4 1/2" Angle Grinders - How Many??

[Redbug]

I am 4 grinder guy...Dewalts...4 1/2 inchers corded...You wind up getting more out of necessity when having to change to a brush, etc.

 

[Dargo]

I only have one, a DeWalt. I've bought too many 4~5 amp grinders that just got too hot while doing really hard grinding. Maybe if I wasn't so hard on them or didn't mind going slow and taking breaks the smaller ones would hold up. Now I only buy the heavy duty grinders, my current one is over 4 years old and is going strong.

I too am pretty well non-negotiable about having quality grinders since I do so much metal work. I mostly use DeWalt and Makita for the smaller stuff and then the old 9" Milwaukee that seems to weigh 40 pounds I bought at a pawn shop decades ago. As opposed to many here, I have absolutely no use for any Horrible Freight grinders. I listened to people opine about how great their HF grinder is etc. etc. My only thought is that there is no way they use their HF grinders like I use mine. After going through what seems like a half a dozen HF grinders I figured it was simply a waste of my time and gas to keep getting replacements when the new ones only lasted one or two times before the factory installed magic smoke self released and said grinder became useless.

I do have an 18v DeWalt grinder and I use it quite a bit with the flapper wheels on it. The new (expensive) batteries hold up fairly well unless you're using an abrasive wheel and really getting it. Still, they last longer than the HF grinders before you need to change the battery. Changing the battery is far easier than replacing the ginder. Besides, the 18v DeWalt has more power anyway when compared to the HF cheapies. HF grinders and chop saws are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to rating HF stuff. I'd rather pay a reasonable price for the tool and have it work for 20 years or more than replace a cheap one weekly. My time is worth more than all those replacement trips.

 

[travis potter]

I use a grinder every day in my work on steel doors and frames, grind welds and bondo. I have tride several brands never the real expensive brands but use the hf grinders most last 1 or 2 years before I drop them from a ladder or break the switch. On the Milwuakee brand I only use theire sawzall but the tool shop that repairs them for me says a few years back they bought a co. that made electrical switches and changed to the new switch he can't keep then instock the new ones are junk. Not as good as the old drills,grinders and saws.

 

[Zebu Fellenz]

I have six 4 1/2" grinders and they all get used.

If I had to get only one though I would get one of the Metabo 4 1/2" grinders with the quick change arbor feature. Makes changing wheels extremely easy and quick without the need for any tools.

The fact that Metabo makes a top quality tool is just an added benefit. :thumbsup:

I think we paid around $130 each for ours (we have two).

 

[mefyj]

Keep'n it simple... three 4.5" grinders
1: grinding wheel
2: cutting wheel
3: wire wheel
.and I actually have 30amp outlets for 'em.

 

[KubotainNH]

Now see what this post did? I now have to 4.5" grinders because of it. Also because HF had a coupon for a $10 grinder. How could I pass that up?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Now see what this post did? I now have to 4.5" grinders because of it. Also because HF had a coupon for a $10 grinder. How could I pass that up?

I missed that coupon. The best I saw recently was $15 for their cheapest grinder.

I'm down to two grinders again, and I'm looking for a deal on one to have as a standby.

 

[KubotainNH]

PM me with an e-mail address, I may have the coupon via an e-mail and will forward it on if so.

 

[Bill 55]

I have a 4 1/2 in Makita that I have abused for almost 30 yrs, and my father inlaw's old chinese 4 1/2 that I use sparingly as it sounds like a box o'rocks when you hit the switch. A friend has a 4 1/2 Metabo that is the most amazing grinder I have ever used, but then he runs a general contracting business for his dad and they don't have time to deal with junk. The old Makita will probably outlast me.

 

[rjmack]

I wouldn't take a 4 1/2" grinder if you gave it to me.

Makita USA - Tool Details - 9005B

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I wouldn't take a 4 1/2" grinder if you gave it to me.

Makita USA - Tool Details - 9005B

Will that grinder take the 4 1/2 inch disks?

I've debated about getting an oversized grinder and using standard 4 1/2 inch disks.

 

[rjmack]

Will that grinder take the 4 1/2 inch disks?

that's the problem to begin with... complete waste of money. that 1/2" you don't get is the best part.

one thing is for sure, you won't find a 4 1/2 inch grinder in the alberta oil patch, or most other industry up here either... all 5", mostly makita, some dewalt. I suspect that the pro's south of the border have probably come to a similar conclusion. why would you put a 6" disk on a 7" grinder? it's the same thing, you lose the best part.

maybe my use of the language isn't as good as it could be, but after all these years using grinders for a living, I can't imagine spending good money on a 4 1/2" grinding disk.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Hey rjmack, I read the forum rules and didn't see anything that requires the use of the Queen's English. What you did is communicate your point effectively, and brought attention to an issue I haven't thought of. (dangling preposition.)

Thanks for bringing up the idea.

 

[davedj1]

29 dollar ryobi 4.5" grinders at the depot! I have used them all and don't seem to get any more life out of the "good" ones than I do the cheapo's.
Oh and I agree, you need 4 of them...lol:laughing:

 

[AKwelder]

I weld for a living, and fabricate at home even more. Sometimes I outfit crews, meaning gather the tools to outfit crews that are welding pipe and steel in remote locations where replacements are not available.

I have about 10 4-1/2grinders at home, both Milwaukee and Dewalts. Then you can throw in a couple odd ball ones from garage sales and such. I also keep several 9 inch Dewalts around, the old ones, copies of the black and decker wild cats. And for the little Cut Off wheels i use a Metabos. Then you can add the "they were going to throw it out" from work. I have to many grinders.

IMHO here is the break down.

The cheapest GOOD 4-1/2 grinder is the Dewalt, The milwaukee is better but larger and more expensive. For the money and durability that also keeps within OSHA's safety requirement the Dewalt is hard to beat, but they don't last forever, and the plugs are horrible. Please remember that we are welding 12 hours shifts and using these all day every day. They still last several months being abused.

There are better grinders, and more opinions. Dewalts are everywhere, and cheap. But they have a lot of different models, RPM's, and grades

I LOVE the Metabo's for cutting off steel, the 1/16" wheels are great. I will not use a locking on-off switch on a grinder. I have the scars to show why. Please remember that the Metabo turns at a high RPM, AND SOME DISKS ARE NOT RATED FOR THIS. the cheaper the disk the lower the rating.

Almost everyone makes a larger than 4-1/2 inch but smaller than the 9 inch. these work great for some jobs with out the weight.

One thing i do like to do is to keep with one brand of grinder, then when things are slow we take our junk grinders and start the Frankenstein process. Tear 6 apart and put 4 together.

 

[whateg0]

I have (4) 4-1/2" Harbor Freight grinders. I only have the orange ones. The others seem way too cheesy feeling, even for HF. I would never say they are great, but for the amount of work they see, they do seem to hold their own. And more importantly, I can afford them all. Whereas if I had to buy Yellow, Green, or Red, I would probably only have 1 or 2 and I would hate the inconvenience of having to constantly change wheels, which is the reason I ended up with the number I have now. I could actually use 1 or 2 more, but I get by for now. I have a paint stripper wheeled grinder, an abrasive wheel, a wire cup, and a flap disk/sanding disk. The abrasive wheel sometimes gets changed for a cut off wheel when needed.

I also have an old 9" Makita I bought off of Ebay for use only with a shrinking disk.

Dave

edit: and in the 10 or so years I have had a couple of these HF grinders, the only problem I have ever had with them is the brush retainers backed out on one a couple of months ago. Granted, I don't use these 8 hours a day and they are not as smooth as some of the name brands, but they get me by.

 

[deereman75]

we have 3 grinders, and i wish we had 1 more. We have an old strong arm $12 from princess auto (way too loud and vibrates too much) with a wire wheel on it. Then we have a 5 inch makita barrel grip grinder got it for $99 on sale, it is wonderful. Finally we have an old black&decker industrial 7 inch (identical to the metabo 7 inch) that we got for $45 at a pawn shop, this thing is a tank, it grinds material off extreamly fast and I doubt we will ever kill it. (draws 15 amps though):thumbsup:

 

[Tobias Dunlap]

I also have 3. A DeWalt 3" straight grinder, Makita 5" 9005b and a Makita GA9117 9". If the 9" won't take care of it I pull out my air arc and the dragon rods.

 

[AlbertaDan]

When I worked with a pipeline contractor all our welders only used 2 grinders. They were usually a 5" Makita. One would have a grinding wheel the other would be a wire wheel for buffing the weld. They used the Makita because of a few reasons, they were relatively cheap compared to similar models. For the price they held up to years of abuse, and thy had plenty of power for grinding out long sections of welds.

These were pipeline welders that are used to long hours 10+hours/day of welding. Usually 6days/week. The Makita were by far the most popular choice.

One tip-They also made stands for their grinders to hang from. Most were just a steel plate with a couple of semi-circular notches cut into them so the grinder could hang from the back of the guard and be readily available.

 

[crash325]

I do need a new grinder. It will be 4.5" as that will do what I need to do.

What I do want is a ball bearing model with a paddle switch. But no one talks or says what kind of bearing they have.

Anyone know what models have Ball Bearings.

It will never get used 10 hours a day. That cuts into my beer time.:laughing::thumbsup: