Thread: Die Grinders (Electric, Corded)

After some recommendations on die grinders.
I'm looking to get a corded die grinder, mainly for light fab prep work, cleaning up my welds, rough finishing etc.. you know the drill. As such, it will see occasional use.

What wattage is recommended?
Brand recommendations? I see Hitachi, Makita, Metabo all have offerings... from 300W to 950W. If a better quality model is available used, I might snap it up if the value is there. There are even chinese models on ebay as little as $50.
Is variable speed control worth the premium price?

Chur.

I went an bought this one, it ticked all the boxes that I needed, a long nose for getting in those awkward places, was corded so less weight. I've actually kept it at work as it's more convenient there than home. I felt that it was good value for money, hard to justify an extra $200 for 350watts more, plus my gift card wouldn't allow me to get the next one up.
https://adelaidetools.com.au/makita-...er-gd0600.html
Higher wattage motors, I feel are more designed for industrial use where they could run for hours at a time.
HTH
Kryn

After my air die grinder died about a month ago, I went and got the same $169 Makita. Have only used it once so far, but seemed to do the job just fine.

I have a corded one sitting in the cupboard, never gets used, the cord is a PITA. i bought a cordless Milwaukee rotary tool, much, much better than corded varieties and it got a fair amount of work. Then I bought an Ozito cordless rotary tool, now the Milwaukee keeps the corded tool company.
This cordless Ozito rotary tool is amazing, batteries seem to hold their charge forever, it's light, small and has enough power for what I need. This tool has seen almost daily use since I bought it, polishing aluminium M/C bits and pieces, cleaning up welds, cutting steel, aluminium, wood, plastic.
A great little tool and at $29, it's damn good value.

Long nose Makitas. Got 2 of them, a 240V one and an 18V one. The 18V one is more convenient but the 240V one has more grunt.

Other brands could well be as good or better, but the Makitas work well enough for me.

PDW

Variable speed is convenient to have. It's easy to turn the noise down if need be that way and you could use a variety of different consumables.

Do you plan to just use carbide burrs.

+1 on the variable speed.

I couldn't wait and ended up getting a Makita 750watt unit a year or so ago. Heaps of grunt and variable speed however I regret not waiting to get a Metabo equivalent (710watt?, it has the spindle lock button) and also variable speed.

The spindle lock is a huge plus imo, especially if changing out bits frequently, it also has an added bonus of only having 1 spanner to lose.

Originally Posted by Jon_77

The spindle lock is a huge plus imo, especially if changing out bits frequently, it also has an added bonus of only having 1 spanner to lose.

Agree on that - I have 2 sets of spanners for the Makita grinders, usually means I can find one set when I need to. A spindle lock would be good.

PDW

Originally Posted by Com_VC

Variable speed is convenient to have. It's easy to turn the noise down if need be that way and you could use a variety of different consumables.

Do you plan to just use carbide burrs.

I've got an abrasive kit that was purchased some time back for a port and polish job on some cylinder heads... they would be on the cards in addition to the burrs.

I prefer Makita only because they seem to hang on to there models for ever unlike Metabo who seem to change the design every few years. I guess this makes finding parts easier for the Makita. Though it's probably not an issue for you and will last you a lift time.

You may want to also consider a paddle switch rather than an on - off type switch as you will have more control of it that way.

Also be wary that low and high speed versions are available. I think for what you will be doing the high speed version will suit.

Also some run different sized collets 6mm vs 6.35mm, so make sure they suit bits that you have or check that you can purchase the correct collets for it.

My short nose makita only came with a 6mm collet, but the manual lists part numbers for 1/4",1/8" and 3mm.

I have a Hitachi, quite old, has served me well and I made up a clamp arrangement for the toolpost on my lathe and use it for precision grinding on real hard stuff.
Rgds,
Crocy.

My interest in battery powered tools is very limited. Most of the tools I could buy with a battery go through phases of use. Sometimes Ill need the tool very frequently, possibly frequently enough that Ill want a supply of batteries to keep progress going. Other times it will sit on a shelf for months at a time with zero use. I had an 18v cordless drill that experienced exactly this, only to have the battery face its eventual death, leaving me with the prospect of either buying a new battery at fairly significant cost, or binning an otherwise very good condition drill. A 240V tool can sit on the shelf for years between uses and be ready to go when needed. Its going to have more grunt, especially when youre getting towards the end of the batterys life.

Unless you need the functionality that a cordless tool allows, I couldnt justify buying one. Ive got a 240V makita long nose die grinder and its bloody fantastic. A spindle lock would be nice, weilding two spanners can be a little fiddly. Ive never wanted more wattage and have had the tool running for long periods of time, a couple of hours per sitting, with no dramas.

I agree a corded die grinder would be the way to go but my 3 battery brushless drills would be amongst the most used tools in my shed.
With 4 batteries I always have one in the charger so I never run out.
I mainly work on small stuff so for assembly and disassembly they act as fast screw and nut/bolt drivers.
When I get a few more pennies I want to purchase a right angle cordless driver.

One of the other common uses for my drills is drilling and tapping thin steel, Al and plastic so unless I'm doing accurate work I typically would have one drill holding a tap, one wth the tap drill and one with the drill size for the screw, or sometimes a CS or. . . . . They are also very useful when prototyping with materials like MDF.
I have a number of corded drills and do use these from time to time but the batteries on the cordless drills last so long I care rarely pull out the corded versions.

The other battery tool I use a lot is my reciprocating saw - not so often in the shed but in the garden

I agree that 240V tools are more powerful and if you're using them for long periods at a time, a much better way to go - PROVIDED you're close to a 240V outlet or extension lead.

My battery die grinder got a lot of use dressing stainless welds etc on the boat. The battery angle grinder ideal for cutting off stuff using a 1mm cutoff disk.

Like Bob my battery drills and impact drivers get very extensive use. They have 5 AH battery packs so last quite a while between charges. The angle grinder, die grinder and circular saw eat power, OTOH, and are underpowered WRT the 240V models.

But they're *convenient*. Especially away from power sources. Not a problem if everything you do is in the shed/house or say 25m from one. I have acreage, a boat on a mooring and work on other peoples' projects. It's really convenient to pick up a bag of battery tools and not need an extension lead etc. Or load a gen set into the flat tray.

Same reason I have a Paslode gas powered nail gun that gets used 10X as frequently as my air powered one. No bloody air hose to get tangled and run out of length at the most inconvenient time/place.

Which is why, when it comes to die grinders and other small power tools, I have both. OTOH if I need to drill a serious hole, out comes the 240V geared drill and likewise, for grinding, the 240V angle grinders.

PDW