Technical Good quality pneumatic angle die grinder?

I bought a nice one at NAPA awhile back. The Granger one I had finally gave out after years of use. It happened to be the week NAPA had it on sale.


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The thing I see between good and cheap air powered die grinders is air consumption and noise .

THE CHEAP ONES ARE NOISY!!!!!!

I got a snap on straight and 90* die grinder, they have to be 20 years old and still take a beating.

I have bought a bunch of cheap Mac tools and blue point grinders they usually last a few years unless you really beat on them ( extended use or using long shaft bits )

I’ve bought the cheap princess auto ones but I find them very loud ,

Jet males a nice die grinder and a good price point ( not princess auto prices but not snap on prices either, maybe a few buck more them Lowe’s or Home Depot junk)

I guess it all depends what you want out of the tool .

 

Being an airline mechanic, I got spoiled using the Company Dotco die grinders. They're smooth and incredibly rugged. See if you can find a used one. I was at a flea market 2 summers ago, a guy had milk crates full of air tools, including a Dotco high speed. He says $20. I couldn't pull the money out fast enough.

 

I asked the same question in a thread a few years ago. I have a half dozen pneumatic straight die grinders that some were purchased new, and some used at swap meets. All kinds of brands and quality. But they work just fine and each one has a different disc or bit in it.

Finding an angle die grinder was much harder as they are either super cheap or super expensive. And never sold at swap meets. Almost. I just found one for $10 two weeks ago and so far it seems to be working fine. It has no name on it, but it's blue, and probably ten years old. I cleaned it and oiled the heck out of it, then put a roloc mount in it. Fingers crossed.

 

You need to grease the gears in the 90 degree head often.

 

At $700 for a angle-head diegrinder I can buy a hell of a lot of HF ones, more than I can wear out in my lifetime... I'm not that crazy.... LOL

 

I have a Husky from Home Depot that has worked for at least 6 years with no problems. It has been no problem with a lot of abuse. Air pressure is set at 90 psi with moisture trap. It is quiet to use. I tried a cheap one and it sounded like a jet engine and lasted one day. In the trash it went.

 

I have one also... Just for that job!... Porting cylinder heads....

 

Sadly, I must admit that I wore out a beautiful Dotco. The repair parts were so spendy that I just left the thing apart on my bench wondering if I should fix it or not.
Well, cheapness got the better of me and I bought a HF, noisy as all get out and it didn’t last long. I got an IR on Amazon and all is well. Kinda wish I fixed the Dotco though.


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For the $$$ it’s hard to beat the Astro Onyx. 4 years+ of heavy work and mine still going strong.

 

The stuff I bought in the early 90s is still going except for an air hammer I busted. Mac,Viking, CP.
but I also have a Chinese straight angle grinder I bought at the flea market around 1990. Still going.

 

I buy used stuff all of the time at a place in Kansas called Yard Store. https://www.yardstore.com/surplus

I have never had an issue with anything from them. Their stock changes, so you need to keep checking.

They often have Dotco stuff.

 

A few years ago a I bought a cheap Performance Tool brand angle die grinder. Out of the box it leaked around the throttle valve. I took it back the next day and got an Ingersol Rand. Night and day difference in the performance and the feel of the tool. I knew better than to buy cheap, but once in a while I get stupid. I've never been disappointed in the long run by spending more for quality.

 

If you want the best there is, buy a Dynabrade and never think about it again. Break out your wallet though.

http://www.dynabrade.com/dyn10/chooseLang5/

 

I have a higher grade HF and it has lasted a long time. I stripped out a couple of cheaper ones and Crazy Steve is right, both of them loosened up and caused it. I just watch and catch the good ones on sale. I have one of their 4.5 electric grinders I use their cutting blades on, I got a warranty on it and had it replaced once but I'm hard on it.

 

Dynabrade is what you want for pneumatic tools. I have both a straight and angle die grinder from them and they are just better all around. Quite, more power etc.

 

I’ve had my blue point for 20 years
No problems yet.....


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HF are cheapo tools ,but I bought an electric straight die grinder about 15 yrs ago. Use it with carbides and 3” cut off wheels. It doesn’t get used everyday but it’s done a lot of work over the years. I like the electric ones rather than running the air compressor for small jobs.

 

I don't have any idea how old my right angle die grinder is, or what brand it is. Might be HF but more likely, I got it at one of the "traveling tool sales" that used to come around. Homier was one. It's been used and abused for a long time. My best and favorite in line die grinder is an American made Black & Decker I got used about 40 years ago. I can't imagine how old it must be.

Gary

 

Never had an angle die grinder.