Angle-grinder on boat: What's worked for you?

[troppo]

With an interesting flash and bang, my decades old 500 watt 100 mm Ryobi angle-grinder blew up. Used it for a multitude of tasks at home and on my boat. On the boat I ran it from my Kipor 600 watt generator. The generator dropped some revs when I turned on the grinder but once spinning it all worked well. Loved it for fibreglass and ply work.

Could not find a replacement 500 watt angle-grinder so got a 620 watt Bosch for Aus $39. Obviously it would not run on my generator but I could work on bits of boat at home. The gearbox got so hot in minutes that eventually I took it back. I was slow taking it back so it was out of its 30 day replacement warranty and needed to be sent away for repair. However, the service lady took pity on me and decided instead to give me my money back.

Bought a Hitachi 730 watt angle-grinder (Aus $87) and the gear box does not get so hot. However, reading the fine print in the instructions, it recommends NOT using it for anything else beside grinding and cutting. Gahh, how hard is it to get a reasonable angle-grinder? Frustrating! Full story is in my blog.

So far, I have not been able to find a light angle-grinder I can use on my boat running from my little generator. For working at home I have tried two brands of angle-grinder, one which I reckon was overheating and one which suggests limited options of use.

I will keep the Hitachi and ignore the recommended limited use. It seems little different to my Ryobi which I used for wire brushing and sanding as well as cutting and grinding. Hopefully no problems. And I thought it would be easy in our advanced civilisation to replace my decades old angle-grinder with a better one.

What angle-grinder do you use and has it been good?

[GILow]

I've had a multitude, and each lasts less time the previous model, though each was cheaper than the previous model. I have done a lot of panel beating work, which is murder on small grinders.


Last time I went looking I had a lot of trouble finding one that had variable speed, but if you can find one I do recommend them. Aside from the extra control at low speed you can unload them a little and save the gearbox, plus I assume they draw less power at the lower settings (though that is not a given.).


The Hitachi stuff is usually pretty good from my experience, so I would be surprised if you have trouble with your new one regardless of the fine print.


Currently I have an absolutely stone age variable speed Makita from before they started producing "consumer grade" stuff. It is held together with electrical tape and if I showed up at the boat yard with it they would send me away before the insurance company found out. But it has outlasted three or four others, and will probably outlast the currently new Bosch.


I will give AEG a go when the Bosch goes toes up, I have been very impressed with an AEG drill I bought two years ago. If I understand the AEG thing correctly they are actually a custom build for Bunnings from someone like DeWalt or Milwauke? Anyway, whoever they are, the drill is proving to be brilliant.


Matt

[Zai]

I recently bought a Milwakee Fuel battery angel grinder. I havn't used it so much, but the times I have it seems to work good.
The place where I bought it say that many of the boat yards (working with steel) have been using these with good results.
We will see.

[iancoombe]

I have an old makita, it runs a little slow because our boat has 110 voltage and the grinder is 240, it gets me out of trouble on the water and connects to shore power when we have to use a marina.

[banjoship]

I will give AEG a go when the Bosch goes toes up, I have been very impressed with an AEG drill I bought two years ago. If I understand the AEG thing correctly they are actually a custom build for Bunnings from someone like DeWalt or Milwauke? Anyway, whoever they are, the drill is proving to be brilliant.


Matt[/QUOTE]

AEG is Kraut, been round for a long while.

I have a AEG 9 inch bought 35 years ago 2000 watt, maybe 2500. After long farm use it is now on the boat. The most dangerous thing on the boat.

I have an inherited 4.5 inch ryobi, it works ok for a consumer tool. I am surprised how good it is.

Lee


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[ausnp84]

Originally Posted by GILow

I will give AEG a go when the Bosch goes toes up, I have been very impressed with an AEG drill I bought two years ago. If I understand the AEG thing correctly they are actually a custom build for Bunnings from someone like DeWalt or Milwauke? Anyway, whoever they are, the drill is proving to be brilliant.

Matt

Bought an AEG cordless drill - battery died after a couple of months. I wouldn't recommend the brand.

I have a Bosch grinder (the green one, so handyman use - not professional). It's built me a steel boat and done countless other jobs. Used it for grinding, wire wheels, cutting, more grinding, etc etc. Friends swear by DeWalt or Makita...

n

[Wotname]

Bosch professional series (blue); 125mm (5"). Does serious work, makes handyman 4" grinders look like toys

[HappyMdRSailor]

I've had a Dewalt 4-1/2" similar to this one for 10-15 years of serious heavy duty work...

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWE402-...4+inch+grinder

I bet it has 1500 hours of time on it... Hands down the best small grinder I've owned...

[Reefmagnet]

5" grinder ( just about any reputable brand) will kick ass. I've got a 1400 watt Hitachi. Used for the really big jobs but can't be used with any finesse and certainly won't run on your genset. If you get one of these, you never need to buy disks as worn down 9" disks usually fit perfectly. When my old German made 400 watt B&D 4" grinder died after many years I ended up with a Hitachi 850 watt replacement. Fantastic grinder that will run all day and will do serious work. I've also got s Ryobi One 18v cordless 4" (or maybe it's 4 1/2") that is gutless, burns through batteries, is heavy and bulky, can't be locked into the "on" position, gets hot after a while and is a sickening colour. However it is fantastic for smaller maintenance jobs and is pretty useful for grinding of fibreglass where a corded tool is too aggressive. This is the grinder I will keep permanently on the boat.

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[a64pilot]

I used to be a contract welder many years ago, my grinders big and small were Makita.
I've still got them, and they still work, no overheating etc.

[SVTwilight]

All my Milwaukee power tools take a beating and keep coming back for more. I have less time on the angle grinder, but so far so good

[S/V Alchemy]

I have a steel boat. Grinders feature prominently. In Canada, we have a shop called Canadian Tire which has a lot of sales of Chinese knock-offs of DeWalt power tools and a nice returns policy. Their "house brand" is called "Mastercraft" and might be considered the equivalent of Sears' "Craftsman" tools or Black & Decker, which is also crap now. This means I use them until they blow up, eat their brushes or otherwise seize, and then they give me a new one of the same crap quality.

I also have a 4.5 inch Makita about 15 years old. And a Makita half-inch chuck variable-speed drill. And a Makita half-inch chuck torque drill (it runs at 500 RPM and can punch through half-inch steel plate, handy for engine stringers). I also have a 3/8" chuck Black & Decker variable-speed drill for light work that is about 40 years old that belongs to my late father. Works great. I have Ryobi and Makita battery drills and saws, which are handy, not critical.

You may be sensing a theme here. For the mundane jobs of flapdisks, light grinding or shaping aluminum, I use the junk grinders. For the "real" jobs, where accuracy and torque come into play, I use the serious tools.

I have never regretted spending more on a decent tool if its job is critical to my happiness. I have been surprised, but not often, when a "bargain" tool lasted a reasonably long time beyond what its price would have suggested.

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by troppo

Loved it for fibreglass and ply work.

This is what jumped out at me.

Have you tried a multi tool? Fiberglass works is LOADS easier and way way less messy.

The last time I used mine was to cut out several stainless bolts that were in a way tight spot. The metal cutting blade did an amazing job.

I still have a right angle grinder aboard. No question that it is the better tool for the job at times. But it gets way less use these days since I bought the multi tool. I wish I had discovered them years earlier.

You can spend from $40 to $400 for one. I started with a $40 unit and have not moved on yet. That was a few years ago, so I think they have gone up on the low end and down on the high end.

[minaret]

Milwaukee only for me, for many years.

[a64pilot]

A lot of the cheap high speed tools like angle grinders vibrate so badly they make my hands ache after a short time, I tend as much as possible to stay away from cheap tools.
I prefer whenever possible to spend on quality tools, thinking they will outlive me.