Cut-off wheels and angle grinders

[davrow]

Knowing I would need it someday I bought a Harbor Freight 4 1/2" angle grinder when it was at a good price. Also got a 10 pack of metal cutoff wheels.

Today was the day so I pull everything out and start by reading the grinder's instructions. First thing it says is: "not for use with cut-off wheels".

Are their bearings too cheap to stand the side stress, or is this a safety issue?

(It cut-off my eight bolts just fine, thank you... )

 

[crash325]

Not to worry it will do fine with cut off wheels. I do keep an extra grinder around as I kill them fairly often. Also don't like changing wheels all the time. Sanding disks, wire brushes of all types & so on.

 

[Code54]

I never looked at the directions for my Dewalt but been running cut off wheels for years without issue - not sure why they would put that but am interested to see what everyone says.

 

[franklin2]

Do the cut-off wheels install ok? I know my grinder takes depressed center grinding wheels, and it has a metal back-up piece with a hollowed out area for the depression in the wheel. When I use cut-off wheels I have to put washers on it to support the cut-off wheel, I do not have the proper back-up piece for the flat cut-off wheels.

 

[adventure bob]

Problem with HF grinders and others is the cooling flow around the motor. It comes to a tradeoff between cost and useable time. I took a welding class and ate 2 HF grinders for considerably less than a Dewalt or Milwaukee. However there comes a cost point where you've replaced your HF grinder enough that you should have bought a more capable grinder. I would argue that unless youre using it a ton, keep on with your HF. While it may say no cutoffs, itll do them for a good bit before it overheats to the point of damage. If you want to see the capability of your HF grinder put a concrete surfacing wheel on it and see how fast it gets to the point that its so hot you cant hang on to it with gloves on. That's about 20 minutes by the way.

 

[crash325]

I have run my cheap ( on sale for as low as $14.50 ) for long periods of time with no heating or other ill effects. Most last for a long time with fairly hard use. Long cuts in thin plywood & even a 2x4 now & then. If you don't mind the smell of burnt wood or need a super straight cut.

You do have to make sure any disk is correctly centered or the disk will blow apart. Could possibly shake it apart. Even the high $$ type.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I had one that ate the gears in the rotating head.. I took it apart and found the teeth gone.
I was cleaning the rust and paint off an old machine w/ a wire wheel and was going at it for 2 days straight w/ a lot of side thrust.
Makes for a lot of noise when the gear goes..
but I had used it religiously w/ a cut off wheel before then.
I THINK the problem lays in the gearing, from where it goes from straight to angle.. cheap as ****..

 

[KennyG]

I have 4 angle grinders, a Hitachi, a Makita, and two from Harbor Freight. I generally do the grinding and cutting with the more expensive and use the cheap ones for wire brush and flap disc. One of the HF grinders has a cracked housing (I dropped it) but they all have been working for a number of years.

 

[Shaneard]

Here at work we have 2 Milwaukee's, one has a cut off wheel year round and the other a flap disc, wire brush or grinding wheel, whichever I need at the time. They are tough and have had zero issues over years. I have a DeWalt & a Porter Cable at home. My dad bought a 1/2" HF electric hand drill, brother put a 3/8" bit in it and tried to drill a hole, burnt it up and didn't get first hole drilled. No thanks on saving money on power tools for me, you get what you pay for.

 

[oldballs]

IIRC, my (major brand) made no statement like that ("not for use with cut off wheels"). Maybe HF got sued over something like that. I'd bet that half of the Angle Grinder are bought by guys like me, that just use them now and then. Thus, just any label probably would serve their purpose.

Even though I'm an old (really old) geezer, I like to buy the " best" one out there....Maybe the best one will make up for my lack of skill in using it.

 

[Leejohn]

Look at the amp and watts. HF are around 400 watts and a better one well be around 700 + watts.

 

[Ford850]

Like some of the others on here, I purchased a couple extra paddle lever grinders from HF to keep as dedicated tools. I have a Dewalt that has continued to work great for many years, and I remove the wheel of choice from that each time. But I keep a flap sander wheel on one HF, and either a cutoff, grinder, or wire wheel on the other (depending on season or large project). The HF work pretty decent but not quite up to the Dewalt standards. I have used a lot of cut off wheels on them all though. The first thing to do with them is open the gear box and make sure it is packed at least half full with grease. I did mine before using the first time, and one was nearly full while the other was nearly dry.

 

[LittleBill21]

i still have my original HF grinders, prolly 200 hours on each of them 0 issues, and i use cutoff wheels daily with them, the issue is prolly the attachment point as its easy to get the disk out of alignment when tightening.

 

[Big Barn]

I have two 9 amp Makitas I bought approximately 22 years ago. They've both been trouble free. Cost per year less than $5 each.



Terry

 

[TractorGuy]

After my antique Craftsman grinder finally died I tried a cheap HF grinder that died within 6 months. Went back and bought the $30 HF grinder which also died in short order. Went to TS and bought a Dewalt since Sears didn't sell anything remotely as good as my original. So far so good with the Dewalt. Can't say I've ever read the book that came with any of them.

 

[Deere Dude]

I bought a cheapo HF grinder and what a $10 piece of work. It is new and I use it with cutting discs but find that the switch is awkwardly positioned and difficult to use because the hand is to close to the cutting disc. I leave it by the barn and only use it for cutting small metal pieces rather than going and getting a better grinder.

I will use it carefully until it breaks then get a Dewalt, Milwaukee or other name brands that have a better ergonomic design. I do have other name brand grinders and are much stronger easier to use; go figure.

I have bought a really heavy duty HF 4.5" grinder in times past, that would give a Milwaukee a run for the money, but the are just made super cheap now. Just need to be careful, wear gloves and hearing and eye protection. I have seen those discs just shatter,

 

[KennyG]

Keep in mind that Harbor Freight has two lines of power equipment, "Drillmaster" and "Chicago Electric". If you buy the cheaper Drillmaster stuff, it's a shot in the dark. Sometimes it will hold up and sometimes it will be trash in a month. The Chicago Electric stuff is generally much better built. Both go on sale from time to time.

 

[flyerdan]

Most cutoff wheels (or skinny wheels as we call them) are 6" in diameter and won't fit with the poxy guard that is designed for the depressed center wheels, therefore they put the disclaimer in the manual to absolve themselves of liability when someone sets up a cutter and it grenades on them due to improper handling. As long as you pay attention to the rpm limits on the consumables and keep exposed skin and faces out of the scatter arc and go easy on the feed, it should work fine.

 

[Stimw]

Keep in mind that Harbor Freight has two lines of power equipment, "Drillmaster" and "Chicago Electric". If you buy the cheaper Drillmaster stuff, it's a shot in the dark. Sometimes it will hold up and sometimes it will be trash in a month. The Chicago Electric stuff is generally much better built. Both go on sale from time to time.

I won't waste my money on the Drill Master stuff because it ain't worth the cheap price!!
How ever, I just installed Hardie Plank Siding on a 2568 sq ft house this past summer and used the Chicago Electric grinder with a diamond blade to cut and trim all the planks and it is still working great!
The Hardie dust is deadly because it is so fine and you can't breath it. I blew out the dust from the grinder from time to time with compressed air.
I own half dozen others and they are still working great.

 

[muddstopper]

sometimes zhit happens