Hey guys. I'd like to hear your thoughts on angle grinders. It's about time for an upgrade and I'd like to buy the absolute best.
>>945317
For /diy/ projects or profesional?
I personally use cheapest chinese ones for my diy-ing. Also found a supply for the angle gears so if they crap out for some reason i just replace them.
For pro, makita or pro line of bosch (cheaper one are even worse than cheap chinese one...) Hilti makes great equipment also.
>>945317
4-1/2 inch grinders?
Just pick a price range and buy one.
The dirt cheap Harbor Freights ones last, so if you jump to a 50-100$ one by a big name youll be fine.
FWIW I ended up with a milwaukee after my harbor freight one died, and its handled a lot of use and abuse.
Metabo. Then Bosch. Then Dewalt.
Buy literally the cheapest one you can find. You can get several for the price of a good one, and replace as necessary. Keep a spare handy if you feel the need.
Good ones spontaneously stop working too...
>>945332
Blue Bosch, at that.
Green is consumer grade and tends to be hit and miss, blue will last a life time.
soft start is nice on a 9" grinder. buy the prettiest one, that's how little the brand matters.
grinders mostly die from abuse. if you clean it out with the airline after a dusty cut, grease the gearbox when it starts to skirl and don't lean into a cut until the brush holders melt you'll be using it for decades.
>>945456
If you're budget is $100 buy two $50 ones.
Not for spares but so you don't have to dick around retooling them forever.
hold on, let me post the best angle grinder
>>946042
>best
>not bosch
Follow your dreams, son.
B&D CD115
Fixed a million of these during the two weeks of working at Dewalt.
It's just a pleasure to work on them.
>>946045
company has 3 feins and 10 bosches, i'd grab the fein over the bosch any day
I have 5 or 6(I've forgotten) £40 9" angle grinders. They were re badged Makitas. The makita badged ones were double the price.
Don't be fooled by marketing wank.
>>946048
Bigger fool you.
>>946048
I use a 7" makita professionaly. I polish concrete as well as leve joints with it so I abuse it pretty hard.
We have hundreds of Makitas on site. They seem to last forever.
The new dewalt is a makita killer
At the cheap end, buy whatever, replace when it dies.
At the more expensive end, we have a makita at work which is a quality item.
>>945479
Under rated post.
I've used a $40 Hitachi on the job for months and never had a problem with it, but I use a Dewalt at home because it was easier to hold for me. Upfront cost doesn't seem to matter as much as proper maintenance, storage, and use.
Get a SIX or seven inch grinder. Smaller grinders don't hold wonderful six inch cutting disks. Larger grinder are awkward.
I maintained a welding toolroom and the Metabo 6" are outstanding. I've made long cuts in 1/2" plate neatly (but slowly) using them.
Makita make excellent grinders too. We didn't have their smaller ones but the 9" are tough as fuck.
Always ask industrial/commercial users because they'll find what breaks quickly.
>>946447
Grinder size really depends on what you are doing with it.
I run a fabrication firm, and we've tried most grinders as we get through a lot. We also have site engineers that work in quarries. Our tools get abused, seriously abused.
We use 2 brands for most (but not all) of our tools, and they hold up far better than most....
Makita
Bosch blue (pro)
We use the above brands for;
Cordless drills
Grinders (4.5 & 9)
Impact wrenches (corded & cordless)
SDS corded drills
Recip saws
We even have a few of the higher tier Makita cordless grinders (brushless), and they are really good, as are the Milwaukee ones. Most other cordless grinders are absolute shite.
Bare in mind that this is for heavy industrial use. If you're buying for DIY use then anything will do really, but you can get Bosch blue (albeit the lower rpm model) dirt cheap and it'll last you forever with light to moderate use.
Remember your gloves and eye protection, I've seen some nasty fucking accidents in my time, and grinders are the number 1 culprit. You take your eye off the ball for a second and they'll bite you, hard.
Corded, the batteries don't last that long in the battery powered ones.
Metaboo, Walter, Bosch (made in Germany ones), Fein, Makita, Milwaukee
All are pretty good, I always look at the label on the grinder to see where they are made, best to go with one that is made in the US or in Germany.
Also you should look into size, anything over 5 inches is probably no good for home use. They draw too much current and are prone to blowing fuses if you are doing any heavy grinding/cutting.
The 5 inch ones draw 11 amps (most of the time), a lot of circuit breakers in homes only have 15 amp load max. Pay attention to that.
>>946647
Metabo 6"ers seem to do fine on US "house current". I've used mine for several years.
Size-wise there is no advantage in smaller than 6" angle grinders over typical smaller grinder bodies.
I wanted to like my 28V cordless Milwaukee more but it's mainly good for very short duty cycles. I modded the guard for 6" cutting disk use only and it's decent at that. I get great use from my other 28V tools on the same batteries. I would never buy a cordless grinder as a primary until batteries get much better but it's great for quick slayings in the auto salvage yard.
Second the eye protection. I use face shields because goggles do nothing for the rest of your face.
Knotted wire wheels work wonderfully but eat flesh! Do NOT wear loose clothing when grinding or wheeling.
>>945457
In America the green Bosch is red and called Skil.
>>945317
>angle grinders.
>the absolute best
you're welcome, assholes.
and before anyone asks, this is the finest spot weld drill.
>>945326
Jesus Christ the HF angle grinders are beasts. I picked up one of the cheapo 4.5" ones to grind paint out of my truck bed, and used it while wearing ear plugs, gloves, and a respirator. The thing was literally burning up inside from me really laying into it and I didn't know because I couldn't smell or feel the heat. Eventually someone asked me what the fuck I was burning, and then I realized what was happening. I had been leaning into it for atleast 30 minutes solid. I let it cool down and finished the job. It still works, though it's a little rattely now.
For the $12 or so I paid, I can't believe what it endured.
>>946708
What is the use of a spot weld drill?
I see them a lot, is it really that much more difficult to put a drill bit in a normal drill? Easier to center?
>>945317
>the absolute best
As with everything else, this depends on what you want to do. Say what you'll be doing, and we can give advice tailored to your situation.
For my home projects (a lot of stainless steel scrap from work), I have four angle grinders:
13-amp 5" 11,000 RPM DeWalt for cutting, hard stone grinding, and sanding
12-amp 5" 2,800-10,500 RPM Makita for expansion wheel grinding and polishing (these need a lower RPM)
6-amp 4.5" 11,000 RPM cheapo Skil in a bench mount for fiddly stuff
A second Skil of the same model, since the old one is probably going to die soon
I got the DeWalt for its power and high RPM. WIth thin 4.5" cutting wheels, it cuts thick stainless quite fast. The Makita is quieter and has less vibration (though both are far superior to the Skil in those regards), and would probably be a good general purpose grinder if you're just looking to get one. The variable speed lets you run a 3.5" expansion wheel, which is excellent for finishing stainless, as well as various other things that need a lower RPM. The Skil was the first grinder I bought, and it's performed decently for its price.
>>946707
I use these at work, and they're no substitute for an angle grinder. They're good at getting into tight spaces, but with vanishingly few exceptions, anywhere an angle grinder can access, it will do a faster and better job than a Dynafile.
>>945317
Depending how much h you use it, hilti are great. We used it for slicing rebar and they'd only break from generally not. Giving a shit because fuck Dominion
>>946734
when you do break it, exchange it.
>>945317
Get something brushless.
