Cutting steel- was Re: [TheForge] Re: A recipe for EmperorWilson...

[Keporter at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/16/2005 10:41:03 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
robi5515 at bellsouth.net writes:

A pretty  good indicator of the grinders quality and utility is the motor 
amps.  Usually the lower the amps the quicker it will stall, and he less work 
it  will do for me.
I have (2) 4 1/2" Makita's that have all ready crapped out  after 2 years. My 
industrial 4 black and Decker/ Dewalts are still going  strong after 10-20 
years use and changing electrical cords, brushes when  necessary, and lubing 
the gear boxes every 2 years.
My BDI chop saw is  still working 25 years,
My Dewalt multicut locked up after 2 years of  work.
Dewalt rebuilt it for free. Said it was a design flaw.
Seems to me  like a lot of the new tools have a designed life of about 6 
months after  the warranty runs out.
My philosophy about tools, for what it's worth  is:
Tool is critical to your work and used often, buy the best you can  afford.
Tool seldom used, no critical tolerances, buy Harbor Freight and  toss it 
when it craps out.
Chuck


I have a Dewalt 4 1/2" angle grinder, which has been no problem to me at  
all, come to think of it. I also have two Chicago grinders that have run just  
fine on light duty for years. One of the things I like about the Harbor Freight  
tools is I'm not afraid to abuse them. I used one of their grinders for  
cutting kiln shelving with a masonry blade. Worked fine until the grinder locked  
up from all the dust; an inexpensive lesson learned.
Mike P.
Mike P.