Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[D4B]

Hi Turfer,

This is interesting, I have just killed yet another Clarke angle grinder, like you say they start to vibrate then just lose drive completely. I shall take it back and see if I can exchange it against a Black & Decker

Cheers Steve

[colwyn500]

As the originator of this thread I must stand up for my cheap B&Q grinder because it's having a fairly hard life and is still going strong.
It's worth checking your instructions because my instructions actually say that it should not be used with wire-brush attachments. Obviously there is a lot of inertia in these things and they don't need to be much out of balance to create a strain on the bearings that it might not have been engineered for.

[D4B]

Hi Peter,

Yes I would agree with you on those wire brush attachments, probably best to use the flappy sanding discs which you recommended elsewhere (lighter weight and more balanced?)

Steve

[Bitumen Boy]

[Richard H]

I've got a Black and Decker grinder. Had it years and it's never let me down, and it's done several cars, including all the rust removal on my 'colander' Austin Cambridge. Make of that what you will!

Also had a couple of B&D electric drills that lasted years, and a 30 year old B&D electric lawnmower that only stopped working last year, not bad going!
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Richard Hughes

[Bitumen Boy]

They've lasted because they're old, from when things were made properly. I bet modern B&D stuff wouldn't last as long. You can see it even on the Workmates if you compare an old one to the more recent offerings, the old ones were a lot better.

The same goes for other makes too, I'm still using a Bosch drill that my dad got off the tiger tokens years ago. As it seemed to be lasting well when I bought my first grinder I got another Bosch and was (comparitively) soon disappointed at its lack of long term durability. As for the drill, it's still going, never even needed brushes yet although it's seen off several lengths of flex! Looks like it will finally die due to worn gears, I wonder how long its eventual replacement won't last?

[D4B]

Yes this is true about how things USED to be made.... my 4" Sealey SG100 angle grinder is still going strong and I have owned that one for 25 years!!!

Good advice about not trading in cheers

[ukdave2002]

To be fair we need to appreciate the real cost, I bought a decent B&D Pro angle grinder in the mid 80's, it cost £39 or 3 weeks saving all my Saturday job pay!

I'd estimate in todays money that would be around £120 I could buy a couple of quality brand grinders for £120 today or almost 7 of these cheap ones? These days have a Dewalt and Makita, the Makita has stooped working, I suspect it is the switch so it will be fixed at some point, I agree with the comments about cheaper power tools vibrating badly.

Dave

[Remmoc]

Dewalt for me ,Mines lasted over 10 years of abuse .
before that a cheap Bosch which also lasted 10 years before grenading its gearbox
If your using them in dusty conditions ie. if you hit car filler blow out the motor with an air line , i rewind electric motors for a living and dust , dirt , mice skulls and snakes ( not joking about the last two either ) tends to kill off motors .

[Phil - Nottingham]

My first grinder was a 4.5 in one from Wickes in the mid 1980's - it lasted 20 years. It was actually a Kress made by the Swiss?

It was quite well made, compact and light - I have bought a 5" one from Lidl which lasted 8 years but found it heavy and bulky so I bought a cheap on fron Machine Mart 3 years ago and another Lidle which is OK but I doubt either will last much longer.

I do use them well and hard though

Its handy to have at least 2 on the go though to avoid disk/wire brush changing
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[turfer]

I spoke too soon, my ryobi grinder has just started to vibrate ! I had to finish a job in a hurry so I nipped in to a local agricultural merchant and bought the only one he had, a draper expert at £39. I have just used it to grind 2 rusty 7 ft beams and it feels good, time will tell though.

[colwyn500]

Keep feeding back info with that Ryobi.
My B&Q one is starting to give problems already with the on/off switch.