Re: Good call, John! Current Harbor .....


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Posted by David Sherman on Saturday, July 13, 2002 at 5:24PM :

In Reply to: Good call, John! Current Harbor ..... posted by Dale D. (NM) on Saturday, July 13, 2002 at 4:47PM :

Another advantage of the cheapies is you can get two and put a grinding wheel on one and knotted wire cup brush on the other. That's really handy when doing any kind of machinery cleanup or welding.

I agree the harbor freight grinder can't be beat for $18. It took me two years of heavy use to break mine, and all that's wrong is the pin to lock the rotor for removing the wheel is broken. I figured it was time to get a top-quality grinder, so I went to the real tool store to buy a Milwaukie but the guy talked me into a Metabo grinder. I'm still not convinced that it's any better than a Milwaukie, though. I still keep the wire brush on the harbor freight one, and I picked up another harbor freight one for when I have to leave tools at a place where they might "walk".

I am very skeptical of Sears power tools because every Sears/Craftsman tool I've owned that had a univeral (brush-type) motor in it has ended up with the motor burning out. 3 motors up in smoke is enough for me. Milwaukie motors have built-in overtemperature protection so no matter how hard you abuse it, the worst that will happen is it will quit until it cools down.

I tend to think 4-1/2" is about right for normal use. A bigger grinder is harder to control, and there's many times when it's nice to be able to hold the grinder with one hand and steady the work with the other. This is even more important with a wire brush on it since the brush has more inertia and can tend to catch on things. Obviously if you're building a battleship or a nuclear power plant, it's a different story, but I'd stick with 5" or less for shop use.

When using a wire wheel, welding gloves can be handy to avoid skinning your hands and arms if it catches on something. Also, a sturdy shirt and pants will keep wires from getting embedded in your belly. I learned both of these things the hard way.

An angle grinder is one of those "how did I ever get by without it?" tools. Even if you just get a harbor freight one, you'll find out you use it for way more than you ever thought you would. Harbor freight also has 10-packs of grinding wheels on sale cheaply now and then. Grizzly has the best prices I've seen on cup brushes, knotted or crimped.



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