On Wed, 9 Jul 2003 19:01:46 +0100, "Brownie"
wrote:

I am getting an angle grinder as a present.

Can't imagine how anyone manages without.

The cheaper end of the market
seems to be 115mm

115 is good. It's the size of the useful disks you'll use. Bigger
grinders are OK, smaller would not be. They don't care too much what
the disk size is, so long as the guard is big enough.

Don't remove the guard. It's there to protect you if the grinder kicks
upwards.

Grinder quality is somewhat unpredictable, and not especially
brand-dependent. Switches are the favourite failure point, and
windings a close second. It's not work that kills them, it's dust -
particularly conductive dust. Some switches jam on if filled with
dust. This is hazardous, and even "good" brands like AEG do it. Cheap
grinders work as well as good ones, but they don't do it for so long.

Get a grinder with a pushbutton spindle lock, not two spanners. It's
worth getting a quick-release nut that doesn't need spanners - some
grinders include them.

Get lots of disks, and lots of different sorts. I find little use for
metal grinding disks these days and do nearly everything with flap
disks instead. Good quality flap disks are better than cheap ones - I
pay the extra for blue Hermes and their special coatings. Screwfix's
new flexi disks are handy for not putting flats onto curved pieces,
but they cut very slowly.

Paint cleaning disks (loose-weave scouring pad) work well on some
paint finishes, poorly on others, and they'll disintegrate rapidly if
touched to a metal edge.

Wire brushes are useful and powerful, but use good-quality twisted
ones, not loosely crimped ones, or else wear a thick shirt !