What kind of cut off/grinder do you use?

Drunktaco

Drunktaco

Señor Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Location
SWVA
Just curious everybody, what kind of cut off wheel/grinder does everyone like?

Personally for cutting, I'm a fan of Metabo. Somewhat pricey but they don't quit.

Metabo Angle Grinder - WEP15-150Q Quick 6" Electronic Paddle Switch Angle Grinder - 600488420

As far as a 4" grinder goes I've been a big fan of Makita and Milmwaukee. Makita's last a while and can double as a hammer and keep on ticking. Prefer paddle switch but I'm cool with a slide. That's how my Metabo is.

What's everyone else think?
 
Porter Cable at my house. Hitachi is my preferred brand but I was in a pinch and needed one quick and fast, so I own a PC.
Regardless, I never under any circumstances use the trigger lock.
 
Going on 4+ years with a dewalt. Home Depot rebuilt the motor once when it smoked out during the warranty. It has been fricken bullet proof since then. That is the only tool I have that cuts metal so it has been abused.
 
XJsavage said:
Regardless, I never under any circumstances use the trigger lock.
Click to expand...

I've got scars that remind me not to...and I now know that you do too! :beer:

I used to have an orange one...now I have a red one. :lol:

I ran a HF 4.5" angle grinder for a few years until the gears in the head chewed themselves to pieces. Now I've got a Craftsman Professional 4.5". It's been great in the 5 years I've had it so far.
 
Hitachi cause it was cheap but I have beat the shit out of it, it holds it's own, and if it dies I’ll get another one. I get them from bigskytools.com who is the outlet for hitachi refurb items.
 
Last edited:
I'm a diehard metabo man. I use mine daily and I inherited it from my fil 5 yrs ago well used. I just replaced the switch last month and that's all I've ever done to it. Dad got a Dewalt to replace his metabo that our maintenance guy killed for him and it's alright. I've always used thumb switches so I can't seem to get down with the paddle switch.
 
I have a pile of three burned out <6 year old dewalts and about 6 harbor freight grinders that do work. Screw overpriced brushed tools they still suck, check the grease in the cheapo grinders buy a half dozen and enjoy life.

My current favorite though is m18 cordless.
 
13a 4.5” dewalt that was $$ and several cheap dewalt. The newer Milwaukee triggers are terrible and don’t even last 16 weeks of daily use. The old Milwaukee’s were going on several years of use.

Metabo are super nice but $$$.

I keep 3 dewalts around at all times. The 13a with long handle has a soft flap wheel, the other two are the 7a, one has paddle one has thumb slide switch. These have a thin cutting wheel and a thick hard grinding wheel.

Much faster to grab another grinder than to switch wheels.

I use the 13a one to run the flap wheel bc it will burn up a low amp grinder if you are really trying to move some material bc it doesn’t glaze over like a hard wheel.
 
Hitachi

Was cheap in college and tried a HF model and couldn't kill it. Finally made the mistake of leaving it in the back of the truck one night and it got rained on. Still worked but not for long. :lol:
 
XJsavage said:
Porter Cable at my house. Hitachi is my preferred brand but I was in a pinch and needed one quick and fast, so I own a PC.
Regardless, I never under any circumstances use the trigger lock.
Click to expand...


Porter Cable has some good stuff. I've got some nailers from them and they've done fantastic. Laid a lot of flooring and some framing with them.

Hitachi is good stuff to. I don't have any of their stuff currently but my ol'lady has a magic wand from em and it's not died yet lol.


NickMaul said:
Going on 4+ years with a dewalt. Home Depot rebuilt the motor once when it smoked out during the warranty. It has been fricken bullet proof since then. That is the only tool I have that cuts metal so it has been abused.
Click to expand...

Dewalt is good to. I've got one that's dedicated wire wheel/cup and another that's dedicated flapper. Pretty sure they're both 9a.

awheelterd said:
I'm a diehard metabo man. I use mine daily and I inherited it from my fil 5 yrs ago well used. I just replaced the switch last month and that's all I've ever done to it. Dad got a Dewalt to replace his metabo that our maintenance guy killed for him and it's alright. I've always used thumb switches so I can't seem to get down with the paddle switch.
Click to expand...

Metabo is damn good stuff, if you've never used one. I highly recommend it. Pricey, yes. But if they quit, it's break time. They can cut damn near anything and won't stop unless you try and stall them out, and even then, pull back some and it's right back where it was. They don't like water too much, but if they get wet, they'll dry out and keep going.

I really didn't expect this thread to take off like it has but hell yeah. Keep em coming everybody.

Also, trigger locks cause pain. Along with Rigid lol we had a pony (hand held/portable pipe threader) with a rigged up die used to torque and break lose some very stubborn bolts, accidently bumped the button putting it on and lost a finger nail instantly and crushed the bone and finger tip flat lol.


Edit: I'm drunk and feel like oprah. You get a like, you get a like, everyone gets a like.
 
Drunktaco said:
Porter Cable has some good stuff. I've got some nailers from them and they've done fantastic. Laid a lot of flooring and some framing with them.

Hitachi is good stuff to. I don't have any of their stuff currently but my ol'lady has a magic wand from em and it's not died yet lol.




Dewalt is good to. I've got one that's dedicated wire wheel/cup and another that's dedicated flapper. Pretty sure they're both 9a.



Metabo is damn good stuff, if you've never used one. I highly recommend it. Pricey, yes. But if they quit, it's break time. They can cut damn near anything and won't stop unless you try and stall them out, and even then, pull back some and it's right back where it was. They don't like water too much, but if they get wet, they'll dry out and keep going.

I really didn't expect this thread to take off like it has but hell yeah. Keep em coming everybody.

Also, trigger locks cause pain. Along with Rigid lol we had a pony (hand held/portable pipe threader) with a rigged up die used to torque and break lose some very stubborn bolts, accidently bumped the button putting it on and lost a finger nail instantly and crushed the bone and finger tip flat lol.


Edit: I'm drunk and feel like oprah. You get a like, you get a like, everyone gets a like.
Click to expand...

I like the trigger lock for cleaning up tube notches and prepping for welding using a flap wheel. But that’s one handed use holding the tube with the other lol.
 
I recently found a reciept where i bought my 4.5 dewalt angle grinder from a hardware store my grandma managed way back in 1999. I was in automotive classes at Fayetteville Tech CC back then and needed to grind the rivets off the frame on my 83 ranger to replace the radius arm bushings. Still use it regularly for cutting but mostly with flapper discs. The only issue it has is the button to lock the spindle so you can swap discs fell out years ago. I have a punch I keep in the toolbox drawer with the extra discs that i jam in the hole to lock it.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 
braxton357 said:
Screw overpriced brushed tools they still suck, check the grease in the cheapo grinders buy a half dozen and enjoy life.
Click to expand...
That was my problem with my HF grinder. When it bit the dust and I took it apart to find the problem and saw the stripped out gears, I told myself that if I actually greased them up, it would probably have stayed alive. Worked great for the longest while, then started having a rattle, then one day it quit. Motor still ran fine, but the gears were gone.
 
Used to have a black and Decker 4.5 for ten years. Just died and replaced with a PC. Trigger button fell out, got lost and replaced with a bent up piece of brake line.. been rocking it for the last few years. Should pick up another PC so I don't have to switch out discs. Had tried the cheap HF but it didn't have the RPM or torque, maybe the more expensive one is better?
 
I bought a Milwaukee corded 4.5" back in 2001. Still going strong. Also have a Craftsman 7" from the 70s or 80s that has had a wire wheel on it since the 90s, still works good. I run them hard and WAO, but use them as they were intended, which apparently results in a long, happy life. Dad has a Makita 4.5" that is from the 90s and still runs like a champ too, but it hasn't received the regularity of thrashing that my Milwaukee has. The Makita seemed to have a higher Max rpm, but the Milwaukee doesn't slow down under load so it cuts faster. I'll probably end up following in the footsteps of @braxton357 and pick up a Milwaukee M18 cordless one soon. Once you get used to cordless, you want cordless everything.
 
mbalbritton said:
Makita 4.5” here. Wish I’d have gone with 5” to get the larger shaft.
Click to expand...

That's what she said! :D

I've got a 4.5" DeWalt at home with the cheap on/off switch. I just treat it a little differently and sometimes I don't latch the button, I just hold it so I can let go of it real quick if need be. It's been a good one...I was using it about 2 hours ago actually. I generally use it for just grinding and cutting. I do have a knotted wire wheel and a flapper for it, but rarely use them. If I need to clean something I'll just use a brush on a 90° die grinder.

At my last job I used a 4.5" Metabo every single day for two years straight. Nothing but grinding. I used it to "deburr" everything that I was flame cutting. All of the ones at work had paddle switches. I wore out two sets of brushes in the same grinder, but other than that it was a damn good tool. No complaints about them at all...other than tennis elbow :rolleyes:
 
I've got a 4.5" Hitachi I've used for the last 6 Years or so. Been a really good one to me and I've beat the hell out of it. Work uses the Milwaukee's and a we have one Metabo, the Metabo is nice but I'm not sure the price difference is worth it in the long run when you have gorilla's on the dumb end. All have the locking slide switch on the side. I can't stand the paddle trigger ones for my usage, pure grinding I'd fine with but holding the switch isn't always possible for cutting shit off a frame or other tight spots.
 
Mac5005 said:
I like the trigger lock for cleaning up tube notches and prepping for welding using a flap wheel. But that’s one handed use holding the tube with the other lol.
Click to expand...

Im guilty of using the trigger lock for one handed grinding at times myself. I didn't want to be the first to admit it though :lol:
 
Harbor Freight. It's nice to have a few, so you don't have to switch out wheels. One for cutoff, one for grinding, one for flap wheel...

I like the fact that they are underpowered, so that they won't attack me when I am doing dumb shit like grinding one handed. Only grinder related injury I've sustained is from a fancy high powered grinder.
 
Back
Top