harbor freight grinder

[tommyxgun]

im looking for a grinder to smooth out some poor welds on my motorcycle. think this will do the job?

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-angle-grinder-91222.html

 

[archirelic]

You may want to check the Harbor Freight Pass/Fail thread for an in-depth reasoning on that grinder...might also save you an a**-chewing for not utilizing the Search feature.

 

[Horseshoe Jack]

Yeah, for awhile anyway. I'd be more worried about poor welds on my bike than trying to make them cosmetically pleasing, though...

 

[Grumpy365]

They work good.

Get 2 or 3, (one for a grinding wheel, one for a wire brush, one for the flap - abrasive grinding disk).

The one problem i have with them is when you turn it on, its on. There is no trigger or paddle, like a Dewalt, so if it jumps on you, it keeps runnning. Also, DON"T TAKE OFF THE GUARD. Without the guard, my fingers seem way to close to the wheel.

 

[pattenp]

If you'are looking for a grinder that's going to have limited use such as just using it to grind down some welds on your bike then it's fine. I've bought a couple of them and they don't hold up well under heavy use. The switches gave out on them.

 

[Vicegrip]

HF grinder is fine. Not like you are going to live long enough to wear it out. Smoothing out poor welds?

 

[t100]

wear ear and eye protection. they are ok, it's not a precision instrument anyway. don't use sanding disk, flapper wheel works better.

 

[DARK AGE 53]

for the money it's hard to beat item#95578..... $9.99, http://www.harborfreight.com/retail-flyer . Jan. 14,15,16 &17.

 

[crewchief888]

i have a couple of the HF orange grinders that ive been abusing for 4 years or so, and have held up pretty good for a $9.95 grinder.
the ones i have are notthe same ones that are listed in the current flyer.

i aso have a dewalt, and a hitachi.
fwiw the hitachi is a nice unit for the price.

 

[Case IH]

If you pull it out of the box and plug it in and it spins it should work fine...that is the major thing with HF items like that either they work as good as a $200 one or they dont even work as you pull them put of the box I guess it is luck of the draw

 

[tommyxgun]

HF grinder is fine. Not like you are going to live long enough to wear it out. Smoothing out poor welds?

daang

 

[kc-steve]

You can buy a lot of HF grinders for the price of a Milwaukee and I have both. I don't have experience with the one you show but it looks exactly like the orange one I own. The only problem I have had with it was the hallow plastic handle broke off. I was fortunate that it didn't happen when it was in use otherwise I might have lost a finger or two. Can't save enough money to cover losing an appendage though.

Steve

 

[Hiball]

I dont own any HF grinders but ive used some Cheap Farm and Home grinders in my Day. I have some Old Makita Grinders that have "Zero" vibration when using them, That is Huge if you have a big Job your doing. I cant speak for the New stuff and if your not gonna use your grinder very often i guess you cant go wrong with the Price.. I would defintely Keep the Receipt just in case you get a Lemon. IF i recall there are some issues with HF Grinders in the PASS/Fail thread.

 

[Dewaynep]

I bought one of them when they were $7 at a parking lot sale at the HF store. This style is a much better one than the older style with the long handle. It works well enough for the price. I have 2 of the cheep ones, one with a cup wire brush and the other with a cut-off wheel. I have a milwaukee with a grinding wheel on it. The Milwaukee is by far the best of the 3 but I bought it at a garage sale and only paid $20 for it. I say go for it. If you don't like it, take it back and get your money back.

 

[tpolley]

my dad has had a few of them. they're very weak. you can't load them very much before they stall out. +1 on the switches going bad. i think the switches get hot and burn up after continuous use. they're fine for light duty stuff like wire brushing. if you'll be doing alot of grinding, which it sounds like you will, i would spend the extra $90 and buy a milwaukee. or atleast a grinder with a higher amperage.
i have a milwaukee 10 amp i bought from home depot for around $100. its not any quieter or smoother than the harbor freight, but it sure has more power and the guard has a push button so you dont need a tool to rotate it. it doesn't get nearly as hot as dads harbor freight.

oh, and whatever you do... NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER buy cheap grinding wheels and wire brushes from harbor freight. i've had way too many fly appart. if you aren't wearing a mask and leathers when these things fly appart you will get effed up. also, when they aren't flying appart they wear out in minutes. i have a fourney grinding wheel i bought from tractor supply thats lasted me a few years. we went thru an entire package of grinding wheels from harbor freight just building one trailer a few summers ago. the brushes throw pieces of wire all over the place, too. i have a fourney wire brush thats lasted me a year or so.

 

[Jack Olsen]

It seems you're concerned about the wrong thing. Making bad welds look pretty won't make them any stronger.

Harbor Freight grinders are fine. I'm not sure what tpolley's dad is doing with them, but I have a hard time imaginging what you'd need to do with them to make them stall out. I have five of them and they get a lot of use.

Always wear a face shield when you're working with a grinder. Ear protection is also a must, if you don't want to experience cumulative and irreversible hearing loss.