Al coughed up some electrons that declared:

Ok, the time has come for me to get into DIY properly

So, I need an angle grinder, as clearly this is the solution to 99% of DIY
problems

Current DIY armoury include a cheap 400w hammer drill, a cheap orbital
sander, both from Woolies (RIP), cheap leaf blowers, flymos, hedge
trimmers from DIY sheds etc. I can just about manage to use most of them.
Though not at the same time. Quite happy with hand tools, though likely to
cut myself on anything sharp

I know what an angle grinder looks like, and I know where to buy a basic
one, thanks to recent threads here.


My recommendation is:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/12131/...-Grinder-240V#

Blue Bosch - cheap as the green bosch from other places. Quite acompetant
machine.

But, what sort of discs do I need, and what sort of jobs can I do with
it/them?

There's 3 basic types of grit disc: metal cutting, stone (and concrete)
cutting and a thicker grinding disc.

Also can take diamond discs for longer work on stone.

I'd get 10 metal, 5 grinders and a diamond blade:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/34350/...ard-115x22-2mm

And see how you get on. The grit discs get eaten pretty quicky, you may not
do that much grinding (as opposed to cutting) and the diamond disc should
last a while.

Typical tasks that I might undertake: Chopping up scrap metal, cutting up
trees (and parts thereof), filing things that are too big down to things
that are less big, making souffles (OK, not the ideal tool), and just
generally removing things that are in the way.

I have a pathalogical fear of power tools and DIY thanks to my father
Also I find the use of an orbital sander or hedgetrimmer physically
draining (last bout of hedge trimming gave me the shakes for a day!). Dare
I use an angle grinder? Am I man enough?

It *doesn't* do trees(!)

But you can get a lot of milage out of a 4 1/2" grinder for random stuff.
It's not big enough for lopping up paving slabs (really want a 9" or 12")
but it's a hell of a lot less scary and it will be good for all those
little jobs with tighter access.


Seriously, based on the above, what do I need as a basic spec, and what
discs do I need (some seem astonishingly expensive!).

8 quid for your diamond, 40 quid for a half decent grinder, 8 quid for 10
metal discs... Not too bad.

Don't forget to include 1 pair ear defenders, 1 pair googles or face visor
and one pair of leather gloves. The first two are *essential* and the last
will save your hands.

HTH

Tim