New Makita Angle Grinder - Paralised by choice

Hi All,

I'm in the market for a new small corded angle grinder after the recent death of an old 4 inch Dewalt. I have a 9 inch Makita so really just need something smaller and easier to move around. Its only for garage use so corded would be the preference. Very basic grinding and cutting tasks. I do use the Arbortec attachments - cutting wheel and sander.

Anyway I thought it would be a simple matter of selecting the size and being done with it. I am amazed looking at the Makita that there are so many different models - I guess there are exclusive models for different retailers with very similar specs. The compare function of their website sheds little light on the differences to make it useless. I'm happy to spend up to the $130 range and would be looking at the 5 inch simply as I found the wheels didn't last all that long with the 4 inch.

For those with experience of the Arbortec is the 5 inch "nimble" enough or should I go with the 4 inch?

Could anybody shed some light onto the differences.

Cheers

Stinky.

115 mm - 4 1/2” is the sweet spot IMHO. Small enough to handle but very common / most common size wheel. Not much ever goes wrong with grinders of reputable brands so get what looks comfortable. Check that the trigger is easy to switch on and off with your thumb - that’s about it I reckon. I’m not sure if you can still get them but I have a replacement disc boss/ nut that you can put on and off by finger tightening which saves messing round with keys.


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I have had Makita, Ryobi and Bosch, Bosch leaves the others for dead, comfy, easy one handed on off

I have a Makita 100mm, 3 Bosch (2 green and one blue) 125mm, an old Ozito 125mm, and a dedicated arbotech minigrinder.

The 100mm Makita permanently holds a Industrial Arbortech Woodcarver blade and sure is nice and ergonomic to use with it. The one drawback it has is that when used for long periods, wood chips can occasionally jam the switch in the open position. From memory this Arbortech wheel will not fit on a 125mm grinder but it will fit on a 115mm grinder,

Power wise the Blue Bosch is the gruntiest and it usually holds a flap sanding wheel or thin kerf metal cutoff wheel. !25 mm wheels are better than the smaller wheels because the thin kerf blades have that bit more reach but the grinder itself is still manageable. The other wheels I use regularly are wire brush, stripit discs and a diamond coated cutting wheel.

The Ozito has the most vibration of all but despite being treated like dirt for 16 years I have not been able to kill it.

My next one will be a Makita, brushless battery model. Its quite expensive but I already have the Makita batteries and was really impressed at how well the battery held up when I borrowed one to use on a site without any power.

The switch position and general 'fit' in your hand are the main factors. A 'soft start' grinder would be a must have for me if I were in your position of replacing a grinder. Not all of them come with a side handle, something else to look out for, especially when using an Arbortech disc.

Alan...

Nobody seems to have mentioned the arbor size. I think the 100 is 16mm and the larger ones are 22mm. When I was doing a bit of paving I found I could swap the worn down discs from my 9" GMC onto my 115mm ozito and keep going until the disc was really worn out. I previously had a B&D 100mm which wasn't really useful when trying to cut pavers. 20 years later the Ozito has almost died and I recently bought a Bosch blue 125 one from Bunnings which is nice and small in the hand, but the guard needs a tool to change position. I was able to swivel the Ozito guard around by hand which I found useful on many occasions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Uncle Al

A 'soft start' grinder would be a must have for me if I were in your position of replacing a grinder. Not all of them come with a side handle, something else to look out for, especially when using an Arbortech disc.

Alan...

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Are you sure about the side handle Al? I would have thought they were mandatory.
Soft start is a good feature though.

I have 4 or 5 grinders including a Makita battery one. I can’t help you with the arbortech side of things but the 4 inch are too small for other things and stay in the cupboard the most 115 or 125 are much better to use
a 125 1mm blade still fits in a 115 grinder with the guard on. Brand I don’t think is as important as finding one that is comfortable to use

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BobL

My next one will be a Makita, brushless battery model. Its quite expensive but I already have the Makita batteries and was really impressed at how well the battery held up when I borrowed one to use on a site without any power.

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Which model is that Bob? I have a Makita BGA452 cordless, but it is gutless really. Far too easy to make it stall (but I really like cordless cutting tools - having cut the lead on a circ saw about 35 years ago....)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Which model is that Bob? I have a Makita BGA452 cordless, but it is gutless really. Far too easy to make it stall (but I really like cordless cutting tools - having cut the lead on a circ saw about 35 years ago....)

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I think you might mean a DGA452 which is a 115mm machine. The one I was using was a DGA508 brushless and it's double the price of the 452.

Def BGA but that may have been because it was part of a Kit.

Maybe there's been a change and I need to search again, but it's really aggravating that power and torque specs never seem to be available for (almost all?) cordless machines.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Def BGA but that may have been because it was part of a Kit.

Maybe there's been a change and I need to search again, but it's really aggravating that power and torque specs never seem to be available for (almost all?) cordless machines.

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Yep that will be a kit.

I could measure the Power and Torque on my home made HP rig. I'd have to find a way of hold the tools down and make up some 125mm flywheels to mount on the tool spindles.

Don't worry (unless you want to). It wouldn't be able to be compared.

The big win with the cordless is the versatility but they don’t have the power of a corded unit
Mine gets a lot of use with 1mm cutoff wheels but if using a flap disk or cutting a lot of steel the corded unit comes out.
Personally I think you are better getting a corded unit and a battery one as a second unit if you wanted one.
You should have no trouble finding a 5 or 6 inch brand name one for around $100

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sir Stinkalot

Hi All,

I'm in the market for a new small corded angle grinder after the recent death of an old 4 inch Dewalt. I have a 9 inch Makita so really just need something smaller and easier to move around. Its only for garage use so corded would be the preference. Very basic grinding and cutting tasks. I do use the Arbortec attachments - cutting wheel and sander.

Anyway I thought it would be a simple matter of selecting the size and being done with it. I am amazed looking at the Makita that there are so many different models - I guess there are exclusive models for different retailers with very similar specs. The compare function of their website sheds little light on the differences to make it useless. I'm happy to spend up to the $130 range and would be looking at the 5 inch simply as I found the wheels didn't last all that long with the 4 inch.

For those with experience of the Arbortec is the 5 inch "nimble" enough or should I go with the 4 inch?

Could anybody shed some light onto the differences.

Cheers

Stinky.

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Greetings brave knight.
I purchased a 5 inch makita (GA5020 I think) about 12 months ago and like it very much. It is the same design as the large grinders with a handle out the back with a trigger type switch on it. Its bulkier and heavier than a 4 inch but is way better to use for heavier jobs. Out of interest I tried my Arbotec wheel on it today and it does fit. There is a plastic bush to use with the 4 inch grinder. The extra weight would probably be significant for work requiring a light touch such as the Arbotec but it comes into its own for slightly tougher jobs.

Tony