angle grinder question

[Jim Nelson]

What options are available for a 5 inch that are not available on a 4.5 inch? I've never even heard of a 5 inch, but that might be because I've always had 4.5 inch angle grinders. Right now I have two Makita's. One is a paddle trigger, the other is a sliding switch. Of the two, the paddle is the more dangerous. You set it down wrong and it starts spinning!!!!! If you ever do any work on a ladder, that becomes a very big issue.

I've had DeWalt, Craftsman and a few Chinese named ones that I can't think of. All where junk and lasted from a few weeks to maybe a year. My Makita's are going on ten and 7 to 8 years now and if one fails, I'll buy another. I got more then my money worth out of them.

Eddie

About a year ago I gave up on HF grinders and bought a 4 1/2" Makita because I knew they make good stuff.When I got it home and took it out of the box I found "Made In China". It lasted about 30 min. and spit a segment from the armature.Got a Bosch and it's still going but It's not as comfortable to me as the Makita.

 

[BethelHntr]

A friend bought the hf chopsaw, It was toast in six months. You get what you pay for!

 

[EddieWalker]

About a year ago I gave up on HF grinders and bought a 4 1/2" Makita because I knew they make good stuff.When I got it home and took it out of the box I found "Made In China". It lasted about 30 min. and spit a segment from the armature.Got a Bosch and it's still going but It's not as comfortable to me as the Makita.

That's disappointing. Makita has been my favorite tool brand for awhile now, but if they start going the made in china route, I'll go to my next favorite brand, which is Bosch. Hope that's just a oops on their part to make the Home Depot people happy

Eddie

 

[PILOON]

Makita 9005!
I have 2, one for cut off discs and the other 4 grinding or sanding.
Both are about 10-12 years old and both come from yard sales so they are well experienced. (and I buy discs in dz lots)

I do however thoroughly blow them clean after usage.

Buddy likes cheapies and I gather he trashes maybe 12 a year

 

[rswyan]

Makita 9005!
I have 2, one for cut off discs and the other 4 grinding or sanding.
Both are about 10-12 years old and both come from yard sales so they are well experienced. (and I buy discs in dz lots)

I do however thoroughly blow them clean after usage.

Buddy likes cheapies and I gather he trashes maybe 12 a year

Probably something to that blowing out/cleaning thing ...

I had my Milwaukee angle grinder for quite some time before I picked up the second one (a Harbor Freight cheapie with a slide on/off switch) ... so the Milwaukee saw a lot of use ... some of it pretty hard ...

My Sawzall also saw a good bit of hard use ...

When I say "hard use" I mean things like running for extended durations cutting 1/4" plate ... doing things like this makes them pretty hot ... to the point of the gearbox grease actually seeping out ...

It (along with the angle grinder) eventually developed a definite rapping in the gearbox ...

So about a month ago I called Milwaukee and ordered the correct grease for each tool - one type for the grinder and two other types for the Sawzall ... and tore them down, cleaned them out, and repacked them. Some of the gears in both were largely dry, the grease having been flung to the far recesses of the case. Brushes in both were in great shape.

The difference was like night and day (quiet vs. noisy)

For grinders (or any tool with gears) that see a lot of heavy use this (pulling them apart and having a look) probably should be done on a regular basis ... like once per year. It really isn't that hard ... just takes a little time.

What came out of the Sawzall middle/intermediate gearbox, along with the tub of new, fresh grease:

And the front gearbox:

Front cleaned and repacked:

 

[JRobyn]

I've gotten pretty good service out of a Hitachi 4.5" that I bought at Costco for a reasonable price. Can't remember exactly how much, maybe $30. It has the slide/lock switch. I prefer my Milwaukee with the paddle, but each has its place.

- Jay

 

[Professor Marvel]

I see that Ryobi has an angle grinder that the handle spin 90 deg. It seems to me that that would be a great idea for cutting a lot of times. It is only 6.5 amps though. Has anybody used one of these?

 

[Locoweed]

Another vote for Bosch.

 

[SPIKER]

I have used some of the HF stuff the shop started buying it as they got dropped a lot. The Drill Master stuff was really poor and I would say stay away (and I like their stuff mostly.) The Chicago brand of HF tools are OK but you can't bear down on the elec tools as you can an OLD Miliwalkie or dewalt (the new ones are not much better than HF stuff now.)

Mark

 

[ultrarunner]

That's disappointing. Makita has been my favorite tool brand for awhile now, but if they start going the made in china route, I'll go to my next favorite brand, which is Bosch. Hope that's just a oops on their part to make the Home Depot people happy

Eddie

My first quality power tools were Makita... still have them without issue... 30 years later.

Bought a lot of Milwaukee and recent as in the last 5 years experiences with Milwaukee have soured me on buying any more.

No complaints on Bosch or my the few older Dewalts like my biscuit joiner or my old 77 skill saws...

For that matter the hand me down Craftsman tools from the 60's are good too...

My old Milwaukee angle grinders have had a rough life and no complaints... and I do use Milwaukee grease.

My neighbor had gone through a Harbor Freight angle grinder a day when he was building his wrought iron work for the new house... they basically just melted down.