heat is something I was actually thinking about. Is an air powered one better for very long run times? I guess you still have to stop it to let the compressor catch up. One project I want to do with it is make a small groove in my basement floor all around the basement as I have a minor water leak issue, so this groove will lead the water to a drain. I obviously have to fix the water problem, this is just a bandaid, but at least it will give me piece of mind if the problem ever comes back and the walls are up, they won't be affected. I will probably make some kind of contraption that it sits in so I can just slide it along the floor/wall to get a straight cut. 

I also need to break up a cement slab, so I'll be using it to cut any rebar, and I only thought of this today, but I will probably make some precuts in 6 inch square sections so when I start using the jackhammer I can hopefully have it break up more or less along those cracks to make some nice and manageable "blocks". 

I can already see myself using this tool for lot of projects now.


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

For a pneumatic grinder, you better have a BIG supply tank. Any of the "spinning" pneumatic tools (grinder, sander, polisher) use a lot of air volume. It's impossible to do anything with a small portable compressor and one of those tools - you'll spend more time waiting for compressor recharge than working.


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## epson (Jul 28, 2010)

Red Squirrel said:


> I ended up getting a Dewalt 4 1/2 inch. Can't wait to fire it up!
> 
> And I did not realize Epson even made power tools. How often do I need to change the ink? LOL
> The ink will be changed every time you forget to turn your grinder off.
> ...


I wear heavy leather work gloves and yes safety glasses are a must. Also don’t forget your Skippy pants when you forget to turn it off…


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