To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Snap on vs Mac die grinders.

Ram Hemi

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2015
Messages
100
Location
Sudbury, Ontario
Anyone ever used both? My cp is just getting to weak to cut through things in a timely fashion or sand things with flap wheels, it
Does work but it takes a while. I want something that isn't going to bog down so much. The .5 hp snap on is around $300 CDN and the .5 hp Mac is around $200. Fair bit of price difference. A guy at work has the 1 hp snappy and said it doesn't bog no matter what you do to it, not looking
To spend that much, I do use my doe grinder almost every day though.
 
Last edited:
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Advan

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2014
Messages
442
Location
Ontario, Canada
Ok..... So a 1/2hp CP860 is half the price of the rip-off snap on ****, and an IR is even less. Jet also makes a great one for a lot less money.
 

hrichard

Active member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
32
Location
Camden, DE
I paid 165 for a 1hp snappy from my dealer about 5 months ago. Use it almost everyday and it is amazing! Wait for it to go on sale and it is def worth it. Full price......not so much, although it is very nice, I couldn't justify 350 on a die grinder

Sent from my SM-S902L using Tapatalk
 
OP
R

Ram Hemi

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2015
Messages
100
Location
Sudbury, Ontario
Remember these are Canadian prices. They have it in their "heavy duty" flyer right now but it doesn't actually have a sale price, just the regular price and a great buy type of thing I think.
 

md21722

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
1,840
Location
Mt Juliet, TN
Die grinders come in different power levels, 0.33, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.9, 1.0, 1.0+ HP. The more power the more air they use and the bigger they are. For a 2-3" Roloc wheel or flaps I don't think you need a huge one. Some of the imports from Taiwan are pretty good, like Astro Pneumatic and Air cat. If you want a truck brand you may want to look at the smaller sized one from Snap On. I had a Snap On 0.5 HP and sold it. I felt it was too bulky and used too much air.
 

Greg85mcss

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 9, 2015
Messages
760
Location
Frederick MD
The senior tech in my shop is a die hard snap on guy. He replaced his old mac with a snap on & hated it. They had a bogo recently for the straight & 90 degree 1/2 hp. Not sure if it's still going on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Skin

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
11,713
Location
Boston
The MAC AG60 is a nice grinder but they don't offer it anymore. All their newer stuff is Taiwan as opposed to the USA OEM they were sourcing from prior. Not saying the newer Taiwan stuff is bad (actually nice with directional exhausts and finger friendly safety) just that you can probably find an equivalent quite a bit cheaper if you look hard enough.

If you don't mind used the recently discontinued AG60 and older ADG400 are workhorses. No experience with the new ones.

The PT400 is nice but its large and the torque can actually be a hindrance if you're just trying to polish something small. Some of the Souix models are basically identical to Snap-On save the actual cushion body sleeve.
 
Last edited:

JUNK-MAN

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2014
Messages
1,485
Location
PA
I have a snap on/blue point, and its pretty good but could be better. I'd like to try an IR or mac.
 
OP
R

Ram Hemi

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 18, 2015
Messages
100
Location
Sudbury, Ontario
Been looking on cp's website, didn't realize they had so many die grinders, there must be 30 + models. Looking at some of the .5 - .7 hp ones, upwards of 30 cfm??? Snap on rates their 1 hp die grinder at 5 cfm, which is probably a little low, my .3 hp cp is rated at 5 cfm.
 

Schurkey

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
2,378
Location
The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
I have a Mac half-horsepower die grinder that I've had since the mid-'90s. Far as I know the premium Mac die grinder(s) were made by SP Air in Japan. My elderly Mac sure looks like what I see in the SP Air catalog as the SP-7220, at any rate. I was just on the Mac web-site, and I don't see an aluminum-bodied die grinder like mine any more.

My Mac has hundreds if not thousands of hours on it, carving all sorts of plate- and sheet-steel (and some little bit of cast iron) using either rotary files or abrasive cutoff wheels. It went back to Mac for service once, and I put bearings in it myself once.

The company I worked for supplied "die grinders" for us to use. These were ordinary CP and IR grinders (Not "mini" die grinders) and this Mac would destroy them for torque.

Again, far as I can tell, for a hundred dollars American you can get an SP Air Made-in-Japan grinder just like the wonderful one I have, from Amazon. More, I suppose, in Canada.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002O4WR8S/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I also bought a used Snap-On long-snout die grinder similar to, but older than the current-model half-horsepower PT200AL. I like it very much. I don't care for the plastic housing although I can't argue that it's easier to hold onto than the aluminum of my Mac The Mac gets terribly cold with all the air rushing through it. The plastic housing offers some insulation. I learned to really appreciate the longer housing of the Snap-On for cylinder-head porting. Using two hands makes it easier to control than my Mac. The Snap-On guy gave me three more Snap-On half-horse die grinders that had failed and been traded-in. I had to replace the collet nuts on all three, and I pulled 'em apart for cleaning, lube, and inspection. They all work to varying degrees, but the molded-in threads in the plastic housing that hold the grinder together are weak on the ones I have. The Snap-On and the Mac have similar power, which is to say that they totally kick-*** on the common CPs and IRs.

Yes, the one-horsepower Snappy looks attractive. I don't grind like I once did...but even so, there may be one in my future. I can't decide if I want the long snout PT400L, or just the regular PT400.
 
Last edited:

[memphis]

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2016
Messages
129
If I'm not mistaken, I believe the mini grinder two pack MAC offers are actually Sunex grinders # SX230B & SX232B

I could be wrong about that but... just from my searching
 

md21722

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
Messages
1,840
Location
Mt Juliet, TN
Been looking on cp's website, didn't realize they had so many die grinders, there must be 30 + models. Looking at some of the .5 - .7 hp ones, upwards of 30 cfm??? Snap on rates their 1 hp die grinder at 5 cfm, which is probably a little low, my .3 hp cp is rated at 5 cfm.

They rate them at 5 cfm, 25-35 scfm. You go with the bigger number for sizing your air needs if you need to run it for a while. Most 0.3 HP use 14-18 scfm.
 

nikh

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
47
Location
Ava NY
For the money you are talking about, I would hunt around on ebay for a used Dotco, or maybe an Atlas Copco. I,ve got one of each, and they are great tools. The dotco has a great trigger and is perfect for finer work. While the atlas is a little more on/off and much louder, but will handle heavy stock removal and cutting without slowing down at all.

Either way, they are more of an industrial grade tool, and at least to me feel much nicer to use than any of the mac, snap on, cornwell... air tools I have tried.
 

Hammer1963

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
2,048
Location
Kentucky
I have used both Snap-on and Matco die grinders for many years and have had ZERO issues from either brand. I generally use the 1/2 HP models but do own a 1/3 HP Snap-on and a 1 HP Snap-on. All work well for specific jobs. The 1 HP is incredibly stout. I have extras and would make you a great deal. Send me a PM if you are interested
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom