shoppin for a hand grinder

PLUMMEN wrote:

i keep atleast one of those red 4 1/2" grinders i buy at menards on each van,cant think of the brand but they cost about $25-30 each and they work just as good as the makita's in my experiance anyway

Tool Shop brand I think. I have a couple of their tools and have been surprised they work as well as they do. I have the corded drill and the small power sander.

moneypit wrote:

What ever you buy get one with a paddle switch. Your thumb will thank you for it

What everyone has said about the Harbor Frieght electric tools are true, they will work, and work well for many years. A grinder is a grinder. I would however try to get one with a paddle switch. I have never had a power tool (save for a drill) get away from me until I had my 4.5" grinder did. I had the gaurd off using a 36 grit flexible sanding disk and it hit the concrete disk down at full throttle. It hit just right, fractured the disk and jumped in my left ankle. 16 stiches later I wish I would have sprung for one with a paddle switch. It would have been much cheaper than the E.R. visit was :blush:

porchev914 wrote:

moneypit wrote:

What ever you buy get one with a paddle switch. Your thumb will thank you for it

What everyone has said about the Harbor Frieght electric tools are true, they will work, and work well for many years. A grinder is a grinder. I would however try to get one with a paddle switch. I have never had a power tool (save for a drill) get away from me until I had my 4.5" grinder did. I had the gaurd off using a 36 grit flexible sanding disk and it hit the concrete disk down at full throttle. It hit just right, fractured the disk and jumped in my left ankle. 16 stiches later I wish I would have sprung for one with a paddle switch. It would have been much cheaper than the E.R. visit was :blush:

Ouch. I saw a guy put one in his knee while kneeling down at work. They spin so fast the can get away from you easy.I try to keep the gaurd on mine after witnessing that.

I got a pretty nice Hitachi brand from Harbor Freight. I don't use it that much, but it works fine. Came in a nice case for easy storage.

I too bought the HF house model for under $10. Mine was made by a company called Drill Master (and I think they have Chicago Electric as well). Very surprised at how long this thing has lasted! Nice rubber handle as well. I've cut 1/4" steel with it (with a thin cutting blade) without problems.

I saw a paddle switch electric grinder at harbor freight the other day for $30. www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=65519

I bought a HF one a few years ago, the 10 dollar one, it lasted about 12 minutes returned it and the second lasted about 16 minutes, both 90 degree drive bearing seized,took it back and got my money back and bought a DeWalt, been happy since. the non-moving part HF stuff is not to bad and make good under the seat tools, but i like to have good tools in the tool box.

I've had mine for about 5 years now and it is still working great. I've used at home and at work on many projects and I have no complaints.

Damn I dont know if you really want a hand grinder that sounds like it could be painful. I dont care how cheap they are at horrible freight. I just dont see the point in grinding hands. I too bought the orange 4 inch grinder at HFT. It works like a champ. I did have it catch the other day jump out of my hand. Mine is the one with the rocker switch. I think one with a paddle would be safer. At times though the rocker is nice.

I recently picke up a Chicago Electric die grinder from HF store. Thought I'd give electric a whil for a while to port heads....

It sucks for that, won't spin true...back to my trusty air tools

Would probably be pretty good for general purpose stuff and it was cheap enough.

Also picke up the electric speed controller pretty cheap.

If I have a choice, I almost always pick air over electric. Unless I need a ton of torque, Air tools are lighter and smaller. But when you gotta put some weight into it, the electrics keep on going....all the way through my ankle! :laugh: