Damn it! Angle Grinders!!!

[Rod]

Just posted about how well the cheap Screwfix angle grinder was working

- went out to continue - and it has broken!

The switch was not very good - but now it does absolutely nothing - moves but the motor does not come on. It is a long time since I bought it so really does seem out of time for a warranty claim.

So I really have to think about a new one. Suggestions for a relatively inexpensive 4.5 nch/115mm angle grinder eagerly sought! Must buy tomorrow morning.

Quick checks at Screwfix, B&Q and Toolstation (all reasonably accessible for me tomorrow) show:

Makita 9554NB - 39.99 (SF) Site SMA900 - 36.99 (SF) Bosch GWS6-115 - 39.99 (SF) / 37.00 (TS) Ryobi 4.5" Angle Grinder EAG8011 720W - 29.98 (B&Q)

Any comments? Any other suggestions?

Am I right that the Site is the previous model of Makita? Is it any way inferior to the 'real' Mak? The 3 year 'professional' warranty on the Bosch is appealing. My emotion says the Mak. My head says buy the Ryobi and get money back when it goes wrong within warranty.

[Tim S]

Rod coughed up some electrons that declared:

My Hitachi 2kg SDS seems well fairly built (though it's not yet been beaten senseless) - and I noticed Screwfix had a deal on some Hitachi's, but possibly not in 4.5"? I'm going to get the 9".

Cheers

Tim

[The Medway Handyman]

Andy Hall would have told you to but the Mak or the Bosch :-)

[George]

Try B&Q or TS for a change,I only go into SF when I cannot obtain something locally...trouble is every visit to SF I have noticed someone walk in to return a faulty item and out of the six times of going there four of the items have been power tools. Got nothing against SF.

[Rod]

Unfortuantely, I could only see a 110V version Hitachi angle grinder. And that is more expensive than the Makita and Bosch (at 44.99). And ebcause there is no picture, I couldn't see if it has the usual Hitachi go-faster appearance. :-)

Thanks.

[Rod]

That thought has been going round and round in my head. Buy cheap (as I did) and have to pay to replace in next to no time. Hmmmm.

Which make have *you* got?

[The Medway Handyman]

I rarely use angle grinders, maybe once every month or so and then only for short periods.

I have a Wickes 9" jobby which is excellent, had it for years. I have two

4" Homobase cheapies, one in an Aldi cut off stand in the workshop & the other sits in the van. Paid about £9 each for them in a clearance. Can't remember the last time I used either.

If I used one often I'd prolly buy the Mak.

[John Weston]

Check the switch on your old one :-) I had a problem on mine (different make) some years ago meaning I had to keep my finger on the switch for it to run. All I did was dissasemble, clean things up and reassemble, being careful of the pingfuckit that makes the switch function only in two positions.

- unless you want the excuse for a new one :-)

[Rod]

I thought through that route - and it might work - but I really must get on with the job. Maybe put the old one in the shed for later attention. But I seem to remember there were many weak points about the Screwfix cheapies, so maybe best to move on.

[Toby]

If you would like a cheapie, Netto have a "Tooltec" one for £9.98, started today (02-10-08)

Toby...

[Rod]

Nearest Netto is quite a way to go. And I have just found out what is wrong with cheapies. :-(

Thanks anyway.

[George]

Even the best can have their failures. ;-)having paid £9.99 for me Aldi one makes me think I've done some work with it since I bought it 2 years ago,although its still working if it went defunct on me now I wouldn't grumble...I'd just go and buy another Aldi jobby. :-)

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Rod writes

It is worth running any angle grinder *light* after some work in order to protect the windings from thermal overshoot. If you put your hand (carefully:-) in front of the air outlet you may be surprised how long it takes to cool. I expect one of the ways to save manufacturing cost may be in the quality of insulation used.

regards

>

[John Rumm]

Not the kinso one was it? (they eventually started giving them away with a pack of diamond discs to stop them coming back!

It seems that way - SF claim "made by Makita", and th external design of many of the tools does look exactly like last years model.

With angle grinders the top end brands are not that much more expensive than the basic ones, and if you can find a deal where there is a bundled disc then they are often the same price. When I bought my 9" grinder the cheapies were typically £40 ish. I bought a nice Hitachi one for £75 ish, but that came with a diamond disc that would have cost about £30 on its own.

[The Medway Handyman]

Thats my philosophy with power tools I don't use that much like angle grinders, reciprocating saws, 6kg SDS (used as a breaker). Handy to have for those odd jobs. Quite happy if they last a year or two with infrequent use.

Mid use stuff like planers, sanders etc I'll buy a middle of the road jobby like B&D or Ryobi.

Stuff I use day in day out like drill drivers, or where performance/accuracy/durability are important (circular saws, jigsaws, impact drivers, routers) I'll spend the extra and by a Makita or similar.

[Rod]

Hah! Is *that* how come I have the three diamond discs? (Think it is the kinso.) Makes sense as I simply don't believe I ever ordered three such discs. (In fact, I think I must have tagged the device itself onto a friend's order - it isn't in my order history.)

I now realise that a good switch is important, no - vital, to an angle grinder.

[John Rumm]

The cheapies are not too bad for metal grinding / cutting, but masonry dust tends to kill the windings or clog the switches on them.

[John Rumm]

Judging by past posts on the Kinso, the failure rate was getting close to 100% - switches failing being the number one cause. (one may have burst into flames as well!)

Re Switches - yup they are important. Finding one is stuck on, can be worse than one simply not working when you want it to.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "The Medway Handyman" saying something like:

I have a 4.5" B&D Pro and a 9" Makita - both bought used and neither has given a bit of trouble in the past decade despite some heavy use. I paid a tenner each for them (one from a boot sale, other from local market) and if I'd bought some piece of no-name cheap shit it would probably have been wrecked by now.

Bonar.

[somebody]

In message , Rod writes

I have just replaced a Bosch Blue 9" angle grinder with a Bosch Blue 9" angle grinder.

The old one was *atleast* 23 years old that I know of, had been worked silly, and was still going strong. Too much brick dust in the switch had made it a little temperamental but I still considered it one of my better tools.

I've got various Bosch Blue power tools. Whilst I rate my Makita stuff on a par *to use*, the Bosch Blue stuff somehow still feels better made.

Hth