Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys I am in the market for a new grinder I was wondering if any one has input on the best one, I know this is subjective I have seen the Dewalt with the anti-vibration on the trigger hand and was wondering how it worked. Also if any one had a suggestions on any others.

main use is going to grind welds to flat and v out groves on some thicker steel.
Thanks,
jason

All the mainstream manufacturers have improved on vibration in recent years - I personally would not buy another Dewalt - some of their stuff is OK - but I think it's heavily promoted to sell & not great quality based on the grinders I've owned - not sure what makes are available where you live - but here I'd pick Makita or Hitachi first for reliability & parts availability - closely followed by Metabo & Bosch - they are both good but tend to be more expensive - many years ago I had a big heavy Milwaukee that lasted well - their current offering is clouded here by the merger with Atlas Copco & quality is not what it used to be on certain models - to a degree there is no best in grinders as how it feels to the user & what sort of deal can be found at local tool outlets tends to swing people more than color.

I have a Makita that's 31 years old and it is very heavy and I;m still quite sure that it has turned 10 times it's weight in metal into grinding dust. I have had a lot of different 4 1/2" grinders over the years and I still have the same 9" Makita, granted it doesn't get used to the same degree because of it's weight. So it's the only one in that size that I've owned personally but I have used a big Black and Decker at work and it's very old and heavy also.

You can find these at garage sales and buy them cheap, sometimes they just need a cord or brushes which are cheap. Most guys will wear out a 4 1/2" grinder before they would pick up their 9" so they end up collecting dust and get sold at garage sales.

Len

Well,
I've used the same 9in Milwaukee for as long as I can remember.

So old I can't hardly read the label.

I have 4 DeWalt 4.5 grinders, and those guys are troopers.

Best grinders you'll ever own.

Nut for big grinders, my Milwaukee has the least vibration, and has one heavy duty cord.

I believe it is 6000rpm, I have a B&D wildcat 9in that's 8000rpm, and that beast will kill a man....

I love my Milwaukee 9in.

And Dewalt for my 4.5's

I'll get some pics of my grinders today....

Good luck with what you choose, and let us know how you like it.
~John

I am wanting to eat a lot of metal quick as for parts and such there really isnt much here so if it goes down we just buy another one.

AKweldshop wrote:Well,
I've used the same 9in Milwaukee for as long as I can remember.

So old I can't hardly read the label.

I have 4 DeWalt 4.5 grinders, and those guys are troopers.

Best grinders you'll ever own.

Nut for big grinders, my Milwaukee has the least vibration, and has one heavy duty cord.

I believe it is 6000rpm, I have a B&D wildcat 9in that's 8000rpm, and that beast will kill a man....

I love my Milwaukee 9in.

And Dewalt for my 4.5's

I'll get some pics of my grinders today....

Good luck with what you choose, and let us know how you like it.
~John

I'm a some of the time weldor I have a project where I need a big grinder a couple times a year. Of course half the young men in town use my facilities. Their ingenuity with fabricating knows no bounds. A 9" angle grinder is one very versatile tool, Outfitted with a diamond blade (10") I've cut many hundreds of holes in masonry and poured concrete walls. One I'll never forget involved a former bank. It was built of 12" thick concrete blocks Each core in the block contained two high strength 5/8" re bar, vertical. Wire mesh 1/8"? was laid in mortar horizontal between each row. As it was laid each core was filled with high pressure concrete made of quartz. A finish layer of the hardest, glass-like clay brick surrounded the building. A rotary hammer was out of the question, brick would shatter in places I didn't want. Diamond blades would melt on the re-bar. I don't remember how many abrasive blades the project ate. I cut 6 2' square holes. I cut four days!

I failed to repack the grease in the gearbox in time, and ruined the pinion gear on the motor shaft. Oh, the tool was 30 years old! My "new" Milwaukee looks like it may outlast me.

Hey, Metabo have gone to the dogs here in Aus. Still the same price but wont even offer an industrial warranty.

Bosch seem okay now.

Mick

I don't know if this is still true, but DeWalt had two grades of grinders.

The ones sold at Home Depot are crap. Homeowner versions. Search for their industrial/commercial grade. These should not have the "lock on" feature, which industrial commercial sites and OSHA frown upon. A shop I worked in years ago had several DeWalt 9" grinders that were abused for years without issue.

The 4 1/2" grinders at work came from Home Depot, and the gearboxes get hotter than hell, and if you work them hard, you'll smell burnt enamel from the windings. The industrial version of the same tool weighs only a few grams more, and you can run it all day without a hot gearbox, or hot electric smell.

Steve S

The old ones are the good ones.....

true true...

~John

I just picked up a 7" Hitachi for $50 at Lowes. It was a display model and was missing the shaft hardware which I have spares to. Haven't got to use it much yet but it feels good so far.

There are only two names when it comes to power tools that I will invest in, Dewalt and MIlwaukee. I have ran both brands and have zero complaints about both. That is my personal preference.

Cant speak for the newer Dewalts, but a dewalt 4 1/2" angle grinder was one of the first power tools I bought when I got into the trades. Had it for 10 years now, and I bought it at home depot.

Like Otto said, there ARE two grades of grinders at home depot, the home owner ones and the professional ones. You can tell by the price, the lower amp ones are like 40 or 50 bucks, the higher amp ones are 100 bucks. I've ran the hell outta my grinder, and it never got more than warm. But the ones we got at work get about the same warmness to em. You should be wearing gloves with a grinder anyway though

Dewalt makes great grinders, Milwaukees are a bit better but much more expensive, and I've heard a hell of alot of good things about Mikita grinders(alot of guys swear by em), but I've never used one myself. There a bit cheaper than the other two brands.

Last thing, when you buy power tools, its better to buy a little more tool than a little less. Nothing worse than a job taking twice as long cause your using the wrong tool for the job. Its also how alot of injuries happen, trying to use a tool for a job that its not rated for.

Side note-anyone know any way to quiet a grinder down a bit? I'm just curious, maybe I'm getting older, but I can't stand how loud the damn things are anymore.

kermdawg wrote:Cant speak for the newer Dewalts, but a dewalt 4 1/2" angle grinder was one of the first power tools I bought when I got into the trades. Had it for 10 years now, and I bought it at home depot.

Like Otto said, there ARE two grades of grinders at home depot, the home owner ones and the professional ones. You can tell by the price, the lower amp ones are like 40 or 50 bucks, the higher amp ones are 100 bucks. I've ran the hell outta my grinder, and it never got more than warm. But the ones we got at work get about the same warmness to em. You should be wearing gloves with a grinder anyway though

Dewalt makes great grinders, Milwaukees are a bit better but much more expensive, and I've heard a hell of alot of good things about Mikita grinders(alot of guys swear by em), but I've never used one myself. There a bit cheaper than the other two brands.

Last thing, when you buy power tools, its better to buy a little more tool than a little less. Nothing worse than a job taking twice as long cause your using the wrong tool for the job. Its also how alot of injuries happen, trying to use a tool for a job that its not rated for.

Side note-anyone know any way to quiet a grinder down a bit? I'm just curious, maybe I'm getting older, but I can't stand how loud the damn things are anymore.

A trick I learned when my son (now 29) was little. Earplugs.

A trick I learned when my son (now 29) was little. Earplugs.

hehe. Ya I figured that one out. I was more worried about the neighbors, since im stayin in the city now and my neighbors back door is about oh, 10 feet away from where I'm set up to weld at. Makes me miss the country where I had to yell at my neighbors just to say hi!

kermdawg wrote:

A trick I learned when my son (now 29) was little. Earplugs.

hehe. Ya I figured that one out. I was more worried about the neighbors, since im stayin in the city now and my neighbors back door is about oh, 10 feet away from where I'm set up to weld at. Makes me miss the country where I had to yell at my neighbors just to say hi!

Set something on fire, then the neighbors couldn't hear it over the sirens from the fire trucks. That should buy you a little time. Other than building a devoted room with sound board up on the walls to grind in, I don't really think there is a practical way to quiet a grinder down.

Been running Makitas since 1980. Got a couple of Metabos.They're real smoothe for using cutoff wheels. Killed a few Dewalts and Milwaukees in the interrum. Had a bigazz Black and Decker that was unstoppable, It got stolen.
I guess if I had to choose one brand Makita would win.

I'll take my Hitachi's. People seem to forget that DeWalt is part of "Blackened Pecker".
They swallowed up Porter Cable too. No they use to make some tough tools back in the day.

I think I have settled on a grinder. It appears to be the only one with spiral bevel gearing.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-15 ... ifications

Cant go wrong, only thing is that 5,000rpm is a tad slow.

I like 6,000.

But, you've got the right brand, I've got two (2) Milwaukee 7/9 inch 6,000rpn big grinders, that I can assure you, have been in moderate use for over 30years.

Those Milwaukee machines have very heavy duty cords.


But, I also have four (4) DeWalt 4.5 inch angle grinders that have been in heavy use for the last 10yrs.
They all have cheap cords, been replaced several times.
One of them has a bearing noise, but, its been there for 2yrs....

Red and Yellow....

~John

At what speed do they just start sliding over and not getting through it?

I don't believe there is any given speed at which this occurs - the difference between small & large angle grinders percieved cut is mostly the surface area of wheel in contact with the work becomes bigger so more pressure needs to be applied - the rate of material removed has more to do with the wheel used - there is a huge variety available if you look around & the cheap ones you see in DIY places are usually not great - remember the grit type - grit size - type & hardness of bond need to suit your work - put two different wheels on the same grinder & it won't feel the same.

If you are looking for a heavy duty grinder I would avoid models also sold as a polisher / buffer - they tend to be lighter duty ( though never used the model you mention ) also don't get hung up on the gearing - almost all grinders I've stripped to repair have spiral cut gears - just most don't advertise the fact - most good brands will have well machined smooth running spindles - & I'll throw this out there - go to your nearest tool hire shop & see what brand / models they hire - they have done the research for you over years of experience as to what is cost effective - gives good service life with dubious operators ! - & is repairable at fair cost - they won't hire a tool that is ridiculously over priced - does'nt last in heavy use or can't be kept running for an acceptable lifespan - around here you will mostly find Makita / Hitachi.

I used to have a friend who had a large machine shop. He was not easy going on his tools. Most of his electric tools were Makita and he beat them up well and they kept running.

Well,
The main reason I say 5,000rpm is to slow, is because I had a 5,000rpm Milwaukee 7in....

I like 6,000, its a good medium between slow and fast, and more comfortable....

Grinding can be fun, if you can rest the grinder, and let her eat.

~John

Thanks guys I was looking at the Makita and Milwaukee now. Hope to figure out one tomarrow and use the heck out of her later this week.

6000 rpm is quite common on 9" grinders - but a bit slow on a 7" - they are usually based on a peripheral speed of 80 meters/ second so it's OK to put a 7" disc on a 9" grinder - but not the other way - it's not common on the larger grinders but you can get 2speed & variable speed models - never had one or felt the need - though I do have a variable 5" & find it useful for certain jobs .