Good cheap angle grinder?

MIG'DHORSE · Mar 19, 2007

hey i'm in need of a decent angle grinder that wont set me back too much. i've been looking around, and theyre as low as 30 bucks, and get more and more expensive from there. i'm not looking for the best, just something i can rely on and fab with. any suggestions? thanks.

-MIG

Hip · Mar 19, 2007

as much as i hate Harbor freight i use their 4 1/2 inch grinders. :wtf: they can be as cheap as 10 dollars on sale and regular for 14ish. i usually buy three and keep a cutoff wheel on one, a flap wheel ,and a grinding wheel on the others. they last about 6 months of heavy use then i just get three more. i have killed the best and most expensive grinders in just about the same time so i just treat them as disposable now.

ive been thru mikita, craftsman, milwakee and a few other brands.

$0.02

MIG'DHORSE · Mar 19, 2007

that's the great info i was looking for. thanks man.

Jaydog · Mar 19, 2007

x2 on the Harbor Freight, they are good and if they get too dirty you can throw them out and get a new one.

nick c · Mar 19, 2007

not to post a totally pointless post but keep the replacement brushes that come with them. One grinder i bought didn't have the brushes, they must have fallen out in transit. So when they gave out I ran up to the local harware store to grab some replacements since I couldn't make it down to HF to get a new one.

Problem: A) brushes are about $3 each (so thats $6) I bought my grinder for $9.99 on sale...
B) I have yet to find a store that carries the right size brushes...so I'll just buy a new $9.99 one and put the extra brushes that come with it in my old one and this one will go in the 'trail-tools' box. With a few discs for trail repairs.

jimpaget · Mar 20, 2007

One thing that you can do to extend the life of any angle grinder is to blow it out every hour or so with compressed air. I belong to the Northwest Stone Sculptors and nearly all of us use angle grinders for one thing or another. Trust me - stone really creates a ton of dust. If you blow them out very regularly, they really last a long time. Also, if the way you are using the grinder slows down the RPMs, you are really shortening the life of the tool.

slim83 · Mar 26, 2007

definatly harbor freight all I use is there grinders they are dirt cheap and they realy last a long time for the money you pay for them

Geargrinder65 · Apr 6, 2007

I'm a millwright by trade. We use the HF grinders @ the mill, get 'bout 6-8mo. out of 'em:awesomework: We used Makitas for years, and got 6-8mo out of them; at $110ea our cost:looser:
With the HF we use the HELL out of 'em 'cus they are disposable

Pook · Apr 6, 2007

I didn't have much luck with the real cheap grinders I'd kill them every month. I use them everyday though. I have some expensive ones but for the beaters I ended up with the Orange Black and Deckers from homedepot. i don't know what series "name" they are but they've been going strong for over a year.

Trailtoy1993 · Apr 6, 2007

Hip said:
as much as i hate Harbor freight i use their 4 1/2 inch grinders. :wtf: they can be as cheap as 10 dollars on sale and regular for 14ish. i usually buy three and keep a cutoff wheel on one, a flap wheel ,and a grinding wheel on the others. they last about 6 months of heavy use then i just get three more. i have killed the best and most expensive grinders in just about the same time so i just treat them as disposable now.

ive been thru mikita, craftsman, milwakee and a few other brands.

$0.02

X2

HF grinders even come with replacement brushes! Last just as long as the last Makita I had and you can buy three for the price of one of the expensive ones!!!

CrustyJeep · Apr 6, 2007

If you want a good one, hit the hawk shops. Good used ones turn up sometimes.

Those HF ones drive me nuts. I have one I use for my cutoff bitch and I can't kill it, but it sounds and feels like it'd going to come to pieces at any moment.

BTW you don't want one angle grinder, you want at least two. Maybe four or five

Hip · Apr 6, 2007

crusty i am assuming you dont wear the proper protective gear when you use power tools. ear plugs work good. kinda like when you hear that new squeek in your rig you just cant quit tell what it is, you just turn up the stereo till it becomes obvious.

i swear th HF grinder is comming apart each time i use it till the earplugs go in.:awesomework:

CrustyJeep · Apr 6, 2007

Hip said:
crusty i am assuming you dont wear the proper protective gear when you use power tools. ear plugs work good. kinda like when you hear that new squeek in your rig you just cant quit tell what it is, you just turn up the stereo till it becomes obvious.

i swear th HF grinder is comming apart each time i use it till the earplugs go in.:awesomework:

You're right, I don't wear ear protection, but the vibration from the oval gears in there is also annoying :redneck:

Mrs. Crusty · Apr 6, 2007

Hip said:
crusty i am assuming you dont wear the proper protective gear when you use power tools.

MOST of the time, NO!

issed:

Now when he's grinding, I'd say about 95 % of the time, he does wear eye protection and the other 5% either goes unprotected or I catch him not wearing anything and I start pestering him until he does. Ear protection, nope, that either. I wasn't real big on wearing ear protection until I just started working in an assembly shop. Ummm...Yeah....ear protection is a must!

CrustyJeep · Apr 6, 2007

eviltoymaker said:
MOST of the time, NO! issed:
Now when he's grinding, I'd say about 95 % of the time, he does wear eye protection and the other 5% either goes unprotected or I catch him not wearing anything and I start pestering him until he does.

Go empty the dryer tard :flipoff:

I ALWAYS wear eye protection unless I'm tack welding WITH MY EYES CLOSED :flipoff: Or sometimes a quick cut on the chop saw WITH MY EYES CLOSED :flipoff:

Pook · Apr 7, 2007

CrustyJeep said:
If you want a good one, hit the hawk shops. Good used ones turn up sometimes.

Those HF ones drive me nuts. I have one I use for my cutoff bitch and I can't kill it, but it sounds and feels like it'd going to come to pieces at any moment.

BTW you don't want one angle grinder, you want at least two. Maybe four or five

yep I have 7 angle grinders. Each one with a different disk or wire wheel. Plus 2 big daddy death with a handle grinders.