4.5 grinder recommendation?

[ultrarunner]

MY SOP is I buy more than one at a time so if and when I find the smoke, I go to another and find the smoke in that one and so on and take them all back at one time. Quantity discount so to speak.

So far I have not found the smoke in any of the Bauer 20 volt tools and I've tried though not stupiditly. I'm sure if I got stupid with them, I could. You put any motorized tool be it 110 or cordless in a locked rotor situation and keep on juicing it, you'll find the smoke and it don't matter who made it either. That applies to any motor in fact. Locked rotor equals no air flow and maximum amperage draw. No air flow means the windings overheat and then they stink. Some stink worse than others but they all puke the same way.

Don't believe me? Take your Milwaukee and gouge it into something, lock it and keep juicing it. You'll find the smoke, I guarantee it.

Least with the HF Bauer stuff, finding the smoke isn't financial ruin.... Chicago Electric is even better 'cause it's even cheaper.

He had a painted walk that was slippery leading to the front door and was using a cup wire wheel to remove the paint.

Don't believe he ever locked the rotor but it was an all day job spread out over a weekend.

 

[5030]

Can you stall an 11 amp angle grinder? Seems to me you risk shattering the wheel pushing it that hard.

Frankly, I don't know. I have a corded DeWalt big grinder that I don't think I'd try it with unless I had a death wish. Maybe a pipe wrench on the spindle and juice it???

 

[dragoneggs]

Neighbor went through 3 Harbor freight one weekend... I loaned him my Milwaukee and no problem... but now wonder if that was a mistake?

He had the warranty so the exchange was no problem other than driving there... when he came back the last time they refunded his money in full... and he did not even ask for a refund...

Another has a well booster pump... he has the warranty and same thing... full refunded as he came back too many time.

Now I have Harbor Freight Chain I use around the place and 100% satisfied...

What I like about HF 4.5in grinders (after I change out the lard in the gear box) is they are less than 10 bucks so I can afford to have an array with different disks so no need to swap out during use... love that. If I need to get on something hard, I turn to my larger Makita and PC grinders.

 

[Dr Gas]

I started metalworking with HF grinders and they are ok for light to medium duty but the cords are crappy , the motors burn out, the switches break etc etc. I have switched to Milwaukee 6147’s and a cordless Milwaukee 18. They have very good reliability, great power, good cords and switches. I have dropped them many times but they keep on going. I have had Makita, Hitachi, Dewalt and Metabo but the Milwaukee’s are my favorite and good bang for the buck. Whatever you buy please get a paddle switch as they are safer and easier to use.

 

[goeduck]

I am using a Dewalt, even down on the beach around saltwater cutting out worn out bolts on the dock float. Takes a salting, keeps keeps on ticking. Not that it is getting in the saltwater but everything I take down there has a rust film on it a few days later. I bought it as a toss away if it failed. But not so far.

 

[Big Barn]

Dr Gas mentioned paddle switches being safer and I agree.

I prefer using cut off wheels on paddle switch grinders and wire cups/wheels, grinding wheels and flap wheels on grinders with locking trigger switches.

 

[spitter]

When you are constantally grinding for 10 hrs , paddle switches suck.Their is no place to put your hand so you don,t shut it off. I had a milwakee 8 amp paddle switch that was one of the most comfortable smooth vibration free grinders I have ever used ,. But if I were using it all day with a flap wheel my hands would cramp up . So many times I just wanted to through it out ,when it fianally died I bought a metabo with a regular on off switch that you can spin the housing weather you want the switch on the right ,left, or top. It is a very well balanced vibration free grinder .:thumbsup::drink:

 

[dragoneggs]

I am using a Dewalt, even down on the beach around saltwater cutting out worn out bolts on the dock float. Takes a salting, keeps keeps on ticking. Not that it is getting in the saltwater but everything I take down there has a rust film on it a few days later. I bought it as a toss away if it failed. But not so far.

I'm a little off the beach and 100ft elevation and my shop tools battle the saltwater air. The humidity requires me to frequently dress my tools with steel tops with wax. I don't know a good way to preserve my hand power tools. Other than to run them occasionally. I'm not worried about my fleet of 4.5in HF grinders though.

 

[coxhaus]

I was getting the paint off a brick wall. It was an all day affair. I started with a HF grinder. After about 2 1/2 hours my hands were vibrating so bad after turning the HF grinder off I threw it in the trash. I bought a Makita 4 inch down the street at my local ACE. It was so much better I finished the wall.

Last year at a welding class most of the young kids were using Dewalt grinders at class.

 

[radios1]

I was getting the paint off a brick wall. It was an all day affair. I started with a HF grinder. After about 2 1/2 hours my hands were vibrating so bad after turning the HF grinder off I threw it in the trash. I bought a Makita 4 inch down the street at my local ACE. It was so much better I finished the wall.

Last year at a welding class most of the young kids were using Dewalt grinders at class.

that was the fault of the HF wheels, not the grinder.. also, a pressure washer was the thing to use for getting paint off brick walls.. nearly every tool you can think of is made in China, or a similar Asian Country, and re-branded according to the wish of the reseller.. Makita: "Makita Corporation (TYO: 6586) is a Japanese manufacturer of power tools. Founded on March 21, 1915, it is based in Anjō, Japan, and operates factories in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Dubai, Thailand and the United States. Annual sales were equivalent to $2.9 billion in 2012." so the quality of the tool depends on the Country the tool was manufactured in!!..