Wore one out

Never had a HF angle grinder. Probably the only electric HF tool I don’t have! My dad had a 4” HF and even as little as he used it it didn’t last. I’ve always used Makita as my first one was one that I fished out of my FIL’s trash. All it needed was a set of bearings, brushes and dress the commutator and it went another 10yrs of hard daily use. Finally let the smoke out in pretty spectacular fashion :) Got a Makita 4.5” and almost 30yrs later it still goes every time I pick it up. Probably jinxed it now, but one of the main reason I won’t use other brands is they have those stupid dangerous paddle switches. To many times seen guys set them down on a cluttered fab bench and it get triggered. It also make no sense to me that you have to grip the very thing you should be able to switch off if something goes wrong. Only use thumb switches which is getting hard to find.
 
one more thing about the new vs old, is the gear size and the way they built it. The old was a nice big honking gear .. if I remember helical. The new was a smaller (straight gear if I remember). The old was one piece to the output, the new is 2 pieces.. Really garbage by comparison.

For the price you couldn't beat them. You could load up each with a different wheel.
 
I have other tools I refurbish, and I appreciate the fine craftsmanship you rarely see today.

But, these things are a commodity item. For what they cost, and what they can do I find the value exceptional.

YMMV

John
 
matthewsx said:
I have other tools I refurbish, and I appreciate the fine craftsmanship you rarely see today.

But, these things are a commodity item. For what they cost, and what they can do I find the value exceptional.

YMMV

John
Click to expand...
I can appreciate that. For me an angle grinder is more than a throw away because I don’t keep a bunch lying around. My angle grinder was by far my main tool when I was doing millwright work for 10yrs. I don’t have large hands and the cheaper grinders are bulky and clunky feeling which feels unsafe as I mostly use it one hand. Just like I can’t stand Craftsman wrenches, they feel clunky.

Makita put me solidly in their camp with that old 4” my FIL tossed. It looked used up and it was his only angle grinder for years with two other guys using it also. I never expected it to work much less last. But the fact the design hadn‘t changed and I could get any part for it even though it was almost 10yrs old and I got so many years of heavy use out it I became a fan. I’m not as sure about my 4.5 as it doesn’t have access to the brush holders on the outside of the case like the old 4”. But I’m not using it 24/7 like I used to.
 
I had a makita, I loaned to a friend. He destroyed it, He must have been grinding in a tight spot and the lock button got depressed while running, and wiped out the gear case. He gave it back and didn't say a thing. I was ******. Then he tells me he liked it so much he bought one for himself. He was a retired mechanic... Needless to say that and the response he gave me put a divide in our friendship. He never replaced it.

It was a great grinder.. smoother than the cheap hf, but way more $$$.. I wound up buying a dewalt eventually.. not as good as the makita, but it had a nice guard that required no tooling. The HF are good for the price. I won't knock them... I can't... I don't feel bad, and I can buy 7-10 or more for the price of the high end ones.
 
C-Bag said:
Never had a HF angle grinder. Probably the only electric HF tool I don’t have! My dad had a 4” HF and even as little as he used it it didn’t last. I’ve always used Makita as my first one was one that I fished out of my FIL’s trash. All it needed was a set of bearings, brushes and dress the commutator and it went another 10yrs of hard daily use. Finally let the smoke out in pretty spectacular fashion :) Got a Makita 4.5” and almost 30yrs later it still goes every time I pick it up. Probably jinxed it now, but one of the main reason I won’t use other brands is they have those stupid dangerous paddle switches. To many times seen guys set them down on a cluttered fab bench and it get triggered. It also make no sense to me that you have to grip the very thing you should be able to switch off if something goes wrong. Only use thumb switches which is getting hard to find.
Click to expand...
After a very brief affair with one of the $15 angle grinders, I bought a DeWalt 4 -1/2" angle grinder. That was over thirty years ago. my biggest issue is that the thumb switch doesn't stay locked reliably which requires keeping a thumb on the switch in use. When using a cutoff wheel, that puts your hand dangerously close to the wheel. Another issue was the insert for the auxiliary handle pulled out of the plastic housing. Epoxy didn't work so I made a new socket, threaded both inside and out and tapped the housing for it. I set the bushing in with epoxy and it is a solid repair.

I have a B & D 7" Wildcat angle grinder which is a beast at 2 hp. That is still going strong, no problems.
 
woodchucker said:
I had a makita, I loaned to a friend. He destroyed it, He must have been grinding in a tight spot and the lock button got depressed while running, and wiped out the gear case. He gave it back and didn't say a thing. I was ******. Then he tells me he liked it so much he bought one for himself. He was a retired mechanic... Needless to say that and the response he gave me put a divide in our friendship. He never replaced it.

It was a great grinder.. smoother than the cheap hf, but way more $$$.. I wound up buying a dewalt eventually.. not as good as the makita, but it had a nice guard that required no tooling. The HF are good for the price. I won't knock them... I can't... I don't feel bad, and I can buy 7-10 or more for the price of the high end ones.
Click to expand...
I used to have a friend like that... used to...
 
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