Lasted <1 day

Those plastic geared and fanned drills and grinders sell for about 20 bucks here. They have a place for occasional light duty. I use a drill like that ( $15.00) for sanding bowls.
I bothers me to see Brand Names liike Porter Cable trying to repackage this entry level stuff as their own.

Is there any special reason I should continue to pay them more for the name?

Sorry for your waste of time. – Shop that stuff at Harbor Freight.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Thanks for the review.

It’s a shame that PC seems to have been in decline since being purchased by Black & Decker.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Sharon:

I also say go to arbor Freight. Some may say they are cheap and i say that’s why I’m buying them. I’ve got the HF grinder and a Dewalt. The HF one had a plastic cover come loose. Duck tape solved the problem. The grinding end works great, and If I ended up with a power wire brush forever I’d probably still find a use for it. I can’t see buying their replacement warranty either. If I use the grinder 10 times in the two year time frame that’s probably a lot. Paying extra for two years (10 uses) seems like a waste. If I used it every day. Then probably.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Hey Sharon
I have done what karson says I bought 3 on sale and put different disc on them they work fine other than the loose head problem and they were $7.99 ea.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

In the summer I use grinders more than any other tool. I weld a lot for fun and profit and cut metal and clean up using 4” grinders. I have had so many of them. Many name brands (dewalt, makita, milwauki) right down to some $10 ones from harbor freight. Most last a summer. They cost about $60. The harbor freight ones lasted 20 minutes each. I purchased three of them at once. Last year I purchased a Craftsman one from Sears thinking that if it dies I’ll just bring it back. I ended up purchasing the extended three year warranty for about $7 thinking that I’ll kill it before that and get a new one.

The bottom line is that I’ve beat on this grinder for two years. I’ve cut a hundred cuts in angle iron and pipe and ground slag of all those welded joints that I cut. It will probably last just beyond the three year extended warranty. If it does it will have outlasted any grinder I’ve ever used.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

hmmm… $7.99 for each at HF… that IS quite a deal… I just know myself, and I hate to throw away things that ‘look’ functional, or things that I ‘think’ I can use for parts… but I guess thats another option out there.

I’ll check out Sears, they have a store next to my office, I did get the wire brush from them (that completely dissolved after an hour of use…. then got a DEWALT brand one that looks like it’ll last a bit longer).

for what it’s worth – I have my cordless dewalt, and had it for more than 5 years now – I got it when it just came to the market, and it has seen some serious work in mason and lots of metal. and its still going strong, my problem is the damn batteries, last time I wanted to get a dewalt battery then needed a co-signer.

Thanks for the ideas guys, I’ll have to look into those once I figure out my next adventure in metals. for now I’ll try to manage with my cordless and a very very short runtime (5-10 min) and my Bosch Rotozip with the wheel attachment (now that is a terrific tool… should write a review on that one)

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

What I find interesting is that DeWalt and Porter-Cable (and Delta and Oldham blades and…) are all made by Black & Decker. A guy I spoke to a Lowe’s a while back said they were repurposing all the various brands and that PC was on its way to being the replacement branding for the old Black & Decker Firestorm line. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_&_Decker)

You’d think there would be less disparity between the build quality of these tools, but apparently not….

-- Bret, Colorado

I understand the business plan, it’s not like B&D is “making” all the tools, they just control the factories that make them financially. you can look at the different “brands” like different product lines from a “single” brand, aka “entry level”/”prosumer level”/”pro level”.

but all that is political talk, I’m more concerned with the end product and how well it performs be it black/yellow/red/blue/polkadot orange. and this one didn’t quite stand up to it.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I picked up a Bosch set from HD a few months ago. It was a twin pack for $99. I dont know if they still have it, you might look into it. The Bosch has worked well and I havent had an issue….

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

I’ve had my makita grinder for several years. It has lasted through quite a bit…including grinding concrete, metal, wood, plastic and some acrylic. I got it at a tool show for about $40…don’t know what they cost these days…but then I haven’t had to look for another.

I quit buying PC after their sale as I had heard they were using cheap foreign parts and had gone to a less or “inexpensive” format….(sad as my great PC biscuit jointer is starting to show its age – I don’t think I will replace it with a PC). It’s annoying to me that some of these manufacturers that had a very good rugged product have gone that route. It also worries me when I need to make a purchase that the product I have relied on and expect to continue the same quality is now a cheaply made piece of @*^+.

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

I have a Hilti HG450 corded that has lasted for years, I’m not sure what I paid for it but I’m sure that it was over $100

-- Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

you know that dewalt and porter cable are both owned by black and decker that might be why

-- kosta brownsville brooklyn my home

not quite Kosta- the Dewalt that I have (and it’s a cordless one) is superb! – I just ran out of batteries, but the tool itself is class-A.

on a side note – we just got the Bosch set of 2 grinders, they are smaller, but for my needs more than enough. so far all my Bosch tools have been top notch and their service is second to none.

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.