4 1/2 angle grinder-opinions

I need to buy a new one. The last one I had was a Milwaukee and I fried that one too, after a few years.

Was looking at a Hitachi today. They are supposed to have a good reputation. Anybody got any opinions? Just wanted to try something different.

"Well, if that's the case, make a trip to Home Depot. They've got a 2pack special on bosch 4.5" grinders for $79, they're regularly $69 each."

I recently finished a project using one of my bargins to remove some adhesive residue from a floor using the B&D open mesh SOS looking pads. 4.5-5 hrs of operation later, one of the Bosch 1375-01 grinders I bought now refuses to turn on. They have some sort of warranty program in place, we're still waiting on a response from the company. I'm not overly thrilled with the units, these are the type that the switch locks on with your thumb vs. the paddle type.

Cliff (VA)

• jmixigo grinder torture test

Great minds, same channels, etc., etc., etc. I posted jmixigo's post in its entirety below.

I've given that story a lot of thought, trying to figure out if there's anything about the circumstances that would make Bosch not clearly the best angle grinder available. All I've been able to come up with is that Bosch might have features that would help it withstand abusive handling better than other brands, without necessarily making it outlast others under normal usage. Most of us will never face a situation where time is so critical (getting an assembly line running again, as I assume was the case for jmixigo) that tools are totally expendable. Bosch tools are not cheap, and a person might not want to pay extra for a tool that could withstand a lot of abuse if he knew he would almost never abuse it. That's the only thing I've been able to think of.

All the best, Stan

I agree that there must be something about Bosch that makes it stand up to abuse better. I can't imagine exactly what it would be. Better heat removal I would guess. I haven't priced one to buy. I just found the thread interesting.

That said, I am still using the DeWalt I bought many, many years ago. But I usually don't run it for more than a few minutes at a time.

Cliff (VA)

My experience has mostly been with DeWalt (4.5 and 7-inch - so far all good news) but my dad has a Makita with a little switch that you push with your thumb which is tough to use and since it is difficult to use, you want to lock it in ON, which it does easily.

I was wire brusing with the thing once and was using it locked ON much of the time for the above stated reason. At one point it jumped out of my hands and wound itself into and up my shirt sleave, and took off a thin layer of skin about 2 inches by 5 inches. Luckily, I did not have it locked in the ON position at the time, else it would have been pretty ugly.

Tim

Lot of good advice below, particularly as regards proper use. I work in a cannery and do quite a bit of metalwork fabrication and repair. We use mostly Makita and Milwaukee, both hold up well. We also have Bosch stuff (don't recall any grinders, but all of our battery drills are Bosch) and are well pleased with them.

On 4/7/07 jmixigo posted this:

"A while back there was a post here about grinders, which ones are good, bad, good value, etc.. I just finished a job at a Norboard OSB plant where we had to replace 656 feet of welded in 1/2" X 5" angle iron. Eleven guys started with 24 gringers and 250 pounds of cutting discs. Nineteen hours later 3 guys had quit, 5 pounds of discs were left, 37 burned out grinders lay in a pastboard box, and there were hardly any 4 or 5 inch grinders for sale in Valley Alabama. Only ONE of the original 24 grinders survived. A Bosh. Metabos, Milwaukees, DeWalts, Ryobis, Makitas, Kawasakis, an some I prolly forget all bit the dust. At the end of this deal, after the machine was back up an runnin, ther were only 6 functional grinders left, all Bosh. And that original Bosh that started out an survived the whole job was bought at a pawn shop for $20.00. I know what to buy now."

After I read that I started looking for Bosch grinders on eBay. I bid on quite a few and only got one---and that was at almost full retail. They don't seem to go cheap.

All the best, Stan

Do a search on grinders on this board - that's where I decided to try a Bosch.

My Bosch is by far the newest of the 3 but it seems to have more guts than either of the other two...and I usually prefer Milwaukee. I'm not easy on tools but I don't abuse them - Bosch seems to be pretty tough!