[Harry c]

I have a 9" Milwaukee, a 4 1/2" Dewalt and a $20 special 4 1/2" HF angle grinders. Also a Milwaukee electric die grinder, an 8" Ryobi pedestal mounted bench grinder, and a 6" HF bench grinder (forget that one, Ryobi makes a much better 6" for $10 more!). I often use one of my 21" x 3" belt sanders for sharpening and dressing. Even though I assume they were intended for wood, they work great on steel.

IMHO the 4 1/2 angle grinder is by far the most versatile. Cuts/grinds steel, ceramic tile, bricks, rock, concrete, smooths wood, removes rust, sharpens... Never found a use for a Dremel. Had one, lost it, no remorse. The 1/8" burrs are just too small and the torque isn't there. I use the Milwaukee die grinder with 1/4 " shank cutters or with a 1/8"collet reducer if I really need something small. It'll also spin a 3" cutting disc at 25,000 revs and really do some work.

I only recently bought a couple of the Harbor Freight tools. The 4 1/2 HF Chicago Electric angle grinder has been fine. I've actually used it more lately than the Dewalt simply because if I'm going to "let the smoke out of one", I'd rather it be the $20 one. I've been doing some pretty heavy work with 'em lately. The $29 HF Central Machinery 6" bench grinder is useless. It has so little starting torque it won't turn a wire wheel. I can spin the thing with my finger but the motor can't pull it at all. Also the motor diameter is as large as the wheel so it's in the way of everything I try to grind.