professional grinders

[bawjaws]

hi guys, not been on in a while as been busy with work etc but its got to the point where im in need of a new grinder, a GOOD one!. all of the 9 grinders i had (2 hilti and 7 powercrafts) have given up the ghost in one way or another, so theyre all getting howked out and replaced with 1 decent one .

what does everyone reccomend then? im looking at more the £80 upwards price tagged ones and below £200, just sick of paying for cheap s***e, hate using it, and then it breaks down on you when you need it most

through college and work ive used quite a few decent maked ones like bosch, hitachi, dewalt, and i think the best ive used is the metabo one with the quick nut thing and low vibrations, but the downside is the thickness of the body and the weight of the thing, oh and the price, about 160 quid to be specific.
but still probably worth paying if itll last eh? another one that has caught my eye is this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Makita-95...Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item20b7d977a4

anyone used one? like the look of the skinny body so it should be a bit more hand friendly but just not sure about the trigger, do you have to hold it constantly or can it be locked on aswell, and are makitas low on vibration? not much manufacturer brag about them?

oh and it has to be a 5 inch one , cheers in advance.......

 

[dickie bell]

used makita for years and had no problem with them although i am surprised the by the difference in price between 115 and 125 disc size grinders

 

[Delgado]

Metabo are good grinders, they also come with a 3 year manufacturer warranty, which, judging by the way you've been going through grinders, I've a feeling might come in handy

 

[Engineer]

I have used all the better quality grinders, and far and away the best is Makita. Buy the highest wattage in the size you are after, and you wont go far wrong. Avoid the lower wattage DIY type Makita's as they wont last as long.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Got 2 Makita's from a shop one of our members is involved with,very very good price and vibration is virtually non existent,They were only 41/2" but 5 minutes to mod the guards a bit and I always use 5" discs in them,
Managed to find the shop but you will probably have to google them( I'm not too good on links)

http://www.hsstoolshop.co.uk/makita-9554nb-115mm-mini-angle-grinder-710w-3482-p.asp

 

[outofthefire]

To be honest i'm in the cheap as possible category when it comes to grinders, I prefer to have one with a cutting disk and one with a softpad and another for either a wire brush or a grinding disk. I dont get how anyone can justify £160 for one grinder - the last few i've bought for home have been a tenner or so and they've all lasted at least a year and they get plenty of use. At work I have a £15.00 air grinder and a Kobe electric grinder I got for £28.00 I couldn't find any 4" grinders much cheaper and they'll only buy 4" disks at work.

 

[pedrobedro]

I have a few cheap 125mm grinders but bought a brand new Metabo 225mm to replace the old one which had lasted years despite all attempts to destroy it. When I feel flush and need a new little grinder it will be a Metabo for that as well.

 

[brightspark]

metabo makita and hitachi or bosch professional . just look at the wattage of the motor higher the better

 

[TAITSIE]

Another vote for Metabo , have abused one for over three years , stiil runs perfect.

 

[Shox Dr]

Makita 4" Paddle switch. 40quid and last forever. I have 4 with different kit fitted.

I've used Metabo can't fault them

 

[cumbriasteve]

Have got a Black & Decker which I bought 2nd hand in about 1979 or 1980 for £25 if my memory is right and it's still works great, never had any repairs or anything, think B&Q were different quality in those days.

My other is an Aldi cheapo that cost about £9 and thats about 6 years old and as good as new, obviously they don't get industrial use but they have done a awful lot of work over the years.

I think I must be lucky with power tools, the only ones that seem to let me down are drills, except for my trusty used and abused Skil hammer drill... brilliant drill.

 

[Hitch]

I'd go with the Bosch or Hitachi. The hitachis are shorter, but fatter, and heavy, the Bosch, even the 1000w+ models are fairly slender and easy to use one handed.

 

[blenkie1]

The old Metabos were great the new ones are absolute rubbish. We use 5" grinders and they get a fair bit of stick probably more than a normal engineering place. Used Metabo grinders all the time with no problems other than the brushes wearing and the plastic on/off switch used to wear so you went through a stage of holding the switch on till you finally replaced it. No problems to replace the power lead as well, just a couple of screws. The new ones are a lot more difficult. We started to replace these ones about 2 years ago with a new version and they were absolute rubbish. One lad burnt out 2 in one day! They must have had a cooling fault or something because they got red hot. Never mind due to the cost they started to buy Markita which are not much better. Lasted longer but could not survive much abuse with some of them cracking at the gear head. Poor casting? After all this we started getting a new make that I've never heard of anyhow, Fein. German make and they seem fairly decent. Bigger and more robust than the Metabos. We've had 2 sent back to the dealers at the minute who are claiming abuse so its early days. Anybody else had any use of them?

If I could have any grinder though it would be the old style 5" metabo but the new ones no way.

 

[brightspark]

having watched a lot of people use stihl saws angle grinders and chop saws im not suprised they dont last long . users push the disks in to the job and slow the machine down thinking it will cut faster . not .there 2 thick to realise that the more surface speed the quicker the cut and less load on the machine which in turn lasts longer in other words dont slow the machine down

 

[eil]

I seem to remember from one of your old posts bawjaws that where you said,that you used to lean or press down on the disc a lot I take it nothing`s changed then tut tut.

 

[bawjaws]

yep that would be me , but to be honest most of them broke when someone else was using them *never lend tools out*. i just kept using them until they were no longer useable . think im gonna go for a makita one, no quick disk change like the metabo one but i think id prefer the thinner neck of the makitas over that.....

 

[PhillipM]

Love the little Makita's.
Got two now, the first one is 15 years old and still going like day one.

 

[subarc boy]

grinder

you wont get better than metabo

 

[knoba]

I have Makita's 9565PCV (paddle) & a 9565CV (side switch) as well. I use the paddle one for grinding & cutting and the side switch one for polishing. The 9565CV comes with a really nice anti-vibe side handle. The 9565PCV comes with a cheap plastic shaped tube. Go figure...

Out of the two; I would rather have the paddle one. Best grinder, & most comfortable, I've ever had.

bawjaws
but just not sure about the trigger, do you have to hold it constantly

Yes.

bawjaws
can it be locked on aswell

No.

Dead-man's switches on both. They're also the variable speed models (2800 - 11500 rpm).

If you want quick disk changes from it...

I don't use the angle grinders' arbour spanner. I 'nip' the disc up by hand, & upon applying the grinder to the work-piece, the disc self-tightens. When I want to change the disc out, it's easy enough to engage the arbour lock, twist the disc by gloved hand, which releases the arbour nut.

They're not called positive lock disks for nothing.

I would buy them again. Super little grinders...

 

[graffian]

I have no idea about the little grinders from Festo, Fein and Flex, but the big ones are nice. I had a fein straight grinder and a flex angle grinder they were in a different class to the makita, bosch and b&d pro stuff I was used to.