Thread: Ozito Angle Grinder switch wont turn off

In 2006 I got four of the cheapest possible powertools for Christmas. They came from either bunnings or supercheap, cant remember. Brand was 'maximate' or some such thing. They cost $10 each and I got a 100mm grinder, a jigsaw, an orbital sander and a power drill.


The grinder was the first to go – it didn’t last one cut. It made about 400mm of the way through about 1200mms worth of cuts that I had to make in 3mm plate steel and then it caught fire. I replaced it with a 125mm Makita that I used heavily for 9 years until it was stolen this year by one of the tradies working on my extension.

Next to blow up was the drill. Iwas using it to crush grain for home brewing beer (powering a rollermill). It lasted about 5 minutes in this scenario before it caught fire, but I was abusing it. I don’t think power drills are meant to run at low RPMs under such significant load. It was fine for about 3 years of general drilling before this. I replaced it with a Makita 18v drill that I still have.

Third to go was the jigsaw. The blade guide snapped off during use not long after the drill burnt out. I hardly used this tool at all, as I don’t use a jigsaw that often, however nominally it did last 4 years. My wife gave me a Makita for xmas a year or so after this one broke which I still have (and still rarely use).

The last one to pack it in was the orbital sander. It broke a month ago, one of the moving parts inside that makes it vibrate. Motors still fine and this tool got used a lot. I rate it as pretty good value given it was only $10! Still, I will probably replace it with a good one and theres no surprised what colour it will be. I have become quite brand loyal to Makita not only after my positive experiences with them over the years but also from watching my tradie mates use their stuff for a living for well over 10 years now.

I have some Ozito stuff at home too (a circ saw, a dremel and a recipro)and I reckon they get a bad wrap. They are definitely better tools than the maximate stuff I had but obviously not as good as the bigger brands. I think for light or occasional use they are worth a gamble – and given that Bunnings readily accept returns if they burn out you can take them back and upgrade to something else.

Originally Posted by 19brendan81

I have some Ozito stuff at home too (a circ saw, a dremel and a recipro)and I reckon they get a bad wrap. They are definitely better tools than the maximate stuff I had but obviously not as good as the bigger brands. I think for light or occasional use they are worth a gamble – and given that Bunnings readily accept returns if they burn out you can take them back and upgrade to something else.

True. They are a low risk purchase. I also have 2 identical 18v GMC cordless drills. One has been given a beating for many years. The other was bought real cheap in a runout sale as I was so pleased with the first one. Well worth the money. I have a small Ozito circ saw and a 909 (Masters) 12in Sliding Compound Mitre Saw (SCMS) that have both served me well. There is a long story regarding SCMS's that was caused by very poor precision machining on almost every saw I ever looked at and that included right up to the high end brands. It was like they were all made in the same factory. Sometimes expensive is not good. The 909 did not have the same problem. Maybe someone realised the fault and fixed it. I don't know. I haven't bothered looking since.

I also paid over $300 for a corded Bosch recirc saw for a specific job. It finished this job ok. This did not involve a lot of work or effort. Just cutting off nails under the house. A year or more later I wanted to use it again and broke the blade locking lever removing the blade that was in it. It broke clean so no evidence of previous damage. It
just looked like metal fatigue. It cost about $80 plus a long long wait to fix it. It has been fine since but does not get much use.

I have a Makita orbital grinder that is pretty old. The rubber pad that the paper sticks to, and cushions the surface is perished. I turned it on and it chucked a couple of pieces of rubber at me at high speed. Put me off using it I can tell you. I don't know whether to replace the pad ($60) or buy a new sander.

Dean

I have an Ozito 9" angle grinder, $95-00, soft start, it has taken 1 hell of a pounding that I have given professional makes as well and it leaves the pro's in its wake. I also have an Icon (Mitre 10 brand) $90-00, recipro that has taken similar abuse and it is the smoothest recipro I have ever used. Have a Bosch 125mm angle grinder and planer, brilliant, all my drills battery and corded and power saws all Makita, brilliant. Tried Ryobi, garbage, with the exception of a jig saw, very good.

Originally Posted by rwbuild

I have an Ozito 9" angle grinder, $95-00, soft start, it has taken 1 hell of a pounding that I have given professional makes as well and it leaves the pro's in its wake. I also have an Icon (Mitre 10 brand) $90-00, recipro that has taken similar abuse and it is the smoothest recipro I have ever used. Have a Bosch 125mm angle grinder and planer, brilliant, all my drills battery and corded and power saws all Makita, brilliant. Tried Ryobi, garbage, with the exception of a jig saw, very good.

There used to be a blue range of Ryobi tools. Better quality. My angle grinder was one. I also have a blue Ryobi corded drill that will tear your arm off before stopping. It has also done a huge amount of work and is still going strong.

I won't buy Ryobi now.

Dean

I've bought a few Ozito tools in the past. Most have failed through normal use. The worst of them was a 10" compound sliding mitre saw. Somehow the saw blade arbor screw came loose and the blade left the arbor but fortunately for me it was retained within the guard assembly but protruding through the clear plastic cowell. I can tell you it was frightening. From memory the lever mechanism came loose jammed the blade which cause the problem. The next to go was a random orbit oscillating sander. The packaging warned "only for occasional use" , stupid me didn't read the fine print in the shop. Anyway after a couple of hours sanding a cabinet the shaft bearing was shot (and it was a roller bearing, not sealed or shielded). The jig saw also broke down after not much use and it stopped reciprocating. Realistically they are only occasional use tools.

Now the best tool they ever made was the Rotary Hammer Drill. I used one when digging the foundations for my house. It moved a heck of a lot of sandstone and concrete and I would estimate several tonne. I also used it to demolish a couple of brick walls, piers and clean the bricks. They made a mistake with that tool because it worked too well and only cost $70. Unfortunately I loaned it out and the user broke the side grip, the weakest point on the drill. I got a new replacement drill and a pat on the back because a spare side grip was no longer available. The new one is a POS and the first time I used it, it stopped hammering, I'm not sure it hammered at all, tt's useless. I'm going to get my original one back.

I also found the saw mentioned above wore out brushes very rapidly and no replacements can be had from bunnings. I found some makita ones that fit perfectly. When the brushes go I think you're supposed to throw the tool out.

I think you generally get what you pay for (most of the time anyway). I did have an ozito 125mm grinder that exploded in my hand. The spindle lock spring was always very weak and it must have engaged while I was grinding...big bang and lots of metal flying around! It was over before I had time to react. Found the head a long way away.. It was well used and it got me started when I didn't have a tool budget to suit better tools.

I would have rather it went out in a gentle puff of smoke though.

I still have the big ozito hammer drill I bought years ago. That drill still gets me out of trouble from time to time drilling out deep 16mm holes in fence posts for barbed wire.. Best $90 cheapie so far.

I have been stung buy big brand name gear which is disappointing. I'm sticking with Mak tools now as they have always outlasted every other brand of tool I own. I have yet to be come across a dud except one of their 18v l ion cordless drills... That one is a little less than heavy duty.
The best I have used were the first Milwaukee V28 drills.. They were unbreakable. I gave them away after flogging a pair of them for 6years.. It's a shame they don't still make them that tough anymore.

The Mak 125mm grinders at bunnies are a bargain... I have three of them and they get flogged. Bosch make a good grinder as well.

Maktec grinders are great.
Ive thrashed one cutting tiles and steel for a few years and its still going strong

Can't say I have ever heard anyone complain about maktec. I have only a 185mm saw...that I turned into a little table saw... it's a hard life for a little saw. It still goes.

I have used a few of their other tools. All worked fine..at least they were not hiding the fact that they were releasing an economy line.