LandyManLuke Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 My 13 month old Wickes grinder is currently limping to its grave, having spat its locking pin out yesterday, and finishing off the brushes today. The bearings are also knackered, the drive gear housing gets hot after 3 or 4 minutes and it's generally in 'well used' condition. Screwfix have an identical grinder for £15 quid a pop, which beats the £25 wickes want (last time i checked) The other option is a more pricey £30 a go from B&Q, with the B&Q returns policy and all that entails. I've read Tony's thread here and HFH's thread here but was wondering if anyone has any recent experiences or has seen any deals about? Ta Luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Hitachi from screwfix-£50. So idustrial you dont get a box and i abuse it loads with the wire wheel and 6mm plate plus heavy grinding/shaping and its doing very well does occasionaly trip the garage if the welder ect is running but thats a plus point in my eyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiWhite Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 I've got a coulple of generic B&Q / Homebase 115mm grinders. Nowt wrnog with them, and I like thier returns policy (interesting aside - why do they always ask if you have the reciept, than when you say you haven't they reply 'well, it doesn't matter anyway'. Why bl dy ask?) Will Warne has a more expensive (Bosch maybe) grinder - I'm always impressed how quiet it is compared to mine. I view them as disposable. You get replacement brushes with them these days, and the odd stripdown to lube the bearings never hurts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troddenmasses Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 I like thier returns policy (interesting aside - why do they always ask if you have the reciept, than when you say you haven't they reply 'well, it doesn't matter anyway'. Why bl dy ask?) If you have a receipt, they will give you your money back. If you haven't got a receipt, they will give you a credit note. If you don't have a receipt, they have ABSOLUTELY no way of telling how old the product is - but the returns policy only works for products under 12 months. Interesting aside, if you're going to buy anything from B&Q, and want a discount, buy a credit note on e-blag. They generally go for about 80% of their face value. Regarding the grinders, they are now doing an offer of an angle grinder + 50 discs (metal and stone) for about the £20 mark. I reckon that it is probably worth it for the 20 or so metal discs in the pack. When the grinder gives up the ghost (which normally takes me about a year) just take it back for a full refund. Genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gaza Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 IMO if you use a certain tool alot then its worth spending the extra and getting a decent one. I have a 10 year old 12V ELU cordless drill its had alot of stick yet both batteries are still OK and drill still works and sounds as when it was bought, I have just supplemented it with a 18V Makita that was on offer at screwfix. On the other hand my dad has a throw away attitude to cordless drills and I have lost count of the "excellent" (his words not mine) £20 drills hes bought from ALDI. Cheap tools will fail at the most inconvenient time and when I factor my time and diesel and inconvenience to return them into the equation then cheap tools don't seem that cheap to me. Ye pays your money and ye takes yer chances. BTW I have a Dewalt 4 1/2 angle grinder and the only problem with it is I only have one, should I get a couple of cheap ones so that I don't have to keep changing to different discs? Gaza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I have a Bosch 115mm angle grinder (paid about £60 for it), and a Black & Decker item that I bought not long ago for just over £20 from Machine Mart. The Bosch is by far the superior tool and far quieter. Had it a few years now and it still works perfectly. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I only use bosch or makita, they are much quieter and smoother running......this will be the kiss of death now I've said how good/long lasting they are.. the 9" is 18yr old , the 4 1/2" about 12 both going fine. Don't see the point in cheap tools like this.....mind you I'm a bit more than just occasional hobby use cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2A Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I have 5 makita grinders, 2 small 4inch, one with a grinding disc for tight places and one with hard rubber back pad and sanding discs, and 2 5inch, a long handled type for grinding or wire wheel and a shorter thumb swith type again with rubber pad and hard type sanding disc and a 9 inch, usually with a cutting disc on it, they range from 4 to 12+ year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 In the past I have gone with the cheap option (15quid clarke), but find that the vibrations when grinding make my hands hurt after only a few minutes. I dont get this problem with the Bosch In the current fleet we have: Bosch Professional 9" (cutting disc) Bosch Professional 4.5" (grinding disc) Clarke £15 special (sanding pad) And on order at Cromwell we have another Bosch Professional 4.5" set for grinding duty, and a Hitachi Pro series 4.5" which will relpace the Clarke as a sander. The Clarke will get relegated to Wire-wheel This is for a busy-ish workshop with 2minimum people working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I have an excellent grinder from Makro - cost me £14.99, has chopped up loads of bits of Disco and works realy well with the wire brush too. Its a bit big sometimes - long handle is a pain sometimes, but otherwise its great having more control. I have had some cheap (VERY cheap) grinders in the past, but they were nowhere near as powerful, but they did last ok for lighter duty jobs - plenty of cool-down time requred. Toolstation have some on clearance at the moment for £6.00. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swanny Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 we have had a bosh 4.5 grinder 110v for the last 15 16 years its done every thing from chopping bolts cutting roofsheets grinding out chases in walls its even removed pointing from detched brick house with out a miss hap. now on look out for a dewalt cordless 4.5 grinder. buy best you can works out cheaper in the end. watch out for those offers were you buy X amounts of disc get free grinder. disc are carp grinders wont last 2 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintman Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Bought a cheapie from Homebase when my old Black & Decker finally expired. The cheapie lasted for about 20 minutes before putting out clouds of smoke. Took it back & got the Bosch one that in a plastic box. In the box were lots of discs including two diamond stone cutting discs. Reckon the Bosch with all the bits is actually better value than the cheapie! Works fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66gaza Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 As from 12th sept Makro are selling a mains 115mm Dewalt grinder for £35 plus the VAT think I might get one. Gaza Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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