$30 or under angle grinder

[pipsters]

Just wondering for those who have experience, what would you buy?

The $24 (after coupon) Harbor Freight "pro" angle grinder or

The $30 Skil angle grinder from wal-mart?


Need something for DIY household work, not anything more than that.

I have the HF Pro model now, it seems to vibrate just a bit, and the quick change angle guard on the Skil looks like it's worth $6...

Someone did a video comparing them

 

[itsvegas]

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-angle-grinder-95578.html

i have like 5 of these and love them. super loud but they work fine. im sure the only difference with the model you linked is the paddle switch. if that doesn't bother you, than you could pickup 2 of these for $30. or even 3 if you find the $10 coupon. then you'd never have to swap wheels out. (cutting/grinding/wirewheel)

 

[neonnblack]

I had a HF grinder for about 6 years until it finally crapped out, not bad for 10 bucks. I picked up the skil on after that it has lived most of its life unsheltered outside for the past year. Still works fine, i actually just used it and a flap disk to grind out the inside of a 55 gallon drum.

 

[NiteWolf]

I have to Blue paddle version from HFT an its been good for me.

 

[Fordman7795]

Used milwaukee imo. I have 2 that i got for about $20

 

[sk farmer]

i have heard the skil is pretty decent. i use better dewalt grinders but they are kind of a commodity. i have several, one with a grinding wheel, wire brush and sanding flap wheel to avoid frequent changes. many jobs require all three so it is easier to just leave them set up.

 

[supra90turbo]

My brother got the Skil to get himself out of a bind. It certainly worked, and still works for that matter, but for how long?

 

[zkling]

I know this is like 2x your price range, but I think you will enjoy it much more.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...word=angle+grinder&storeId=10051#.UQGnBmennPo

A friend of mine swears by those harborfreight $15 4.5" jobs. I really enjoy the dewalt series of 4.5" grinders. SO MUCH smoother to operate, and much more power/torque. I understand it will be for house use only, but I personally think those harborfreight ones are not enjoyable to use at all.

I once bought a 4.5" grinder from Big Lots of all places for like $8. Lets just say my dremel had more power. A friend borrowed it one time and told me how much he liked it. I told him to keep it.

I have used the skill, very underpowered (IMHO) for what it is. If you have intentions of using a flap wheel or wire cup forget it.

Sometimes home depot and lowes will run a sale on the $60 dewalts, down to the mid $40's. It is nice to spoil yourself on certain things.

 

[supra90turbo]

I have a 10+ year old Dewalt 4.5" that will rip itself out of my hands if I'm not careful. I'll stick with it, I would encourage anybody to buy the best one they can afford, a good one is definitely worth the price of admission.

 

[uncletater]

I have a HF and a hitachi. Both are pretty good. I also have a Bosch that has never been out of the box so I cant comment on that one yet.

 

[justanengineer]

Used milwaukee imo. I have 2 that i got for about $20

^^^This.

 

[crewchief888]

for another $10 or so, you could get a hitachi from lowes.

mine came with a blow molded case, and 5 extra wheels..

i have a couple older HF orange grinders, and a dewalt.

the orange HF models are noisy, and vibrate, but they've held up for over 5 years.

 

[03protege]

I prefer this version of the HF grinder and I have tried them all
http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-4-1-2-half-inch-angle-grinder-91223.html

I bought a Dewalt for the heavy duty stuff, but for flap disc and paint stripper disc and light duty grinding this thing rocks

I think I usually pay around $12-15

 

[pipsters]

I prefer this version of the HF grinder and I have tried them all
http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-4-1-2-half-inch-angle-grinder-91223.html

I bought a Dewalt for the heavy duty stuff, but for flap disc and paint stripper disc and light duty grinding this thing rocks

I think I usually pay around $12-15

Hmm interesting. I read that that was not the one to get. It is only 4.5 amps vs. the 6 amps for the "heavy duty" one and the one I got. I got the paddle one because I read it was safer.

 

[pipsters]

for another $10 or so, you could get a hitachi from lowes.

mine came with a blow molded case, and 5 extra wheels..

i have a couple older HF orange grinders, and a dewalt.

the orange HF models are noisy, and vibrate, but they've held up for over 5 years.

Case will go in the trash. I looked at the one you are describing but it's only 4.5 amps.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I bought a Craftsman Commercial refurb for about $25 on eBay. Works great !

 

[young_buck]

I know not many of you are from Canada but for those who are the mastercraft grinder at Canadian Tire frequently goes on sale for $19.99 and it is great for that price, has served me well for the year I have used it

 

[IndyGarage]

The thing that always breaks on the cheap ones is the switch. I had a Harbor Freight that lasted about 4 years before the switch broke - it worked fine, but didn't have a ton of power.

I bought a "Kawasaki" brand one off the clearance rack at Miers for I think $18. It worked exactly 1 time before the cheapo switch broke.

It had a nice feel to it and good power, but it's useless without a switch.

Lowes sells a 39.99 Rat tail 4 1/2 inch grinder by Porter Cable that is the best value in grinders I've found in awhile. I have two of them, and have beat the tar out of one of them and had no problems.

Sometimes Amazon has rebuilt Makitas for around $40. I have two of those that I found in a clearance 2 pack a couple years ago for about $90, and they work really nicely too, but they normally go for around $59 apiece.

 

[BWS]

I wore out 1/2 dz or so DeWalts.We use them with Diamond wheels for brickwork.Mainly slotting work for flashing.Take a 1x4 and stand it up the 3 1/2 way....say down on a roof/chimney....or pediment/wall,joint.When "step flashing" isn't appropriate.The 1x4 is simply a guide....you slot the vert wall's brick with angle grinder and toss 1x4.

Anyway...the brick dust eats grinders for lunch,haha.We price the job to cvr replacement costs.Got tired of the Dewalts,____'ed up switches(they ****).Porter cable came out with an angle grinder a few years ago....picked up two and haven't killed one yet?They were around 50$?

Grinding/prepping steel dosen't seem to be near as bad on the "innards".....

 

[sberry]

I am a career welder, used most of them, several in severe service. I have seen the Skil at Walmart but haven't ran it but can tell you this for a stone fact and have written about it here at length and the 30$ 7750 B&D from Walmart or other stores is by far an award winner by a long shot, on occasion someone has good life out of the HF stuff but have seen them quit the first day but this B&D which is based on the same chassis and internal parts as the industrial version,,, which it out performs and lasts by a long shot. I am finished with hi dollar grinders, bought 2 on sale from Menards a month ago and put on the shelf, if it has been like the last ones I am wasting my time, especially considering the cost this is one of the best grinders I have ever used and this includes Metabos etc that cost 5x as much.

Only thing I am not thrilled with is the switch like the DeWalt 402 has,,, same chassis again but in the strive to make this cheaper they made it better, cord last 5 years in ruff daily service and is still good, the MillW next to it is shot.

 

[mitusa]

Lowes sells a 39.99 Rat tail 4 1/2 inch grinder by Porter Cable that is the best value in grinders I've found in awhile. I have two of them, and have beat the tar out of one of them and had no problems.

I bought the same grinder......the handle makes it really comfortable to use and it has good power. I have Dewalt but I use this one if there isn't a space issue.

 

[KnurledNut]

id go with the hf.

another cheap option is this B&D for $30:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/7750.aspx

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_010W436769460001P?sid=KDx01192011x000001&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=33-134387201-2

 

[SantaAna12]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Makita-9557...LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7695545b&_uhb=1

These Makitas are dam hard to kill. Others around the same. This one ends on a Sunday....so you might have to let it go and look a bit to meet your 30.00 budget.
Good luck.

 

[5lima30]

I have to Blue paddle version from HFT an its been good for me.

+1, although I don't like the switch and it doesn't have as much power as my Makita.

 

[Fordman7795]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Makita-9557...LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7695545b&_uhb=1

These Makitas are dam hard to kill. Others around the same. This one ends on a Sunday....so you might have to let it go and look a bit to meet your 30.00 budget.
Good luck.

I also have a makita that i have had for 10-12 years and it has worked flawlessly.

 

[Scotsman1886]

20 odd years ago when I was welding fulltime the small grinders were still kinda new. I picked up a Craftsman pro model made by skill,,still works great. I have one of the orange Chicago ones from HF. Keep a cuting wheel in it,very happy with it.

 

[johnnie5]

my dad used to use 4 inch grinders all the time

he used $20 to $200 units and they would all last 3-6 months under regular work

he gave up buying the expensive ones and just kept buying the cheap ones

i think they prob used up all the motor brushes and then died

but for $20 it easy just to throw and replace

and for occasional use i wouldnt be buying expensive

 

[ryan t]

I've gotten good use out of the 4 1/2" red angel grinder from harborfreight. I've used it for probably 4 years pretty heavily and only had to replace the brushes once. Pretty good for the $24 I paid.

 

[pipsters]

So I bought the Skil. Returned the HF. By far the Skil is the better grinder for another $6. That tool-less angle guard attachment is excellent, as is the spanner storage in the handle. But it also packs way more power than that Pro HF one, even if they are rated the same. Much less vibration and is just a joy to use.

Probably will pick up one more so I can have grinding on one, and wire brush on the other.

 

[PCO6]

I know not many of you are from Canada but for those who are the mastercraft grinder at Canadian Tire frequently goes on sale for $19.99 and it is great for that price, has served me well for the year I have used it

Another vote for Mastercraft from CT. A lot of their power tools are actually pretty good.

 

[sberry]

id go with the hf.

another cheap option is this B&D for $30:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/7750.aspx

I havnt used the Skil much but as someone said,,, way different class tool for 6 extra bucks.
I have used the 7750 though, extensively and about as good as a grinder ever made from a practical standpoint and the bonus is the cost.

 

[cburnscrx]

id go with the hf.

another cheap option is this B&D for $30:
http://www.blackanddecker.com/power-tools/7750.aspx

I havnt used the Skil much but as someone said,,, way different class tool for 6 extra bucks.
I have used the 7750 though, extensively and about as good as a grinder ever made from a practical standpoint and the bonus is the cost.

I'll second the B&D 7750 as well. If you live near a Menards, you can pick them up on sale for $19.99 like I did a few weeks ago.

 

[Lhorn]

I have the old blue HF (with the sliding switch). I think that was considered the crappier of the ones available at the time, but it does a good job with a cutoff wheel or a flap disk for grinding down welds.

If you are going to have only one angle grinder, I'd think about getting one with a little more guts so it won't bog down when you had a big wire wheel or grinding disk on it. But those cheap HF grinders do a great job for lighter duty stuff.

 

[jmm]

Lowes sells a 39.99 Rat tail 4 1/2 inch grinder by Porter Cable that is the best value in grinders I've found in awhile. I have two of them, and have beat the tar out of one of them and had no problems.

Maybe 3-4 years back they used to put those same grinders on sale every other month, it seemed. Either 25-30 bucks. I bought one. Don't know if they go that low anymore, but for the money, you can't beat it.

 

[RCL]

I have three HF grinders, two are orange and the other is kind of maroon.
All have been put thru hell cleaning up Toyota axle housings and assorted other chores and still going strong.
First thing I do is clean out the goose grease that is in them and replace with synthetic.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

Six years ago I left my Makita at my winter home so I wouldn't have to bring it back and fourth, I was going to buy a new DeWalt once I got back to my summer home. I ended up buying one of the HF grinders instead that always have a super coupon for $9.99, I figured once it burned out I'd buy the Dewalt.....six years later I'm still waiting.

 

[wrench]

I bought the H F "industrial" angle grinder,because it has a paddle switch.It seemed a little noisy,so I took out the 4 screws that hold the gearcase together,and there was just a dab of grease in there.I packed it with good grease,and have used it for a year or so.It is nice and quiet now.

 

[sophijo]

I have a bunch; some HF (4) a Bosch, Dewalt, Kobalt, Milwaukee, Craftsman......the Harbor Freight are OK for what they are ($19), but will heat-up (not a good thing) when used much. You can get that HF extended warranty for a couple of dollars so when it wears out, exchange it or pitch it. The upper end tools will last and I can lean on them.

 

[TerryH]

I prefer this version of the HF grinder and I have tried them all
http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-4-1-2-half-inch-angle-grinder-91223.html

+1 on this version of the HF 4 1/2". I have 3 of them and they work great for me. Used the 20% off to get them for $17 each.