Angle Grinder Rant

[SteveHGraham]

I have a short rant tonight.

I decided I was tired of being the only guy on earth who only had one angle grinder. I have an 8-amp Bosch which is probably 10 years old. I figured I would get another grinder and keep a knot wheel on one and a flap disk on the other. I checked grinders out, and I decided the DeWalt DWE402 was what I wanted. Then I learned that it had a pathetic 6-foot cord, which is disgraceful and unacceptable. I opted for another Bosch, even the the DeWalt appears to be slightly better.

Today I found out DeWalt sells 8-foot cords for the DWE402.

Okay, so the grinder is very good, and the price is okay, but in order to give yourself room to work with it, you have to spend ten more bucks. Then you end up with a 6-foot cord you don't need.

Who is responsible for this outrage?

I also learned you can put an extension on a grinder and use 1/4" burrs and so on. That's pretty cool. The company that makes the product is named Flapper Adapter, and you can guess what the product is called. I picked this up from one of Jody Collier's videos. An outfit named Cast Industries makes one that takes 1/8" mandrels as well as 1/4", but they appear to be inept at ecommerce.

I'm thinking I may get a small Bosch and keep a Flapper Adapter on it. Looks useful.

The weirdest thing I learned is that there is a difference between a cutoff grinder and an angle grinder. Still trying to figure that out. I see cutoff grinders turn more slowly, so it makes me wonder if I've been using unsafe wheels on my angle grinder.

[johnfreese]

One of my DeWalt tools came with a very short cord, maybe 8" to a foot long. Be happy with your 6 footer.

[Steggy]

My big angle grinder is a Snap-On pneumatic unit I purchased nearly 40 years ago. The "power cord" can be as long as the sections of air hose I use.

For the same power output, a pneumatic grinder weighs about 60 percent of its electrical equivalent. The body of the grinder is about half the cross-section of an electric unit. Also, it doesn't even get warm after sustained grinding. Of course, you need a decent-sized air compressor to run it.

[b4autodark]

Al Gore is probably responsible.

[John Hasler]

One of my DeWalt tools came with a very short cord, maybe 8" to a foot long. Be happy with your 6 footer.

I like that design. Those short cords last longer because they don't take as much of a beating and the machines are much easier to store and transport without a long cord. Extension cords are cheap and easily replaced and I can use whatever length is appropriate for the job. IEC connectors would be better yet.

[SteveHGraham]

For the same power output, a pneumatic grinder weighs about 60 percent of its electrical equivalent.

Together with my compressor, an air grinder would weigh nearly 600 pounds. If I wanted to use 4 different disks or attachments without switching all the time, nearly 2400 pounds.

I think I'm going to get a 6" grinder for cutting. I just found out about Walter abrasives, and I think one of their wheels on a 6" grinder would get rid of the vast majority of my sawing jobs.

[SteveHGraham]

Al Gore is probably responsible.

The man is everywhere. I hope it's still okay to say "man" in 2019.

[tornitore45]

I am with John Hasler on cord length.

I cut my High Quality Harbor Freight cord to 1 foot and use an extension cord. Tired of winding the long cord up and untangling from other tools in the drawer. That 7 1/5 angle grinder cost me $14 15 years ago and is still going strong. It was the only alternative to a hack saw to cut stock until I splurge some $29 for a 7" which got the same snip job.

[Russ Hanscom]

I have at least three of the Dewalts, sometimes cheaper by the two pack. No problem with cord length, after it gets knicked or chopped, jut put on a new plug - happens soon enough. The only issue I have with the Dewalts is that a couple of them sound like they have gravel in the gear box, and that right out of the package - but until they quit...

[liveaboard]

Got Bosch [blue, not green], makita, hitachi, and breifly a Stein.
125mm [5"], 160mm [6"], + 230mm[9"]
Cords get shorter all the time, because they break at the flex point near the handle.
I do like a longish cord; sometimes I take 5 minutes and replace them.
Oh! The agony!

[BadDog]

The only issue I have with the Dewalts is that a couple of them sound like they have gravel in the gear box, and that right out of the package - but until they quit...

Sounds like a badge brand of the same grinders HF sells. I bought the first Orange/Black around 2000. It was the only one I had for several years. But then my off road trucks began evolving into dedicated desert trucks and rock crawler buggies, and I grew tired of swapping wheels. And after all that relatively heavy use, I feared it would fail at the worst possible time. So I bought 4 more just like it. Even that first one is still going just fine now in 2019 after building countless projects ranging from off road fabrications, roll-cages, bumpers, tube buggies, link suspensions, big steel gates, concrete grinding/cutting, running 1/4" grinding wheels, cutting wheels (mostly steel, but masonry too), flap discs, knotted/crimped/cup wire brushing. And it sounded like the gear box was about to fail from the day I bought it.

When I bought the expansion set, I decided it would be smart to put some heavy grease in there. All were disassembled and some cakey substance that crumbled with no lubricating properties I could identify was dug out. I replaced that with some good heavy grease and they've run ever since, though not quieted down much.

That said, I also have 2 Makitas that I keep set up for heavy and/or most frequent use. Just because they are smoother with better ergonomics, but they really don't work any better.

All of the above are 4.5". For me, that covers 98% of my tasks (depth of cut and power, etc), inexpensive and readily available most anywhere, and gives me total interchangeability without worry about "do I have that in 4"?

And a 20 lb 9" monster (looks like from the 60s, art deco-ish, badges long gone) that fondly call "big-n-deadly" because it's guards are long gone (and the project to replace them is currently scheduled for late 2045, though looks like it may be late). The name is also appropriate because, like the similarly sized (weight!) and design drill motor I've got, I don't think it's possible to stall it when held in human hands. Those antiques sound much smoother than my HF grinders, but they keep doing the job.

I would go for the short cords on everything except for one thing. Most don't come with locks, and if they do, then they require special cords at twice the price. And the longer cords are also nice because I can put a receptacle box or strip where I'm working and plug in 4 or more at a time. No cord musical chairs (with too few chairs). Could do that with short cord too, but that multiplies the special locking cords, and still have to gather/store all those cords...

[SteveHGraham]

The short cord concept is intriguing, but if I don't want to switch wheels over and over, I also don't want to unplug and plug in. I want a Keith Fenner-type setup where there are always several grinders ready to go for different purposes.

I don't think I've ever actually ground anything with a grinder, except for a few brief moments. It's always cutting and using abrasive wheels that cut on the side. I almost wonder whether there is any point in having grinding wheels!

The Walter products look amazing. I ordered 10 of their trimmable flap wheels, and I also want a few cutoff wheels.

I looked at little grinders today at a real store. I think I may get a small Bosch and put a collet extension (already ordered) on it. I would be able to use the 1/4" collet for a number of things. My assumption is that when you use an extension, you probably don't need a powerful grinder, because you're not going to be leaning on it, so it's best to get a small grinder that's comfortable to use. Also possible: a small cordless job.

I want a Metabo 6" rat tail grinder. The dry saw is heavy and a pain to take down. My Chinese horizontal band saw is temperamental. The reciprocating saw is limited. Plasma is fiddly and only at its best on flat material. Cutting stuff with a big angle grinder looks very convenient.