American Locomotive
Well-known member
So I recently picked up a DeWalt DWE43231VS brushless corded variable speed angle grinder.
I have a ~6 amp 4.5" Bosch angle grinder that was okay, and a couple of giant Black and Decker industrial 9" grinders (before B&D started making cheap tools), but I really wanted smaller angle grinder that packed some power.
I was looking at Metabo, Makita and Bosch, when I came across this DeWalt. Being corded and brushless intrigued me. Given that brushless motors tend to be more efficient than brush motors, it should pack some serious power since it's a 13A rated tool. Additionally, it has a coast-down brake that I was really interested in.
Positives:
Initial Impressions:
- For $200, you don't get much in the box. Just the grinder, basic handle, and a removal tool. No bag or blow-molded case.
- High quality cord, very flexible and heavy duty
- Grinder is big, and it is heavy. Very solid feeling unit, and seems very well put together.
- Air intake has filter screens to keep debris out of motor - very neat!
In Operation
- Tons and tons of power, way more than my 4.5" Bosch
- The disc brake works awesome. As soon as you turn the power off, it rapidly stops the disc. Even big heavy cup wheels are stopped quickly. It's so nice being able to immediately put the grinder down without waiting for it to stop, or digging it into a surface.
- Variable Speed works awesome. Very useful for wire wheels, and unlike other variable speed grinders I've used, it regulates speed extremely well. You can really crank down on it, and you can feel it increase motor power to maintain speed precisely.
- Quick change Guard works well. It's pretty much a given on most high-end grinders these days, but still worth mentioning.
- It really lets you work the motor hard before it cuts out on overload safety. All of the brushless tools I've used don't really let you bog down the motor before cutting out. This thing lets you push it nearly to stalling before it gives up. Very useful when the cut starts to bind. It operates very much like a traditional "dumb" grinder. If you do stall it, it will however cut out and protect the grinder (and you).
- Very low vibration. This thing is definitely a smooth operator. Even with a giant well-used cup wheel that shakes you to death on a "lesser" grinder, it still feels smooth with no vibration.
Negatives:
In Operation
- It uses this weird two-piece spring loaded retaining nut. I don't really understand the purpose of it. It requires you to match a thin metal tang up with a slot in the disc arbor. A friend told me all of the new DeWalt grinders use it, and the nuts break and jam up all the time. We'll see with this one. It definitely makes putting a disc on slightly more annoying.
- Noise. This thing is LOUD. I was really hoping with the brushless motor it would be quiet like other brushless grinders I've seen, but it absolutely screams. The cooling fan is loud, the gearbox is loud - everything is loud. It's almost painfully loud at full speed without even cutting anything.
Fit and Finish
The air intake screen assembly doesn't perfectly match up with the rest of the motor housing and the machining on the slot they milled into the arbor isn't super great, with some noticeable burs. Doesn't affect operation or threading of the nut in anyway though. Really pretty minor things, but for the price I was expecting perfection.
Overall:
I am very happy with this grinder. It looks and feels like a $200 tool (besides some minor things). It's extremely smooth, and extremely powerful, and the variable speed function works awesome. It's also available in 6", rat-tail and paddle switch variants.
However, shortly after I bought it, most retailers went out of stock of it. It's now showing back up in stock in several places, but it now costs $250-280. I don't know if DeWalt made some changes, but at $280 I really don't think it's worth buying. That's high-end Metabo territory, and you don't get things like the slick vibration isolated handle or the quick-disc release feature.
I have a ~6 amp 4.5" Bosch angle grinder that was okay, and a couple of giant Black and Decker industrial 9" grinders (before B&D started making cheap tools), but I really wanted smaller angle grinder that packed some power.
I was looking at Metabo, Makita and Bosch, when I came across this DeWalt. Being corded and brushless intrigued me. Given that brushless motors tend to be more efficient than brush motors, it should pack some serious power since it's a 13A rated tool. Additionally, it has a coast-down brake that I was really interested in.
Positives:
Initial Impressions:
- For $200, you don't get much in the box. Just the grinder, basic handle, and a removal tool. No bag or blow-molded case.
- High quality cord, very flexible and heavy duty
- Grinder is big, and it is heavy. Very solid feeling unit, and seems very well put together.
- Air intake has filter screens to keep debris out of motor - very neat!
In Operation
- Tons and tons of power, way more than my 4.5" Bosch
- The disc brake works awesome. As soon as you turn the power off, it rapidly stops the disc. Even big heavy cup wheels are stopped quickly. It's so nice being able to immediately put the grinder down without waiting for it to stop, or digging it into a surface.
- Variable Speed works awesome. Very useful for wire wheels, and unlike other variable speed grinders I've used, it regulates speed extremely well. You can really crank down on it, and you can feel it increase motor power to maintain speed precisely.
- Quick change Guard works well. It's pretty much a given on most high-end grinders these days, but still worth mentioning.
- It really lets you work the motor hard before it cuts out on overload safety. All of the brushless tools I've used don't really let you bog down the motor before cutting out. This thing lets you push it nearly to stalling before it gives up. Very useful when the cut starts to bind. It operates very much like a traditional "dumb" grinder. If you do stall it, it will however cut out and protect the grinder (and you).
- Very low vibration. This thing is definitely a smooth operator. Even with a giant well-used cup wheel that shakes you to death on a "lesser" grinder, it still feels smooth with no vibration.
Negatives:
In Operation
- It uses this weird two-piece spring loaded retaining nut. I don't really understand the purpose of it. It requires you to match a thin metal tang up with a slot in the disc arbor. A friend told me all of the new DeWalt grinders use it, and the nuts break and jam up all the time. We'll see with this one. It definitely makes putting a disc on slightly more annoying.
- Noise. This thing is LOUD. I was really hoping with the brushless motor it would be quiet like other brushless grinders I've seen, but it absolutely screams. The cooling fan is loud, the gearbox is loud - everything is loud. It's almost painfully loud at full speed without even cutting anything.
Fit and Finish
The air intake screen assembly doesn't perfectly match up with the rest of the motor housing and the machining on the slot they milled into the arbor isn't super great, with some noticeable burs. Doesn't affect operation or threading of the nut in anyway though. Really pretty minor things, but for the price I was expecting perfection.
Overall:
I am very happy with this grinder. It looks and feels like a $200 tool (besides some minor things). It's extremely smooth, and extremely powerful, and the variable speed function works awesome. It's also available in 6", rat-tail and paddle switch variants.
However, shortly after I bought it, most retailers went out of stock of it. It's now showing back up in stock in several places, but it now costs $250-280. I don't know if DeWalt made some changes, but at $280 I really don't think it's worth buying. That's high-end Metabo territory, and you don't get things like the slick vibration isolated handle or the quick-disc release feature.
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