Blue, yellow, or red???

[Hypoid]

The ol' drillmaster 4.5" grinder stopped working last night, I got my $10 out of it.

I am headed to Tool King today for a replacement. They sell Makita, DeWalt, and Milwaulkee. Which is your favorie, why?

I have a 20-year-old Makita 4" grinder that just keeps running. The only thing I don't like about the brand is the cost of replacement parts. We use DeWalt at work, I think they die too young. What brands have given you good service?

Edit: How do I set up a poll?

[Robert B]

my dad and i have run dewalt everything for just about ever and they seem to run forever and quite good.......so thats my vote yeller :)

[Rick]

I do like DeWalt but on a side note I have a Makita grinder thats worked since I was 16 ;still going strong

[Patrolman]

Personally, I have a cordless Rigid. They provide a lifetime warranty including on the batteries. They have replaced a chuck and a battery so far for me without any hassles.

I do have a pair of corded Makitas from the early 90's that have been well abused and have never failed.

[GaryG]

From a historical standpoint, Mikita was very good in roundy round stuff, and Milwaulkee was good at stroke stuff, sawsall and such. Dewalt's history is in benchtop and staionary tools. They're all made in china now so it doesn't really matter which one you get.

[Hypoid]

I narrowed down the choices to the DeWalt (like we use at work), and another Makita, with similar features.

DeWalt has a trade in promotion. The price after trade in is $68. It's a nice unit, with nice features:
http://www.toolking.com/dewalt-d28402r-factory-reconditioned-4-1-2-inch-small-angle-grinder


The Makita reconditioned unit was priced at $51. Too bad they were out of stock. The price for new is $65, money won't be the deciding factor:
http://www.toolking.com/makita-9557pb-factory-reconditioned-4-1-2-inch-angle-grinder

After walking across the store several times and getting a feel for both, I brought home the Makita. We'll see how long this one lives. :)

[Fordguy77]

My Dads garage(pretend like its mine too) is staked full of Milwaukee tools, that are probably as old if not older than me, and they keep going through all the years of use and abuse. At work we've been getting a mixture of dewalts and Milwaukee, over all the Milwaukee still seem to hold up better, they are not built the way the used to be. IMO the best grinder out there right now is going to be the Metabo, they are very reliable and cut excellently. The only thing i dont like about them is they do have an overheat sensor, they do shut off an wont let you burn them up. Its a great feature for longevity, but it gets rather annoying at times when you have 1/8" left to cut. For the price id go down to AIS Industrial Tool Supply over near i70 and colorado, and see about the exchange program. At one time i do recall having it set up where you can purchase a Milwaukee grinder from them with a exchange program for when it burns up, they give you an old one for the new one. Downside is your always using a refurbished grinder.

[Patrolman]

Sorry, I had a bad headache earlier today. I was talking drills for some reason, and you were talking grinders.

I have never been too impressed with my DeWalt. It works, but the quick release has been a POS. I also have an older Markita angle grinder that I got used. Works like a charm. I am sure you will love it!

[Popsgarage]

My American made Dewalt works pretty good. Tons of life out of it. The newer ones, not so much. I like the warranty on the Hilti's, but not the price. The old American made Milwaukee's were hard to beat, the new Chinese stuff is junk. It's kind of a toss up.

[Hypoid]

Overall, I was happy with my Makita 4" grinder. I bought it in '92, have yet to change the brushes. Outside the cost of replacing trivial stuff, I thought it got pretty noisy after the first 4 hours of use. Twenty years later, it is still noisy. :)

Somebody else recommended Metabo. I wanted to shop local and purchase today.

[Popsgarage]

The Metabo is one I've never had the chance to use, but I've heard good things.

[ctracy5]

We use all Makita and Rigid tools at the Landscape company I work for and I love both brands used outdoors in the dirt and mud and still kicking after about 4 years on the cordless Makita set, Dewalt is good but like Craftsmen not as good as they used to be but still very expensive. We have talked with a bunch of other contractors around town with the same opinion who have switch to Makita, Milwaukee, or other brands. I really like most Rigid tools because you can get everything dealt with in store at HomeDepot, big plus. I have replaced a few batteries with my personal sets no questions ask walk in with a dead one and out with a brand new one.

[Cr33p3r]

I like my old Craftsman it lasted me 20 yrs this last time I went with Ryobi with the cushioned handle for anti-vibration got a set of two for $89 seem to be holding up well so far and you see how much grinding I get into. We have Makita, Dewalt, and another brand at work all work equally well just have different amp rating and weight.

[glacierpaul]

A grinder is one tool I do not have, but is on my bucket list :), the real issue is quality nowadays, nothing hardly being made here anymore. I am a fan of Milwaukee for sure, actually have my grandfathers sawzall and drills, still work like new albeit heavier than the newer 'waukee's I own. I do have the older dewalt sets too, still working fine.

[Starkman]

Back in the day I used to sell grinders (and other stuff), Makita was the best second to Metabo. Guys would use a 4" to cut concrete and the Makita would last 2 days and a Metabo would last a season. All others would last an hour or so. Yes you would replace brushes but thats it on the Metabo. That was back about 15 years so things are probably different today...

[ctracy5]

We have 2 corded and 1 cordless makitas 4" and a rigid 6" at work use then on all materials from metal, stone, concrete and everything in between. The oldest makita has lasted over four seasons so far.

[RockyMtnHigh]

I have quite a few hand power tools in red and yellow, mine are used 95% of the time for woodworking though, saw dust has a big effect on their longevity. I have burned up a couple of yellow 18 volt drills. I can't say anything bad about either, I put them through the ringer in most cases.

On the other hand, I have a few orange stationary power tools also and that lifetime warranty has paid off a couple times already. A month ago my 7 year old band saw tension adjustment crapped out on me. I tore it apart, found the part causing the problem, called Ridgid and the replacement was sent out and delivered a week later at no charge and no hassle either.

Based on that, when I needed a corded drill recently I bought orange.

They have an angle grinder:
http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Power-Tools-Grinders/RIDGID/h_d1/N-5yc1vZc2fvZ18g/R-202074049/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UPe8uPJrSDg

:2c: