Which 4.5 inch angle grinder to buy

[dstig1]

i buy them from HF when they go on sale for 9.99 $ drillmaster is the common name for the 9.99 units. I have 3-4 of them unopened. I usually get a couple years of hard use / ABUSE out of them till something lets go.. then i toss in a bucket. once I get 2-3 in there.. I rebuild 1-2 of them out of parts from all. works decent.

the northern one must have been a fluke.. if it had no guts... the lil 9.99 units from HF are plenty gutsy.. and i imagine all are pouring out of 1-2 factories in china no matter who'se name is on them..

I still use it at times, but it just has no real power. The motor is too light. But that can be OK for lighter tasks. It's only a year old or so and was like that from the beginning.

 

[Turbys_1700]

The amperage rating of those grinders determine how well they pull...
My Northern will run circles around the newer cheap Chinese lower amp ones...
My dad had a new one that I opened up last month and it was pathetic in how much load it could take...
My old Northern is twice the grinder...

 

[dstig1]

The amperage rating of those grinders determine how well they pull...
My Northern will run circles around the newer cheap Chinese lower amp ones...
My dad had a new one that I opened up last month and it was pathetic in how much load it could take...
My old Northern is twice the grinder...

Precisely! My 4.5" Makitas are 7.5A and 13A (2 different styles) and the Northern one says...500W...They didn't even want to label amps it was so low! That works out to ~4.2A at 120V

 

[mikehaugen]

My vote is for Metabo. I have one (a 6") and really like it. I don't use it enough to probably ever wear it out. A couple welders that I know say they are the only ones that hold up. They say the bosch is second. I really am not a fan of most milwaukee tools lately (except sawzalls). In fact if anyone is interested I still have a brand new metabo that I would sell. I bought 2 from a guy for a good price and don't need the second one, was going to keep it anyway but starting to think about getting rid of some of that "just in case" or "maybe someday" kind of stuff because I am getting way too cluttered up.

 

[finley31]

Metabo has got to be the best I have ever used. I have a 4-1/2" and a 6" at home for personal use that will probably last me forever. At work you get alot of guys who are hard on the power tools and like to bog them down so we end up going with whatever the grinder special is at home depot. It's usually Bosch, Makita, or Dewalt. They all make cheaper models that do ok for regular use, but when it's something that is gonan be abused and used in an industrial setting, it pays to look at the amperage and rpms for the use you intend. Cut off wheels seem to be especially hard on them.

Hands down though the Black and Decker Wildcats have to be the longest lasting larger grinder ever made. Too bad they quit making them.

 

[IslandTractor]

i buy them from HF when they go on sale for 9.99 $ drillmaster is the common name for the 9.99 units. I have 3-4 of them unopened. I usually get a couple years of hard use / ABUSE out of them till something lets go.. then i toss in a bucket. once I get 2-3 in there.. I rebuild 1-2 of them out of parts from all. works decent.

the northern one must have been a fluke.. if it had no guts... the lil 9.99 units from HF are plenty gutsy.. and i imagine all are pouring out of 1-2 factories in china no matter who'se name is on them..

I use the same strategy. I own about six HF 4.5" grinders each with a different attachment mounted. I never change blades/brushes/stones/flap discs, I just reach for the right grinder. Saves time.

I also buy only when on sale so the economics are unbeatable. If I were a pro I might feel differently but for my purposes the multiple dedicated HF cheapo grinder strategy has worked well.

 

[Soundguy]

ditto that. got wire cup on one.. flap on another .. hard grinder wheel on another and a cutoff whel on one. got a few put up.. a few int he bucket.

the ones that get lighter use are older. have one that is an amazing decade+ old.. rest are withing 1-4 ys.

do have 1 makita that never leaves the shop...

the HF ones.. I don't cringe if one gets dropped in t he sand while cutting old rusty bolts off etc...

 

[Gary Fowler]

I like the HF professional model with the paddle switch. I bought a spare that was $30 (normally 40). I have a Dewalt that I have used for at least 15 year and now 2 HF professionals and one HF 4" medium duty one (Yellow)that I use with cutoff wheels and is about 3 years old with no problems so far. I dont like the slide switch on it and the guard is too small for a 4" wheel or brush to fit on so I had to beat it out a bit when I got it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I just noticed that the local Walmarts here dont carry any kind of grinder. I am pretty sure that they used to carry a Black and Decker brand. Dont know but maybe HF took all their business even though the closest one is 70 miles away.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I was at a Wrought Iron welder shop a few years ago. These guys use grinders from sun up to sun down 6 days a week.
They all had Dewalts. They guy said they last the longest, and when they go down they send them in for repair and keep using them.

They probably use their grinders the equivalent to a few lifetimes of the average home owner useage.