Best angle grinder for the money?

Best angle grinder for the money?

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Discussion

VinceFox

Original Poster:

20,566 posts

179 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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As title says really, any recommendations? Preferably with starter disc set.

Crafty_

13,482 posts

207 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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I just buy the cheap ones, they last ages if you don't abuse them too much.
Got one of these at the moment : http://www.screwfix.com/p/direct-power-pga115-900w...

If cutting metal get 1mm discs, much better.

VinceFox

Original Poster:

20,566 posts

179 months

Friday 28th December 2012
quotequote all
Cheers Crafty. Main duties are removing welds/lugs from a steel framed motorbike project, but will probly use for other stuff after.

Crafty_

13,482 posts

207 months

Friday 28th December 2012
quotequote all
It'll be fine for that sort of work.

These are the cutting discs I'm currently using http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/details.php?ca...

You can get the thin ones from all over the place, but have seen some really cheap ones shatter, which is not funny when you're holding the grinder! The above should be cheaper than screwfix for the discs.

Don't use thin ones for grinding, kills them off quickly.
If you want to grind stuff down I quite often use a 2.5mm cutting disc as they aren't as vicious as the thick metal grinding discs.
The other option is to buy a backing pad: http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/scripts/details.php?ca...

Then you can use fibre or metal backed discs like this:
http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/bosch-2608608119-26086...
(Lawsons do flexovit ones in smaller quantities too but didn't have a picture).
You can usually get 60 or 80 grit ones, they will be less aggressive again and are good for clean up tasks, just don't dig the edge in to something or you'll rip chucks out the backing plate.




VinceFox

Original Poster:

20,566 posts

179 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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Brilliant stuff, cheers smile

ch427

9,742 posts

240 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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if you want quality then makita and bosch blue tools both available at screwfix are very good. If cost is a factor then stick with the original suggestion.

sassanach0

215 posts

239 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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if you simply want to buy a grinder once.then its either metabo or makita.everything else is a compromise

Steve126

302 posts

190 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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Makita get my vote, too.

paintman

7,765 posts

197 months

Friday 28th December 2012
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Abused a Black & Decker one for years.
When it finally died I bought one of the cheapies. It managed to cut halfway through a 1" piece of angle iron before belching out clouds of smoke & sparks.
Took it back & got a nice Bosch one in a plastic box IIRC for under £40. Which came with a load of sanding, grinding & cutting discs & two diamond cutting discs.

Condi

17,939 posts

178 months

Saturday 29th December 2012
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matika or bosh, Im sure you can get one or the other with either a lifetime or 10 year warenty.

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

262 months

Saturday 29th December 2012
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Condi said:
matika or bosh, Im sure you can get one or the other with either a lifetime or 10 year warenty.
But you need to get the professional Bosch grinders with the blue plastic housing. The green ones are the 'domestic' versions and are nothing special.

I have a cheap Chinese grinder which has given excellent service over the last few years, though it's heavier and noisier than my Bosch and certainly doesn't feel as nice to use.

PhillipM

6,529 posts

196 months

Sunday 30th December 2012
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I've got 3 makita's that have had serious daily abuse for years and none of them have ever missed a beat, hell, I haven't even replaced bearings yet, and they're light and comfortable to use for long periods.

As for cutting discs, smith and arrow do some cheap, decent 0.8mm ones, flexovit 0.8mm's are even better but much more expensive. I usually get dronco ceramic flap discs for tidying up work, at about £3 a pop.

Barkychoc

7,848 posts

211 months

Monday 31st December 2012
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The expensive ones are generally better balanced so you get less vibration. If you were using it for heavy duty commercial use the cheapies won't meet health and safety requirements for long term use.
I've got a cheapo clarke one and any significant use certainly gets your arms tingling.

metro1

88 posts

162 months

Sunday 6th January 2013
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milwaukee

DrDeAtH

3,618 posts

239 months

Tuesday 8th January 2013
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Sometimes the 20 quid special will just keep on going and never die...
Buy a Bosch and you will struggle to break it.
Mind you, I have a black and decker that is over 10years old and still running...

itcaptainslow

3,858 posts

143 months

Sunday 13th January 2013
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Another vote for Bosch-I've got my own one and it's awesome. Beautifully made bit of kit, especially in comparison to the cheapy one we have at work which feels like it's come out of a Christmas cracker and stalls far too easily.