Regardless of the specific use to which an angle grinder would be put are there any general characteristics you would recommend that would be worth having?
I know that that is rather vague but an angle grinder is not something that would get used too often so it is hard to give specific uses. But I guess that there are some common characteristics to help explain the wide variance of prices.
James
I have a cheapo 9" grinder. The only drawback I am aware of is that it is exceedingly heavy. I've never used a good one, so I can't be sure that's the only difference in practice. However, hefting them in the shop, the cheap ones are double the weight.
James Harris formulated on Friday :
For occasional use, look at the Aldi/Lidl special offers. For more regular use, look at buying Makita or a similar well known brand name.
I have four or five Aldi type ones, each with different blades. all
115mm except one of 125mm. 115mm disks are cheaper, the grinder lighter and easier to get into tight spots.
Depends.
A cheap green Bosch 4.5" is a good general purpose tool for slashing bits of metal. It's the tool of choice for buggering about with cars and small scale masonry work.
However, if you need to chop concrete on a regular basis, you'll need a bigger device.
Do they make them that are either quiet, or cannot be turned on on sunny weekends in the garden at all? :-)
Brian
In message , James Harris writes
If you don't want a 9", go for a 5" with variable speed control. Much better disc life than 4.5" and the speed control enables you to use a wire brush relatively safely.
Well if unsure of the use, then its safest to assume cutting masonry will be a likely task. That really suggests that one with good bearing ans switch sealing against dust, and adequately protected armature windings.
Since even top name grinders are not expensive, I would suggest going with one of those.
You have not specified the size of machine you are looking at, but for general purpose use one can probably assume 4.5". For masonry work a 9" is more useful.
Something with an "industrial" rating will designed for continuous use - this is worth having as I have seen many people burn out cheap grinders simply by using them for 20 mins.
Love it
My experience with these very cheap power tools is that the cheapos are not intended for contiuous use and will burn out if you don't give them a "rest" when they seem a bit hot.
I got a Bosch 115 model. Very nice soft start. Happily get the same model again were I to need to. From memory, it was a very reasonable price as it was not bottom of the range. Came in a very serviceable plastic case with enough room for quite a lot of discs.
I have a cheapo that I bought maybe 10 years ago, not sure what I bought it for but has had ocassional use along the way, this and last summer I have used it to cut through 3 x 2 paving slabs probably about 30 in total. Its only a 4.5 inch so I get about halfway through and then thump with a hammer. Its noisy its heavy but not used a lot. I only do a few paving slabs at a time so it works for me.
I don't understand about the 5" vs 4.5". Why would the 5" ones have better disc life?
James
In message , James Harris writes
Extra 0.25" of abrasive?
Discs get discarded before being worn down to the drive shoulder so the useful life is greater than this. Particularly if you are *through* cutting something thick.
Guts...
Kelly Carter - Angle Grinder (London UK)
Potentially NSFW...
I wonder who did the risk assessment on that!
Hot steel swarf on the eyeballs is not fun. Hospital staff pick it off with flat nosed tweezers.
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I bought a B&D 4" grinder about 15 years ago - still going strong.
Ah, Welsh tiles.
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