Completely serious angle grinder question

[Bert Coules]

I need an angle grinder for very occasional use, initially to trim some slates. Any recommendations? Screwfix have a basic-looking Energer model for an amazing £17.49, with a Bosch at £34.99 and an Hitachi at just under the £50 mark (the only one of these which comes with a disc). Toolstation have a Makita with disc at £54.72. There is a Lidl fairly near me advertising their Parkside 2000W model (no disc) at £34.99, but it won't be available until the 4th of May and there doesn't seem to be a way of checking local availability online anyway.

Price isn't everything but obviously I don't want to pay more than I have to. Many thanks.

[Scott M]

I bought a B&Q's own crappola PowerPro job in about 1997 for a one off job. It's still going strong now having then discovered just how useful they are. I even stripped down and re-greased the gearbox a few years ago as a mark of its good service!

Mind you, for £35 the Bosch sounds cheap enough to avoid the non-name stuff.

[Bert Coules]

Scott,

Thanks for that. The Bosch is also lighter than some, at 1.9kg, which is quite an important factor I'd have thought.

Bert

[Bert Coules]

...Though the £49.99 Hitachi (which has a disc and a case) is even lighter. I think this is my current favourite option.

Bert

[tabbypurr]

For occasional use a cheap Ferm is more than good enough. The one brand to totally avoid is power devil. A site boss bought several PD tools, all were dead 30 days later.

NT

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for that. I haven't come across any Ferm models in my searching: I'll have a specific look.

Bert

[Adrian]

No-brainer, the Bosch.

Don't let "comes with a disc" swing anything - they're a consumable that really doesn't last very long at all. Get a pack of the right ones for what you're cutting/grinding, and be willing to swap 'em when they start to show they're "going off". Or, of course, when they turn into a handy shirt button.

[Malcolm Race]

Ferm was the Screwfix 'Own Brand' a number of years ago. I have a number of Ferm tools which ar good for my DIY needs but I suspect that Ferm has been replaced by a different 'Own Brand'

Malcolm

[Bert Coules]

Thanks for that, and the advice about packaged discs. The idea of a case is appealing though, and the Bosch doesn't have one of those. Whether the extra cost for, say, the Hitachi is worth it just for the case (and one disc) though, is another matter.

Bert

[charles]

I bought a Bosch quite some years ago - probably about 25. It still works fine, but I only use it ocasionally.

[Bert Coules]

Charles,

Thanks. I have a couple of Bosch low-end power tools and they've always been entirely reliable and satisfactory.

Bert

[Adrian]

I have a case for my (low-end, about £40 some years ago) Makita. TBH, it's a pita. Trying to get the cable to get in the case and stay there whilst I latch it, especially if there's a few discs in there too... and if you had the side-handle on, it'd need to be removed before putting it away. Sure, it keeps it tidy and the spanner handy (if I've put it back in!), but it takes up a LOT more space than just the grinder would.

How organised are you?

If you're disorganised, you won't use it, just trip over it, and the spanner and discs'll never be in it anyway.

If you're hyper-organised, you don't need it, because you'll always be able to find the spanner and the discs and the handle.

If you're somewhere in the middle, it may or may not get properly used and be a benefit...

[Bert Coules]

Adrian,

Thanks for that excellent analysis, and for reminding me what a struggle it is to get my corded B&D circular saw back in its extremely snug-fit box. I am, I think, hyper-organised albeit with occasional lapses.

The several recommendations for the Bosch are making that the current front-runner.

Bert

[Adrian]

...and the final clincher for me...?

Bosch are that rare thing - an ethically-owned business. 92% owned by a charity set up by the founder of the business, which uses the profits for philanthropic, development, educational, healthcare charitable purposes.

(No, I don't work for Bosch. If I did work in their marketing dept, I'd be shouting about that a lot more than they inexplicably don't seem to.)

[Bert Coules]

Interesting, Adrian: I didn't know that. As you say, they don't make a song and dance about it.

Bert

[Clive George]

I wonder if it might be counterproductive in many of their markets.

It is interesting to see how it has done so well - most of their profits go back into the company, which is rather the opposite of most companies. I wonder if there's a lesson there for anybody else?

(wikipedia has 2004 numbers - $2.1b profit, $72m to the charity, $6m to the family, rest back into the company. Can you imagine any owner settling for that little over here?)

[GB]

You haven't said whether you want a 4.5" angle grinder or a 9" one.

You get a much bigger depth of cut with the 9", naturally. My 9" one is really heavy, and if I were buying one of those again, I'd consider the weight as very important in my decision.

The difference in weight of the smaller ones is not so important that I'd pay extra. My cheapo brand just soldiers on, so why pay more?

They are really frightening devices, but so far none of the discs has come apart. Some people use the smaller ones one-handed, but I always hold mine with both hands, even the smaller one, as that way I can't inadvertently cut a finger off.

[Bert Coules]

True, and it was a foolish oversight, though perhaps the prices I quoted would have furnished a clue: it's a 4.5" model I need. I take your point about the weight being more important in the larger sizes.

What brand is that? Some appear to have better recommendations than others.

Thanks for your reply.

Bert

[Dave Liquorice]

Pretty sure it was Power Devil(*) orbital sander that exploded on me. The dicast metal backing plate just disintegrated. Lumps taken out of wall and I was finding bits of shrapnel all over the room for ages.

(*) Pale grey red fittings, dark adjustable front handle.

[Dave Liquorice]

That is a problem with nearly all the cased power tools I have. Why don't they make a bit of space for the cable to be coiled (coiled,

*not* folded) into?

But I like cases despite the agro of getting the cable in. Keeps the tool clean and protected, other wise it would end up in a plastic storeage crate with other uncased power tools dumped on top and of course the one you want would be at the bottom and the cables would have got knitted...