Angle Grinder

[warrenpfo]

I would like to get one and seen as they can take a battering wondered if its best to get a £25 one from wicks and replace when it brakes or go for a bosh or makita etc.

I want one of the small ones not the large jobbies.

Actually whilst on the subject i would like to get a drill and a few other power tools and wondered what people think of the battery powered kits you get from Dewalt or Makita as it might be worth me looking at getting a kit rather than just one angle grinder.

On second thought is a wall socket powered grinder maybe not a better tool.

AGH now I have lost myself in my own conversation

 

[chadr]

From my admittedly little experience, cordless or battery powered tools at the lower/cheaper end of market aren't that great or aren't powerful enough. The medium to top end stuff from Makita/Bosch et al are certainly up to the job but they are not cheap.

I always go for corded tools, simply because my lowly budget dictates that I get something that does the job but doesn't break the bank.

Having said that, if you are planning to do quite a bit of work in an area where you have no access to mains, then obviously cordless will be the way to go....

Just my 2p worth...as always, happy to be corrected by the experts.

 

[Gary Stockton]

look at the stuff from Machine Mart - pretty good prices really. I got the DeWalt small grinder from them - bit more than £25, but it's worked fine for me - mains powered. I've a bosch 18v cordless drill that's pretty mince, really.... Much prefer my old (very old) Black & Decker 230v one ....

 

[warrenpfo]

Something like this looks ok
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dewalt-D28113 ... 20c3ba15ae

 

[Ben]

being a tradesman i use power tools all day every day.

you could get a cheap grinder, and if you dont use it all the time it should be fine and last a good few years.

if you want a decent one then id recommend a makita one.

ive got the one below, and the company i work for has got 3 of this model.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-9554nb ... nder/53964

the best available IMHO would be hilti, but that will cost you £100+ for a 4.5" one.

ive had a lot of dewalt tools in the past but i find that there generally more expensive than makita but not any better quality, its like your paying for the name.

battery powered grinders are ace!

i use the one below at work as it runs off the batteries in my cordless drill, impact driver, circular saw and reciprocating saw.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/makita-bga452 ... bare/84865

the new LI-ION batteries are a huge improvement over the batteries that used to come with cordless tools. there lighter, more powerful, and take less time to charge.

 

[silvercruiser]

Im with ben there dewalt are no better if worse than makita.

i use tools all day long and i have bosch but they are pricey. my dad also works with me and he loves makita.


Joe

 

[joinerman]

Does your mum know he loves makita ? lol

 

[BobMurphy]

I bought a Bosch mains 4.5" angle grinder back in 1996.

I use it a lot, its been to Hell and back and its still going strong. I just had to change the brushes for the first time last year.

I have a good range of power tools - best quality works for me every time. I like the Metabo stuff.

My Metabo cordless drill is also still going, but its now showing its age - its 16 years old after all !

My neighbour buys cheap stuff from Aldi and its just that - cheap rubbish. I wouldn't touch it.

Bob.

 

[fridayman]

I used to buy cheapies (B&Q branded), then started buying black & decker, then moved on to Bosch. The Bosch stuff was OK, but once I bought Dewalt I was a convert. Now have a few Dewalt tools (corded and cordless) and very happy with them.

 

[Andrew Prince]

An alternative opinion: My 2c on this is to go with pretty cheap stuff. I hardly ever use them, I don't have a workshop, so I don't have the option of using them very often if even I wanted to. If something packs up, I'm delighted to buy a replacement - very few of my tools ever get worn out from use, so I'm happy when I manage to wear something out, even if it's only because the tool was average quality.

Also, if you might be taking them back to SA, tools are pretty nifty things to [strike:2a7bafk4]steal[/strike:2a7bafk4]redistribute - replacing a mid-range tool every so often is much less painful than your top of the range Hilti disappearing from your shed and not being able to get an exact replacement, not to mention the financial loss.

While I like quality tools as much as the next person, they really don't represent good value for my usage. If you're going to keep the tool forever, then going for quality makes sense. I know I'm not going to, so the likes of Clarkes from Machinemart do me fine

 

[warrenpfo]

Apart from the obvious when there is no power source would you say cordless power tools are nearly on a par with mains power tools. Ie if you had an endless supply of charged batteries is there still a reason to go with mains power?

 

[Andrew Prince]

You've got your inverter? For sure battery is more convenient but you can obviously buy better quality 230V for the same money as portable/battery-powered.

 

[Ben]

no battery powered tools arnt as powerful as corded tools.

the cordless grinders are good, but there only really designed for light use, and they seem to work best with very thin 1mm cutting discs.

the main things i do with the 18v cordless makita angle grinder at work are:-

-for cutting UPVC facia, gutter, down pipe, etc. perfect for this as it saves trailing leads every where when up on a tower scaffold.

-cutting fibre glass profiles when i do poly roof fibre glass roofing.

-cutting padlocks off gates, when we reposes and clear factories and other commercial properties.

-for cutting thin metal cladding, the sort of thing you find on factories when were adding extra windows and door ways.

thats all i can think of right now.

it certainly doesnt really get used for metal work much. if you put too much pressure on it it cuts out, and then you have to wait a few seconds before your able to start the grinder again, so it really struggles with cutting thick metal.

forgot to say before the Bosch tools are also very good, certainly as good as makita if you get the blue professional bosch tools and not the green DIY ones.

my 9" grinder is Bosch and its a great tool.

 

[BRE Fabrications LTD]

no battery powered tools arnt as powerful as corded tools.
:

Not entirely true... My V28 Milwaukee Cordless tools rival corded tools in same classs in terms of power output so cordless can definetly rival and even beat corded but then they aren't cheap. So unless you have money to burn or are using them daily to make a living, like I use to, I wouldn't be dropping large amounts of £££'s on power tools.

Have you looked into air tools? They are generally very well priced, just the compressor that'll set you back. Could be an option...

My 2c...

 

[Bob]

I spent 6 years testing and selling power tools for an engineers merchant - my opinion is you get what you pay for. Found that Bosch blue machines and Metabo tools were way ahead of the rest. (used to get 15 year old metabos coming in for brush replacement regularly!) A few have caught up now. DeWalt are a decent brand, but not as good as their image.

I use cordless tools a lot but for a grinder mains is best. I run the same Makita 4 1/2 inch for 8 years, super grinder. Not a bad price too. Battery technology will give better longevity with battery grinders now, but still have a short enough 'power on' time

 

[Cptsideways]

Cheap & cheerful, just replace frequently (for me every 2-3 years) The brushes wear out on cheap/good ones just the same.

I have three of them all the same, from Focus DIY £14 each, 1 Grinder/flappy wheel, 2 Cutting disk & 3 knotwheel, saves changing em about.

 

[jeepmadmike]

I have several dewalt 18v battery 4.5 grinders they are good tools but don't have the grunt of a mains powered one- but that said its my grinder of choice for the majority of little Jobs... But you need the largest aH capacity of batteries available - that is where cheap stuff fails.
A fitter on one site bought a hitachi 18v grinder after using my dewalt and said it was rubbish!

I also have lots of mains grinders, the Hilti one is down right dangerous due to the switch design! The dewalt ones take real hammer but I find them noisier than others, I quite like Bosch ones, love my vintage makita 4", but my favourite is a little cheap b&q one - small and light but keep your receipt as they don't like being used very hard.... They always replace them for the first year then I buy another the same and have a guarantee for both for another year think they have stopped selling them now

I love battery tools but it's worth spending more money and buy all the same range then with a few batteries you have lots of tools

Not sure about ryobi stuff I blew up a 9" grinder in less than 5minutes