4 ½ & 5” Angle grinders

[Boucher]

I have a Craftsman and Black & Decker. Both are getting tired and I probably need another one anyway. The prices vary from Hitachi at $50 to Metabo at $250. Dewalt has a bunch of different models and varied prices. In the past I have had good performance from Dewalt, Milwaukee and Mikita.. For years I preferred my old Black & Decker Wildcat. As I have gotten older and lazier I tend to reach for the smaller/lighter grinders. What would you recommend or buy if you were in the market? It will probably see more service in the flap disk and surface conditioning processes but will still be used as a grinder some.

[jeremy13]

I have the Metabo 4 1/2" and love it. It has the finger tight nut and works perfectly. It will even grab the 1/16” cut off wheals with no problem.

[davidh]

if its a 4-1/2 or 5" that your looking for, the metabo is the best in my humble opinion.

if your looking for a 7 or 9", the milwaukee is heavy and really hard to beat.

i work on this stuff every day. hitachi is not on the top of my list nor are some of the dewalts.................

[aboard_epsilon]

i wrote this post in 2005

10 years of hard use...it's still going strong, make sure its got koki japan written on it

Hitachi G13SC2 (125mm Angle Grinder)

http://www.hitachi-powertools.com.au...inder-menu.htm
I have one of these 240 volt version.
the best there is in my opinion.
went thru loads of grinders all makes all kinds .
only this one was good enough.
featurs different from other angle grinders are .
despites its powerfull motor .it runs cool never gets hot.
also less vibation than any other ive had before
it is also mechanically quite.
even friends are amazed by it .....
even now and it is over 6 years old !!!
it cannot be surpassed in my opinion.

all the best.....mark

[BadDog]

I'm usually a proponent of buying at least a step or two above the bottom. But not on grinders. At the moment I've got 6 grinders setup with various wheels so I just grab what I need. Any guesses what that would cost if I used my favored Milwaukee brand grinders? Often have at least 4 plugged up and swapping from one to the next on any given job. Just walked in from one where I was using a knotted wire wheel, flap wheel, and cutting wheel back and forth for about an hour. So I use the HF grinders at $17-19 each. I bought the first in/around 2000, added to the stable every now and then, usually under guise of "having one on the shelf for WHEN one fails."

Invariably the "backup" eventually gets mounted with something when the others are otherwise occupied. But I have yet to see one die for more than want of brushes (each comes with spares, I think I have at least 4 more). Yes, they are "garbage" and lack the feel of either my Milwaukee or the big 1950s 9" Black and Decker 15 lb "Grinder of Death" (that thing WILL hurt you).

Beyond that, I prefer the 4.5" in general. To me the best balance of size/capability and widest assortment of readily available wheels in all types. And in my case, all wheels interchange...

[oldtiffie]

'nutha wun fer Metabo

Agree 100% - Metabo.

Its a lot of money but its a lot of grinder too.

[loosewatches]

beating a dead horse

My vote goes to Metabo. I've used a whole bunch of different grinders over the years and Metabo wins hands down. They make nice ( though spendy) drills, too.

-loose

[tattoomike68]

We had a grinding wheel salesman give aus a free grinder. It was quiet and very fast and smooth. we had a job doing fancy steel trash can holders for our downtown area and had lots of grinding prep before painting.

It lasted 45 minutes, the brushes got hot and burned out and it had some weak plastic threaded brush pushers that welded themself closed forever, no changing brushes ever. When he cam back he gave us a new one and it lasted a day or so.

We use dewalt for small angle grinders now. most last a year or two then go to grinder heaven.

Myself I hate grinding and always told new welders that if they grind on anything over 5 minutes they suck.

I used to work at a foundry where they had big grinders with huge air lines like what runs a jackhammer. those boys were fast.

[radkins]

I'm usually a proponent of buying at least a step or two above the bottom. But not on grinders. At the moment I've got 6 grinders setup with various wheels so I just grab what I need. Any guesses what that would cost if I used my favored Milwaukee brand grinders? Often have at least 4 plugged up and swapping from one to the next on any given job. Just walked in from one where I was using a knotted wire wheel, flap wheel, and cutting wheel back and forth for about an hour. So I use the HF grinders at $17-19 each. I bought the first in/around 2000, added to the stable every now and then, usually under guise of "having one on the shelf for WHEN one fails."

Invariably the "backup" eventually gets mounted with something when the others are otherwise occupied. But I have yet to see one die for more than want of brushes (each comes with spares, I think I have at least 4 more). Yes, they are "garbage" and lack the feel of either my Milwaukee or the big 1950s 9" Black and Decker 15 lb "Grinder of Death" (that thing WILL hurt you).

Beyond that, I prefer the 4.5" in general. To me the best balance of size/capability and widest assortment of readily available wheels in all types. And in my case, all wheels interchange...

HF has a few, a very few, really good items and those grinders are definitely one of them. Even if a person has a "good" grinder one or two or three of the HF grinders are good investment and the darn things seem to be like that rabbit, they just keep on going! My first one is several years old now and has been used/abused and generally treated unmercifully but other than a cord repair it has been trouble free. So it's the same here, for the price of the Metabo I can have a tool box full of the HF grinders with different options already mounted. The years of service I have gotten from them have sure convinced me!


Just a note about these things, first the good ones are the Orange Chicago Electric and NOT the even cheaper "Drill Master" which is total junk and I mean JUNK! The good ones are available in both 4" and 4 1/2" models with the 4" being about $6 cheaper when on sale but they are both the same EXACT grinder, same Amp rating, and the only difference is the wheel guard which most people discard anyway. (Bad idea however!)

[2ManyHobbies]

I bought one HF 4.5" grinder maybe 3 years ago. The thought was that I could go through quite a few before I had the same money wrapped up in a better deal. My father acquired a cordless DeWalt in the same size. My vote is on the DeWalt, but the HF won't seem to go down the path to untimely demise, and I can't bring myself to spend the money on something I have that already works pretty well.

And to whoever recommended flap disks on a thread a month or so back, thanks much! Those little things are miracle workers at 3x the speed and a tenth of the required muscle coordination of the fiber disks.

[JRouche]

Only had two 4-1/2" grinders. A craftsman then a Milwaukee. When I got tired of using the craftsman I started using it for masonry work. Dry cutting bricks and concrete. The dust is killing the bearings, brushes and commutator, I knew it would. Makes a lot of racket. But when I need to cut some concrete Ill grab it till it smokes then toss it.

But I like my milwaukee, it does the job. And I have a big 9" Mil grinder too, gotta say, the lil grinder takes metal off just as fast. Unless its a job where I can really lean on the big grinder to make it work. Thats usually only if Im above the work so I can lay into it, otherwise its just too heavy.

A good test of a small grinder's balls is a good flap disc, they bite alot more than the standard wheels.
JR

[Peter S]

IMO 4 1/2" is the best size for light grinding work, the sort of machine that needs to sit right there on your welding table.

I have a 4" at home, too small. We have several 5" at work but they are just a little too powerful and large for easy use. They demand two hands with good grip, whereas a 4 1/2" needs one hand plus second hand for steadying. (Your grip may vary... )

4 1'2" is easily my first choice for most light grinding and cutting.

As for brands - I no longer care much. We have several full time welders at work - none of the brands last very long, angle grinders in full-time use are expendable items. AEG, Bosch, Hitachi, Makita, Metabo, we used them all, they all die. I see they now use cheapo B&D, they die like flies. Fein have a ridiculous method of holding the discs, nice grinders otherwise, but I wouldn't have one for full-time use (very slow to change discs).

[R W]

Have a 41/2" Heavy Duty Hitachi and find it ideal, also have a 9" Hitachi for
heavier work.

[Greg Q]

I don't think they are sold in the US, but Protool makes a great little soft-start grinder. They are available in NZ, Aus, Europe. No-tool disc change, great balance and cool running. I'll never have another Makita, B & D, or anything sold at a big box.

Greg

[gda]

I used to go higher end - but they still blow up:
- I had a Porter Cable, but then it sucked something inside it and damaged a bell wire on the armature - dead
- Bought a $100 bosch - used it every now and then - then used it for 15 minutes hard straight grinding welds - I was wearing welding gloves so I did not feel it heat up - sucker started smoking hard - dead - never again
- picked up a metabo on Ebay - been good
- have 2 of the $45 range Makitas - they have been good so far.

Well worth having 3 ready to go with a flap disc, grinding wheel, wire brush