Bosch, Dewalt, or Makita?

[Scuba_Steve]

Destroyed the armature in my old angle grinder so it's time for an upgrade contenders are
Bosch GWS 850-125
Dewalt DWE4151-XE
Makita 9558NB

The Bosch has the advantage of coming with 4x cutting, 4x grinding & 1x diamond disc and a case
The Dewalt has the advantage of slightly more power of 900w (as against 850w for the Bosch & 840w for Makita)
The Makita has the advantage of being slightly cheaper (tho Bosch negates this with the accessories) & being the much loved/hyped Makita brand

Any input, experiences, advice appreciated.

[AllanB]

Hmmm got examples of all three in some form of tool. And all perform faultlessly

Makita has the reputation. Is it still upholding that?


To be fair - you could probably toss a coin to pick.

[bogan]

All much of a muchness tbh, all reputable brands, 125mm is about min practical size, and those power ratings will be fine for 99% of jobs you would do with that size grinder.

I got a Hitachi and it's taken a beating and still goes strong; may be a cheaper option also.

http://www.thetoolshed.co.nz/Products/Power-Tools/Grinders/Hitachi-Angle-Grinder-125mm-730w-with-Case

[george formby]

Hmmm got examples of all three in some form of tool. And all perform faultlessly

Makita has the reputation. Is it still upholding that?


To be fair - you could probably toss a coin to pick.

Yup, out of the 3 the only brand I've killed is the chuck on a Makita battery drill. It was old when I got it and it's been a victim of much cruel and unusual punishment. My green bosch gear, the cheapies, and Dewalt stuff seem to shrug off a beating.

[Katman]

I got a Hitachi and it's taken a beating

Yeah, we've seen your welding.

[bogan]

Yeah, we've seen your welding.

Have you? In any case I tend to use it for grinding, I find welders do a far better job of welding...

And on ancillary grinding topics, flap wheels and 0.8 slitting discs are just about the best thing since sliced bread, so versatile. The wear pattern on flap discs is pretty noticeable, but not as noticeable as when the 180mm hook and loop sanding pad hooks up on an edge and just explodes.

[eldog]

not quite what you are after but might be helpful.

generally hand tools last a reasonable amount of time.
i have a cheap set of tools that I use at home, they are cheap but I only use them once in a blue moon. So far so good but you can tell they are cheap.

at work we use approx 10 angle grinders.
damage is generally caused by.

pulling on cable to release plug will standing on power lead. It's a must to have contact with electrician to be able to replace cable

catching on other material and heaving on the cord. Even when it's their own gear some people are rough, it's just the way they are, at home or at work.

stuff being dropped on the cable/grinder, see above and below

dropping grinder on ground after use or being pushed off workbench - almost all brands have a limited time when you can get new parts, seems to be about 3 years.

often you will find the new parts are 'unavailable' then it's just cheaper to get a new one. It's just too much a pain in the arse to get parts from the local agents who only want to sell a new one.

would recommend old school Hitachi, we had some that lasted for years and years with heaps of abuse etc, dunno about new stuff.

AEG -was the next brand I can remember not bad but supply was erratic (this might have been a dealer problem)

hence the move to Bosch, by this time seemed to move toward a cheaper end of the market, the machines didn't survive too long(would have had about 20 being used at once) they wouldn't be too bad for general home user.

our supplier has moved to Metabo, I went to an open day the Metabolic people held and 2 off Metabolic people gave a demo on how it was made etc and what new developments-like tool less disc change etc. they came to where I work and we're very surprised that we were using their tools exactly as we should. They seem to be lasting and are able to take a reasonable amount of abuse.

however - something's you should consider.

are you buying for yourself?
If not then buy the strongest and simplest unit for the job, don't worry about extra goodies, check the weight - heavier is generally stronger. Look at the power rating. We used to buy all the fancy ones with the extras as we thought it would be useful, Nah waste of time as the general user doesn't want to think. Even the tool less discs change was removed because they could not understand or want to.

If it is for yourself, then have a look at some of the extras some models have, as you will look after it. Variable speed, tool less discs changes, auto stop etc.

We brought a Milwaukee end grinder and after 10 years of use, it stopped. Agent then said that model was never brought into NZ, so they couldn't replace/repair it. Made me wonder how we brought it and if we should go back for a refund as it was never sold here.

Like mbikes it pays to think about what you may/want to use it for. Then look at the ranges and see if you need any extras I would go for 5" as a go too tool.

most of the brand names seem to look nice, and their is a growing trend toward battery type units. It's just my users require a lot of power and probably couldnt manage to think about charging it or squash the charger/tool which would be by then out of date and no parts.

if it's got brushes get the ones with the auto stop pin, you will thank me later.

look after your gear and it will look after you.

[Katman]

Have you?

Yeah, I have.

(Unless it was your pet monkey that you got to do the welding on your bike lift).

[bogan]

on your bike lift

It's a workshop stand, there is fuck all lift to it; and I didn't use a grinder on that job, band saw is far easier to set up for mitre cuts on RHS than marking square around all four sides. Thought about getting a 9in to go through in one hit, but then you have to use thicker discs, better fixtures, and the grinder is more expensive too.
Since you asked about it though, it still works fucking mint, nice and flexible way to get more space in the shed where it is needed. I do need to wire wheel (that will be using the hitachi) the rust off it and paint it though.

[jellywrestler]

they're all much of a muchness, see what prices they are, hang for a while for a special then get down to bunnings or m10 and try for their 15% off deal. make sure they stock the same model before turning away the special though.

[Oakie]

My Bosch angle-grinder has gone fine for 5 years and did much work grinding out mortar between blocks for earthquake repairs on the house. It also ate it's way through the barrel of an air pistol I wanted to disable before tossing.
To be fair, most of my gear is Bosch and I've never had a problem with any of it.

I think what I know of the others though, whatever you get will be fine.

[jasonu]

Dewalt isn't as good as it once was.

[Laava]

I bought a makita cordless a/g 125mm to go with my other cordless stuff and it is awesome! It matches the power of my old mains unit but it will use up a battery quickly when you are pushing it. But I have 6 of them...
Problem with comparing those three tools is the comparitively short model run that tools have now, by the time you have finished reading reviews, there is a newer better model!

[george formby]

Just a thought....

I've also inherited a Warehouse grinder. I think they cost the equivalent of a dozen Rheineck and an average curry. It's happily been sharpening my hammers for 3 or 4 years with no issues.

My point is you could buy 4, 5 or 6 of these things and have all your favourite attachments fitted, ready for use. Just like that bloke on Project Binky (https://youtu.be/7hCPODjJO7s)(about 5:40), he has a rack full. A big time saver and less stress on the gear. 1 year guarantee, too.

I like having multiple things, like my drills. One for drilling, one for screwing. No fannying about.

Oh, I have a reasonably vintage Metabo hammer drill. It's a beast! Bloody scary, actually, the amount of torque it has.

[JimO]

i had a good milwaukee grinder till some cunit stole it out the back o my ute one night

[Scuba_Steve]

Dewalt isn't as good as it once was.
Yea I'm thinking I might drop them from the running anyways, I just don't like that Dewalt yellow; I'd rather the AEG orange TBH



My point is you could buy 4, 5 or 6 of these things and have all your favourite attachments fitted, ready for use. Just like that bloke on Project Binky (https://youtu.be/7hCPODjJO7s)(about 5:40), he has a rack full. A big time saver and less stress on the gear. 1 year guarantee, too.

I like having multiple things, like my drills. One for drilling, one for screwing. No fannying about.
.
I had thought about later replacing the armature in the old grinder & having 1 for cutting & 1 for grinding (I don't do much more than that with em) but for now I have an excuse to upgrade


i had a good milwaukee grinder till some cunit stole it out the back o my ute one night
Might be an option if I could justify that much past the fund manager, but then I'd probably go Metabo if I could; Still she's reluctant to approve the release of funds as it is so I'm taking what I can get

[pete376403]

Dewalt isn't as good as it once was.

Isn't DeWalt just yellow Black and Decker?

[ellipsis]

Just a thought....

I've also inherited a Warehouse grinder. I think they cost the equivalent of a dozen Rheineck and an average curry. It's happily been sharpening my hammers for 3 or 4 years with no issues.

My point is you could buy 4, 5 or 6 of these things and have all your favourite attachments fitted, ready for use. Just like that bloke on Project Binky (https://youtu.be/7hCPODjJO7s)(about 5:40), he has a rack full. A big time saver and less stress on the gear. 1 year guarantee, too.

I like having multiple things, like my drills. One for drilling, one for screwing. No fannying about.

Oh, I have a reasonably vintage Metabo hammer drill. It's a beast! Bloody scary, actually, the amount of torque it has.


...sounds familiar to my way of thinking...I have five cheap 100 to 125 mm grinders ready to go with sanding disc, cut off discs, grinding discs, works well for me and they get hammered...I thought the replacement cost on a Makita and a Bosch that both burned out almost simultaneously, as Murphys Law goes, some years ago was a bit too expensive...the cheapies are hanging in and I dont care if they fuck out...one of them was only 16 bucks at Bunnings and that one gets more shit with a sanding disc on than the other 20 buck ones...I also have an ancient Metabo battery drill that torques the wrist up badly if you are limp wristed when holding it...

[ellipsis]

Isn't DeWalt just yellow Black and Decker?

...I have a Rexon thicknesser...it's Chinese, and it's a DeWalt...DeWalt only put their casing and locking mechanism on it...just saying... mainly to the believers and disbelievers of some Chinese manufactured stuff...I can't seem to blow up a 150cc Loncin motor in my bucket racer either, five or six seasons it's refused to break or blow smoke or eat oil...

[Madness]

Isn't DeWalt just yellow Black and Decker?

It's Stanley-DeWalt-Black&Decker-IrwinTools now I believe. They may have acquired moar, wouldn't be surprised.

[Scuba_Steve]

It's Stanley-DeWalt-Black&Decker-IrwinTools now I believe. They may have acquired moar, wouldn't be surprised.

Yep, Stanley Black & Decker make Dewalt, Irwin, Porter-Cable, Craftsman etc
TTI make Milwaukee, AEG, Ryobi, Homelite etc
Bosch & Makita I beleive are still Bosch & Makita (& Mactec) respectivly

[jellywrestler]

...I have a Rexon thicknesser...it's Chinese, and it's a DeWalt...DeWalt only put their casing and locking mechanism on it...just saying... mainly to the believers and disbelievers of some Chinese manufactured stuff...I can't seem to blow up a 150cc Loncin motor in my bucket racer either, five or six seasons it's refused to break or blow smoke or eat oil...

you can't run a country as big as china on rubbish, but a lot of our buyers are greedy and get the cheapest shit they can and bring here.

[Akzle]

Isn't DeWalt just yellow Black and Decker?

nah they were bought by stanley.



all made in fucken china now though

[jonbuoy]

I bought a makita cordless a/g 125mm to go with my other cordless stuff and it is awesome! It matches the power of my old mains unit but it will use up a battery quickly when you are pushing it. But I have 6 of them...
Problem with comparing those three tools is the comparitively short model run that tools have now, by the time you have finished reading reviews, there is a newer better model!

Has it got variable speed control? I want to try a cordless model- hate crawling under a car with a hair trigger mains versions, I want one with a variable speed pull trigger.

[cods4]

At work we just bought $15000 of Makita 18V battery gear for the guys and just speaking to them this morning they are pretty impressed with the quality. A couple of them were initially asking for Hilti instead but now they are saying the Makita set is just as good.
I have dewalt 18V drill, impact wrench, impact driver and grinder at home which I imported from the USA for a decent price. Heavy, quality tools.

I understand Milwaukee is considered the some of the best quality.

[russd7]

I understand Milwaukee is considered the some of the best quality.

shows what good advertising does, i have talked to so many people who believe that milwalkie is the best yet the only poeple they have actually talked to (if any) is the salesman, i have not yet actually managed to find anyone in a commercial environment who has got a milwalkie, most believe they are over priced and tend to go for Makita.

i am not saying milwalkie are not good i just haven't met anyone that can back that statement up.

[eldog]

I understand Milwaukee is considered the some of the best quality.

:Offtopic:I had forgotten I knew a few people with Milwaukee battery devices - they seem to swear by the torque wrenches they have something that looks like Milwaukee 2606-20 M18 Drill/Driver (Bare Tool) (https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwiU3_3KtsHTAhWClL0KHbdCDg8YABAMGgJ0aA&ohost=www.google.co.nz&cid=CAASEuRo0i58bCTIXev4rvzV8V8V5g&sig=AOD64_1CGuzLReJS6hzq3gO_wFq2GC7qCw&ctype=5&q=&ved=0ahUKEwiWt_nKtsHTAhXBkZQKHc_mAIAQvhcINA&adurl=)
- they reckon they are awesome and it has a 2 speed setting - good for having some control. I have borrowed and used it myself and found it to have good weight and the trigger was responsive and gave good control without going overboard.
There maybe another model that has more torque but I haven't seen it.

However they go quiet on the Milwaukee drill which uses the same battery.
Havent seen any Milwaukee grinders, only the end grinder which is now buggered after a long period of abuse and torment.

I have an old Black, Black and Decker Skill saw its big and heavy, the builder who I got it from said it just wouldn't die unlike the newer variety of tools.

Mangere - ask them in 6 months that's always a good test.

[george formby]

Can you get grinders that run off an air line? I've only seen linishers that run on air.

[FJRider]

Can you get grinders that run off an air line? I've only seen linishers that run on air.

https://mytools.co.nz/collections/air-air-tools

[Laava]

Has it got variable speed control? I want to try a cordless model- hate crawling under a car with a hair trigger mains versions, I want one with a variable speed pull trigger.

No, but soft start..

[eldog]

Can you get grinders that run off an air line? I've only seen linishers that run on air.

check out the air supply requirements and what you have. All sorts of air tools available. from small to large.

[eldog]

Has it got variable speed control? I want to try a cordless model- hate crawling under a car with a hair trigger mains versions, I want one with a variable speed pull trigger.

Come On whats the fun of that. :crazy:

Don't ya remember the old Rayrolle 3Phase metal plugs and sockets in pools of water. Yeah Baby :yes:
I have one or two....:facepalm: but haven't seen any for a while.

[Ocean1]

shows what good advertising does, i have talked to so many people who believe that milwalkie is the best yet the only poeple they have actually talked to (if any) is the salesman, i have not yet actually managed to find anyone in a commercial environment who has got a milwalkie, most believe they are over priced and tend to go for Makita.

i am not saying milwalkie are not good i just haven't met anyone that can back that statement up.

My son, (pro chippie) uses a bunch of Milwaukee cordless stuff. Loves it, has been solid.

As for the grinder: If you're using it an hour a day you'd go Hitachi or upper level Makita, otherwise that Makita is the best value for money in your list.

There is a good argument for buying shit by the dozen and simply chucking it when it dies. It's even a sound argument in terms of cost/benefit. But if you're capable of getting the best out of a tool then why not buy the best tool available? Or at least the best you can afford.

[Ocean1]

Can you get grinders that run off an air line? I've only seen linishers that run on air.

Yes, but as eldog intimated they use a metric fuckload of air.

Like 40% duty from a 12cfm compressor.

There's some shit air tools around too, and the good ones will set you back more than a 'lectric option.

[HenryDorsetCase]

My son, (pro chippie) uses a bunch of Milwaukee cordless stuff. Loves it, has been solid.

As for the grinder: If you're using it an hour a day you'd go Hitachi or upper level Makita, otherwise that Makita is the best value for money in your list.

There is a good argument for buying shit by the dozen and simply chucking it when it dies. It's even a sound argument in terms of cost/benefit. But if you're capable of getting the best out of a tool then why not buy the best tool available? Or at least the best you can afford.

my brother runs a joinery factory. He has people whose job it is to screw cabinets together. All day, every day. He used to buy a lot of Makita stuff - last time I was in there they were using some off-brand shit I didnt recognise. He said that with the use they get they last as long as the Makitas but the buy price is about half. No brainer.

[Ocean1]

my brother runs a joinery factory. He has people whose job it is to screw cabinets together. All day, every day. He used to buy a lot of Makita stuff - last time I was in there they were using some off-brand shit I didnt recognise. He said that with the use they get they last as long as the Makitas but the buy price is about half. No brainer.

Half the price would still be fairly respectable gear.

Like I said, I've found the cost/benefit financial equation is fairly neutral, it's the extra capability that makes the better stuff more attractive. In some cases "better" may be simply a more rigid case, making for more accurate drill positioning control. Shit like that isn't visible to the accountant, but over the life of a tool it adds up, y'know?

In fact Makita have been quite conservative in terms of introduction of new technology, they only released brushless battery tools a couple of years ago. And one negative is that, along with most of the pro stuff it tends to be slightly bulkier. Which isn't a problem 99% of the time, but see above re "better"...