What kind of cut off/grinder do you use?

10 year old porter cable. i kinda like the switch lock--you can clamp the grinder in a vise
and debur small parts. if i bought another today it would be a porter cable.
 
I've got a few. Porter Cable with a metal head and trigger was my go to for cutting wheels. Then I have two harbor freight 4.5's one with a wire wheel and one with a flap disc. The HF's are the ones with the on/off switch. They have been good. Even better for the money. I have just recently picked up a Metabo 6". That thing is so so so smooth. It's unreal how much nicer it is than the PC and that's a good angle grinder. I'd have a hard time spending new money on one but I got it in a lot of tools that I bought for just the portaband.

I will say this as well. If you are going to go any type of cutting of plate, sheet, even notched a few tube. But a portaband with a swag off road stand. The amount that I have used the 4.5" grinder has gone down a bunch. I really wish I would have bought one a long long time ago.

Also, getting good quality cutting discs is pretty important. I was never satisfied with the performance of the ones I got from the hardware store. You can buy much better ones at a local welding supply place for nearly the same price or lower. However, lehigh valley abrasives have a good selection and good prices on most of their consumables.
 
justjeepin86 said:
I have a Milwaukee 4.5 that i bought in the early 2000's. It's still kicking. The bearings are noisy though.
Click to expand...
Must be the same generation as mine. It has sounded like bad bearings and straight cut gears for nearly 20 years, and the sound has never changed.
 
I bought a Milwaukee 4.5 back in 2013, I told myself back then this was temporary. It’s been through hundreds of cutoff disc, flapper wheels and grinding wheels, maybe 20 wire wheels. I’ve stalled that damn thing a few times when I would bite so hard, it’s drawn blood it’s been rained on, I swear I smelled smoke once from it. It’s been so hot I couldn’t hold it bare handed. And I’ve dropped the shit out of it. I’ll buy a few more for like $80 or how ever much they are. I’ve cut up at least 10 full on 4x8 sheets with it, if not more.


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I have a 4.5" Milwaukee that's 15-20 years old. I had to cut a few inches off the cord and re-terminate it inside the handle once, but it's been unstoppable other than that. The paddle switch is unmatched in anything else I've seen, but they don't make them like this anymore. The new ones seem pretty shitty.
 
3-4 HF/NT de jour's in various makes/models/colors and a spare in the toolbox for when one takes a crap

All total, less than one "tool $nob brand" :flipoff2:
 
I have a makita 4.5 that has been amazing. Its variable speed which is very very useful. Turning down the speed when using a wire wheel from the speed of light to something more reasonable and not being impaled by flying wires is great. I have a milwaukee 4.5 that has been good but it has a lot of catching up to do to hang with the makita.
 
We have a couple old Milwaukee Magnum variable speed that have been through several sets of brushes and maybe another repair or two each. Still going strong. New ones don't seem to hold up as well, though. Makita 18v is a great lightweight unit. We also have several Horrible Fright black $10 grinders. I love them! Not a powerhouse by any stretch but perfect for a knotted cup brush. I also like them with a flapper for prepping and blending. They're light and compact and easy to swing with one hand. It's great for shaping, debuting, etc. This was my setup last night working on an aluminum frame for a display. The disk cost more than the grinder! (It was a sample. I don't have Walter money! However Benchmark Abrasives makes some great stuff for cheap!)
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Bought this 6.5 amp Black and Decker probably 10+ years ago and it finally went to power tool heaven today. I think it might have been a refurb from an outlet store. It served its purpose well as a medium/light duty tool, but today was the hardest Id ever used it. Cutting out a section of plate in the bed of the 62 and I didn’t let up on it...til it was too late. After that I just let it eat until it couldn’t do any more. It’s possible the internals were turned into molten hot lava in the process.


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