Hand Grinder advice....

[George M]

Guys,
Received a Home Depot gift certificate for Christmas and would like to purchase a hand grinder. I have air at my house but would prefer an electric grinder for remote jobs away from home. The question is...which one to buy? Is there a distinction between an angle grinder and die-grinder? Please have a look at the attached link. Not sure which one to purchase and if I want what is referred to as an angle grinder...which may have more versatility. Will typically be using it as a cut off wheel for cutting through bolts, angle iron, sheet metal etc and maybe an occasional muffler pipe....and grinding sharp edges off freshly cut steel. Also which brand is preferred Makita or DeWalt?...both carried by Home Depot. Is there a preferred cut off wheel size that will fit on a particular grinder size?...or are most hand grinders about the same size and will accomodate the same size wheel?
Bill and/or Winfred would appreciate your advice.
Thanks,
George

grinders

[winfred]

it's a toss up between Makita or DeWalt on which one you like placement of the switch and comfort of the grip, it's not like you will wear out ether one even if you open up a small metal shop, the dewalt's usually come with a hard case, not sure about the makita. i don't think one of the other two grinders on the list would be a bad choice if you took a liking to one of them

[winfred]

the 4 1/2" i call them a side grinder is a real handy size and usually have enough ass to handle most jobs, the next step up would be a 6" then 8" but they are longer and not as manuverable. if you watch it you'd notice they use 4 1/2 grinders on american chopper to do the cutting of fenders and general clean up

Is there a preferred cut off wheel size that will fit on a particular grinder size?...or are most hand grinders about the same size and will accomodate the same size wheel?

[Bill R.]

I have 1- 4 inch makita and 1- 4 1/2 inch makita , ditto for the Ryobi.
My brother worked for Ryobi until they sold their US holdings so I have virtually every ryobi tool made..
The 4 1/2 inch grinders are far better than the 4 inch for everyday use.
You can put a 4 inch wheel on a 4 1/2 but not vice versa...
I would only get a 4 1/2. My friends that have the wrought iron shop have
8 of these grinders on hand all the time and they use up an average of 3 per year.. I've talked to them in the past about this stry enough. And I spend
enough time down there whenever i need something fabricated or if i have to weld something big. They have tried every make out there and the best ones they have found are the Metabo and the Hitachi .. Metabo is a german brand i believe and hitachi are a unusual green color so they are easy to spot at stores. Durability on these 2 brands is far and away the best. They have had a couple of bosch angle grinders and they held up very well also but were pricey back then. They seem to be much more reasonably priced now.

The most common failure on any of them is the switch, the makita's would always break the switch after a few months. The paddle switch on the dewalt also breaks about as frequently as the ryobi. In your case this might take years though. I'm giving you their continous use results. The dewalt name is the old black and decker pro brand relabeled.. There is a fairly large amount of hype attached to this name.. lots of advertising dollars. You won't wear the motor out on any of the ones listed on home depots site and you won't break it physically, what will break is either the switch or the cord will get damaged first.. both things you can live with... If i were picking from the home depot website, my first choice would be the bosch 4 1/2 for reasons of durability, ergonomics and comfort. Then i would probably pick the makita and the ridgid tool , all in that order...The ridgid looks good on paper but its the only one i have no personal experience with. A case is nice but the models with the case aren't ones i would get listed on home depot.. The reason i have so many and that my friends shop has so many is that when you're working on a project you may have a coarse grinding wheel on one, a sanding wheel on another and a wire wheel on another and a cutoff wheel, this way as you're going through the stages you don't have to switch wheels all the time you just pick up another grinder already to go. Don't even consider a 7 or 9 inch at this point since the 4 1/2 is by far the most flexible useful size. Longer tool cord lengths is nice also as well as chuck locks so you can unscrew the wheel easier. My ryobi and my makita 4 inch I have had both for over 20 years so you probably won't kill anything you buy. I use the bosch extensively when i go down the the wrought iron shop and i really like the way it feels.

Guys,
Received a Home Depot gift certificate for Christmas and would like to purchase a hand grinder. I have air at my house but would prefer an electric grinder for remote jobs away from home. The question is...which one to buy? Is there a distinction between an angle grinder and die-grinder? Please have a look at the attached link. Not sure which one to purchase and if I want what is referred to as an angle grinder...which may have more versatility. Will typically be using it as a cut off wheel for cutting through bolts, angle iron, sheet metal etc and maybe an occasional muffler pipe....and grinding sharp edges off freshly cut steel. Also which brand is preferred Makita or DeWalt?...both carried by Home Depot. Is there a preferred cut off wheel size that will fit on a particular grinder size?...or are most hand grinders about the same size and will accomodate the same size wheel?
Bill and/or Winfred would appreciate your advice.
Thanks,
George

grinders

[winfred]

i got a Metabo from some crackhead off the street (and several other decent tools) for a few bucks and it's been a good grinder, i never knew where it was made

[DueyT]

George, I bought a DeWalt DW831 5", 12A, H.D. grinder at Canadian tire 3 years ago on sale for $69 (Cdn). The thing has been simply fantastic. You know what they say about not regretting buying quality? True, true, true. I think it was a pretty good deal at the time and it has never failed to do what I asked of it. The dang thing's absolutely bulletproof. Disc changes are a snap (integral chuck lock), the shield is fully adjustable, the side handle fits either side, it has a nice long cord, the trigger locks on for long grinds, etc...you'd be hard pressed to buy a better 5" grinder IMO! The thing is strong enough to act like my chop saw (until I get one). The nice thing is, doing anything with it is completely effortless. And to think I almost bought a smaller 4 1/2" angle grinder...what was I thinking?


DeWalt 5" HD grinder.

Cheers,
Duey

[Bill R.]

Home depot with his gift certificate....
Here's what is available there

Sorry it will only let me save the link in general not the grinder page. You have to click power tools then grinders to get to the grinder page.













home depot grinders

[DueyT]

Home depot with his gift certificate....
Here's what is available there

Sorry it will only let me save the link in general not the grinder page. You have to click power tools then grinders to get to the grinder page.

home depot grinders

Bill, at the time, Home Depot also had the DW831....it was "on sale" for $109...couldn't beat Can Tire's $69. I assumed it was still at Home Depot....I just saw one at the Kingston HD just last month. Maybe there's a difference between in-store and on-line stuff?

I figured that since George is just down the road from me, he might also consider one of Canada's two important retail stores: 1) Canadian Tire, and 2) Time Horton's (coffee shop, see miscellaneous in my gallery)

Funny, I though the Canuck dollar sucked harder than a Hoover when compared to your greenback, but I see that a DW831 is $129US but only $139Cdn at Can-Tire. ?Que Pasa?

Cheers
Duey

[George M]

First let me say thanks very much guys for all the great insight...you're the best and why I came to you for advice. My take after reading all the above is the Bosch is the leader for all the reasons stated by Bill. Bill I also heard the Bosch model was very good. Downside is it is $100. I guess reading all the above, I am leaning toward choice no.2 which is the Makita for $70...seems to be best bang for buck based upon what you guys wrote...true, no case.
See link:
Makita Grinder sold at Home Depot


What do you think...a decent choice for an occasional DIY'er?

Many Thanks for all the great information.
George

[Bill R.]

1

First let me say thanks very much guys for all the great insight...you're the best and why I came to you for advice. My take after reading all the above is the Bosch is the leader for all the reasons stated by Bill. Bill I also heard the Bosch model was very good. Downside is it is $100. I guess reading all the above, I am leaning toward choice no.2 which is the Makita for $70...seems to be best bang for buck based upon what you guys wrote...true, no case.
See link:
Makita Grinder sold at Home Depot


What do you think...a decent choice for an occasional DIY'er?

Many Thanks for all the great information.
George