"Jim" wrote in message
.uk...
I'm about to start the bodywork restoration of my old Triumph Spitfire
which entails cutting out serious amounts of rust. I'm therefore going to
need a new 4.5" angle grinder but want one that will stand up to the job -
any recommendations on a make and model. I'm assuming the higher the
wattage the better ?

Cheers

Jim
ps apologies about being a bit off topic for the diy group but thought you
guys would have some useful input


I've yet to find any current 4.5inchers that will stand up to continuous
use. They all overheat, and ultimately burn out. The Makita or Botch ones
are no better than the 10quidders.

The best plan would be to buy 4 or 5 cheaper 10-12quid ones, equip them all
with intended discs and then use them in rotation for say 8-10 mins each.

I have 3 in the workshop, each equipped with different discs for different
tasks.


Tim..

Tim.. wrote:

I've yet to find any current 4.5inchers that will stand up to continuous
use. They all overheat, and ultimately burn out. The Makita or Botch ones
are no better than the 10quidders.

The last B&D one I bought had a three year guarantee, which was handy as
it died after a couple of years, so I got a free replacement.

I have 3 in the workshop, each equipped with different discs for different
tasks.

Talking of which, those wafer thin cutting discs are excellent, IMO.

"Willy Eckerslyke" wrote in message
...

Talking of which, those wafer thin cutting discs are excellent, IMO.

Seconded- they're expensive but brilliant for slicing cleanly through all
manner of things.

Tim..

Tim.. wrote:
"Willy Eckerslyke" wrote in message
...

Talking of which, those wafer thin cutting discs are excellent, IMO.

Seconded- they're expensive but brilliant for slicing cleanly through all
manner of things.

I managed to find some very cheap ones on eBay a couple of months back.
Worked out at about 50p each after postage. The thought of them
exploding into flying shrapnel had me trying them out very gingerly, but
they've been fine. So far...

Jim wrote:

I'm about to start the bodywork restoration of my old Triumph Spitfire which
entails cutting out serious amounts of rust. I'm therefore going to need a
new 4.5" angle grinder but want one that will stand up to the job

Metabo are about the best. The blue Bosch with the anti-vibration
handles are pretty good too. A quick-release (no spanner) nut is a nice
gadget to have.

Best bargain is the green Bosch. More vibration than Metabo, but pretty
reliable for the pricetag. Vacuum the air vents clean occasionally, as
iron dust here is what usually kills them (the blue ones are better
packaged).

A happy-shopper tenner is a great bargain, but on a car restoration
project you'll kill a couple of them before you're done.

Anti-vibration gloves and both decent non-misting goggles _and_ a
faceshield (are you working right way up or upside down) are well worth
having.

Get a vast selection of abrasives too, and get flapdisks rather than
rigid hard disks. CSM sell the best (the coated blue ones). The
extra-flexy flapdisks from Norton (via Screwfix) are handy for curved
work. Screwfix also do nice extra-thin cutting disks, which you'll be
needing to chop those rusted outriggers off.

One of your main tools will be twisted / knotted wire brushes, both cup
and disk. Get good ones! The cheapies (and the crimped ones) shed
bristles like crazy at grinder speeds. You'll also be wanting good
protection from them - faceshield not just goggles, and a leather apron
or welder's jacket. They'll spear right through canvas or denim.
Tetanus shots aren't a bad idea either.

In uk.d-i-y "Andy Dingley " wrote:

Jim wrote:

I'm about to start the bodywork restoration of my old Triumph Spitfire which
entails cutting out serious amounts of rust. I'm therefore going to need a
new 4.5" angle grinder but want one that will stand up to the job

Metabo are about the best. The blue Bosch with the anti-vibration
handles are pretty good too. A quick-release (no spanner) nut is a nice
gadget to have.

The handles are available seperately.

On 21 Nov 2006 13:22:35 GMT, Ian Stirling
wrote:

In uk.d-i-y "Andy Dingley " wrote:

Jim wrote:

I'm about to start the bodywork restoration of my old Triumph Spitfire which
entails cutting out serious amounts of rust. I'm therefore going to need a
new 4.5" angle grinder but want one that will stand up to the job

Metabo are about the best. The blue Bosch with the anti-vibration
handles are pretty good too. A quick-release (no spanner) nut is a nice
gadget to have.

The handles are available seperately.

The Bosch handles are only available with M14x2 threads though. Quite
a lot of smaller angle grinders, including older Bosch models have
M10x1.5 threads.


--

"Jim" wrote in message
.uk...
I'm about to start the bodywork restoration of my old Triumph Spitfire
which entails cutting out serious amounts of rust. I'm therefore going to
need a new 4.5" angle grinder but want one that will stand up to the job -
any recommendations on a make and model. I'm assuming the higher the
wattage the better ?

Cheers

Jim
ps apologies about being a bit off topic for the diy group but thought you
guys would have some useful input

The best advice anyone can give you is; buy 2 cheap ones, have a grinding
disk on one and a cutting disk on the other.
It'll save you hours of changing disks/looking for a spanner etc.

Check ALDI, NETTO and LIDL sites, they have some power tool bargains
sometimes, I bought a cheap German grinder from one of 'em ages ago and it's
fine

I bought a cheap B&D one a few years ago before building my car, it's still
going strong, just as my NETTO special is


--

Tony Bond / UncleFista

www.bradford7.co.uk

Love is like a snowmobile, speeding across the frozen tundra.
Which suddenly flips, pinning you underneath.
At night the ice-weasels come...

Thanks to all that responded, think that I will probably take up the
suggestion of using a few cheap grinders with different disks fitted and
treat them as disposable items.

Cheers

Jim