Best 4 1/2" Angle Grinder for 'A' body work

J

Jon-Ohio

Senior Member
My 25 year old 4 1/2" Makita (Japanese made) angle grinder finally gave up the ghost and burned up on me this past week.

Was wondering what replacement brand/model you all recommend for 'A' body work nowadays - seems like most of them in stores now are Chinese made and I'm not sure about their quality anymore - especially long term ?

Thanks for any info
Jon - Ohio
 
25 years old wow, I don't expecting so much with new grinders! I saw in the Summit catalog from USA brands like Makita, Milwaukee and Dewalt, Milwaukee have five years guaranteed.
 
It boils down to "ergonomics" or the internal balance IMHO. Harbor Freight and such companies have the cheapest price and with an extended warranty added (purchased seperately), someone who "bends the ethics" can effectively have a 'Lifetime Warranty' I suppose, but those units tend to have a vibration that causes my hand to become numb after long useage.
 
About 1980 I bought a Shinco, made in Japan. It's not bulky to hold and I sure like it, but have never seen another one. Mine still works fine, but I wouldn't mind having a second one. I do have a couple Milwaukee 4" grinders that work fine, but they are more bulk than the Shinco. I bought the Shinco at Farm and Fleet in Watertown, S.D.
 
I use a Dewalt now and like it much better than my Makita that blew up. I mostly use the cutting discs on mine and the makita never alowed me to fully use up the disc because the body of the grinder was in the way. The dewalt lets me use the disc way down.
 
I used a Harbor Freight unit for the work I did taking off paint and rust. Used one of their plastic disk (about 3/4 thick) to grind off the paint and rust-worked great. But had to continue to replace the brushes in the unit but it is still going. I did not use it for "grinding" of metal. So do not know how it would work on that type of job.

Right now in our area, a person can buy one of these on sale for less than $10. Thus a person can buy a number of these for the price you pay for one of the more expensive ones.
 
i buy harbour frieght, they have a pretty good one for $19, last about 3 yrs, so i buy those in case i drop one, i can but 3 of those for the price of one makita, dewalt or any other brand, it depends on you, but no matter what brand you buy make sure it has a trigger switch, not one of those that the switch stays on, drop one of the grinders with the permanetly on switche and you will know real fast why i said that, you want the grinder to lose power as soon as you release the trigger
 
Did you have a plastic head Makita or aluminum head?

What burned out? The aluminum head Makita 4" last forever, but you have to run them some when new and the head gets hot. Take the head apart and regrease and they are good to go forever it seems.

Personally I would try to fix the one you got, what is wrong with it?

The cheap grinders may have bushings instead of bushings in the head. The ones I have seen look like you can buy real ball bearings and replace the bushings.
 
I've got four 4" and 4 1/2" grinders. The best is an old B&D, but the switch went south and B&D doesn't like to offer replacement parts for their older products. The others are a Ryobi, a Harbor Freight and a DeWalt. You need one for grinding, one for cutting, one for wire brushing (flat wheel) and one for wire brushing (cup.)
 
I have an older USA-made Milwaukee that served me well when I was working as a Pipefitter, but I've since gotten three more Harbor Freight grinders-It's so annoying to be constantly changing wheels, so why not have one each dedicated to a certain type of wheel? It sure saves a lot of time.
 
I got one the Tool Shop brand from Menards for $19. The first one lasted about 3-4 years and lasted me through the patio project. Cutting concrete pavers with all that dust really did it in. This last one has lasted for 5-6 years. I normally don't buy cheap tools but the angle grinder is the exception @$19.
 
have been using a dewalt for 6 years now with the trigger style switch and not the on off style switch . makes a big difference if you get in a sticky situation.
 
Kevin in NJ said:
Did you have a plastic head Makita or aluminum head?

What burned out? The aluminum head Makita 4" last forever, but you have to run them some when new and the head gets hot. Take the head apart and regrease and they are good to go forever it seems.

Personally I would try to fix the one you got, what is wrong with it?

The cheap grinders may have bushings instead of bushings in the head. The ones I have seen look like you can buy real ball bearings and replace the bushings.
Click to expand...

Kevin - mine has the aluminum head (bought in the early 80's) but it was the motor that burned up - complete with a little mushroom cloud of smoke - not the gear head - which still turns freely.

I'm leaning now towards a DeWalt since they're available locally at a steel supply and welding equipment store. I think they also carry Bosch which is German made I think.

Anyway thanks everybody for all the good advice and info

Jon in Ohio
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
...................... Harbor Freight and such companies have the cheapest price and with an extended warranty added (purchased seperately), someone who "bends the ethics" can effectively have a 'Lifetime Warranty' I suppose, .....................
Click to expand...
A couple of years ago, I had a heavy duty job that would cause me to work the hell out of a grinder. I thought that I would try a HF grinder and buy the extended warranty. Anyway after a day of really leaning on the grinder, I thought that this is a good grinder and bought another one. In the middle of the second day, the first one smoked. I took it back and finished the job with the second grinder. Six months later, the second grinder smoked and I took it back and they gave me another one, but told me the extended warranty wouldn't give me a replacement if this one failed.

So as they explained to me, after you buy a tool and purchase the extended warranty, if the first one fails and they will replace it with a second one. The extended warranty expires when they give you the second tool.
 
In my previous post I explained my experience with HF grinders; which I bought just to try.

I have several other grinders. A B&D, Makita and a used Delta I bought 5 years ago for $5 at a garage sale. I think that I'm going to buy another Makita to fill in my assortment. I like to have one with a cut-off disk, one with a grinding disk, one with a flapper disk and one with a wire wheel on it. I hate to have to change disks back and forth in the middle of a job.
 
I have two ryobi 4" grinders, both are over twenty years old, and only one so far has needed a new set of brushes. I also have a Metabo 9" grinder, a real monster to hang on to, I didn't buy the soft start model. All have provided trouble free service. The twenty five years out if the makita should speak for it self. I'd buy another one as it has proven itself as reliable.
 
Had a 4" Makita w/alum head that lasted a long time, 4" Makita w/plastic head to supplement the other Makita, lasted a year. wouldn't hold up to a cup brush or heavy, continued grinding. Bought a Dewalt paddle switch 4 1/2" for personal use at home, about 2 years and it was junk. Porter Cable 4 1/2 " now for about 25 yrs, 2 sets of brushes and last week ball brg went out in the head. New brg and it's up and running again. Porter Cable's been bought out by Dewalt. Their paddle switch unit has a lock on it also now. Milwaukee's been sold out also several years ago and they've been cheapened up as well. Ended up buying a Milwaukee for a backup last week. Looked to me like the best of a poor lot of available choices.
 
Cruise the flea-marts and garage sales; look for older stuff.

I have an aluminum-head Makita that's about 20 years old; hasn't been abused or used daily, and still working just fine.

I bought a paddle-switch De Walt about 20 years back, and a buddy was using it pretty hard wire-brushing the under-side of his '66 Caprice, and I believe the windings finally fried... which may have been a consequence of the air-ways blocking-up with dust...

Sorry to hear Milwaukee has gone the way of the 21st Century...

SC Frank
 
I have a Hitachi that I really like. Seems to hold up well. ALso have a cheepo Clarke that I have had for many years...still going even with very rough use.
 
A 4 1/2" angle grinder is my single most used tool. I seem to have bad luck with HF stuff that takes electricity so I avoid their electrical items. When my first Makita gave up the ghost after many years of hard use I purchased another Makita. I was severely disappointed in their current quality after the second one quit within a few months. I purchased a Milwaukee brand and it has done well, but it has only been about two years on it. I hope to get a few more years out of it.
 
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