Open letter to Makita, Milwaukee, and the rest,

Make your angle grinders ergonomic so I can go 8 hours of straight wire wheeling without having to take a break to rest my hands.

 

BTDT and it doesn't hurt bad... Did my whole frame with the craftsman grinder (pure metal beast with snap like startups) and I was fine...

 

8 hours on a grinder!? It's gonna take it's toll no matter what grinder you use. Nut Up LOL
the "constant on" lock can help but it can also be dangerous. I use a dewalt grinder about 2-4 hours a day, on and off at work. The "on" lock helps if your doing alot of constant grinding or wire wheel work. It helps to eliminate the fatigue of holding down the trigger or paddle. It also allows you to change your grip. Fabing is not for the meek. Lots 'o burns, cuts, pokes, aches and the normal blood, sweat & beers. All of these make for a product you can be proud of. BUILT NOT

 

what luck!...after I made this post, I came back out to work and the makita grinder worked for about half an hour and then stopped...i've been using it for a few hours before that.

I can't afford to buy a new one...I looked at one of the brushes and it's still good. will have to open it tomorrow...any ideas what it could be? there isn't a fuse in there somehow, right?

i hope it's not a dead motor but i have a hunch it is...

 

Did it let any smoke out? Boy once you let the smoke out, it's a pain to put it back in...

 

no smoke or the smell of smoke...

 

Would probably be the switch if it was a sudden stop, then.

I had to replace the brushes in my Makita once. They tend to arc a lot and smell when they go bad, probably wouldn't be sudden. The motor never let out the magic smoke, but the gears in the right angle head stripped and made a horrible racket before she died.

I gotta say, been a die hard Makita user for a long time, and I still think they run quieter and cooler, but I've been BEATING on my newer Milwaukee now for ~9mos or so, and it just keeps taking it with nary a complaint. Recently ran it over with the truck (accidentally); put a few scratches in the plastic and sort of tweaked the handle a little, still runs like a champ!

 

I used a HF grinders for a while but the bearings wouldn't hold up to the beating. I finally got a Makita and haven't looked back. I even got a second Makita grinder free on a rebate at ACE when you buy a Makita sawzall.

 

I fixed the grinder yesterday and back to wirewheeling today!...it looked like one of the brown wires arced at the white plastic connector and came loose. It was as easy as loosening a screw and connecting the wire back on. I've been satisfied with this grinder also. I've put hundreds of hours on it (haven't cleaned it once) and it looks like i'll be able to put a few more. The bearing is getting noisier though.

I've used a milwaukee at school before and I think those feel better in the hands. I just don't like how the switch is a two step process of having to unlock it first in order to press the squeeze switch. It's safer, I guess. I've noticed the milwaukee has a "kick" when first switched on.