# angle grinder issue



## SE18 (Oct 7, 2013)

I fell for the 4.5" HF angle grinder. The first one I had crapped out on me after about a month. When I turned on the power switch, it came on only if I held the angle grinder in a vertical direction. After a while, it would not power even when moving it into the vertical.

Eventually, I got another 4.5" HF angle grinder, thinking what happened before was a fluke (did Google search & didn't see anyone else with the problem).

Guess what happened?

Same thing happened with the power switch.

Has anyone else experienced this? If i didn't describe the problem well enough, I can certainly make a youtube video of what's been happening

Thanks


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## DMS (Oct 7, 2013)

I have had one of those little grinders for about 2 years. Great deal for the price, but not the nicest tool to use (it vibrates like hell, and the switch is cumbersome). Mine still works though. Maybe you got into a bad batch. I would recommend that if you are going to use it for anything other than small projects, to take it back, and spend a few more bucks on a higher end unit. I have a craftsman grinder as well, and I favor it for most everything. Much less vibration, so my hands don't feel like they are on fire after 10 minutes of use. The body is also larger which makes it easier to hold onto.


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## strantor (Oct 7, 2013)

I would check the brushes & brush springs/caps first; I've encountered brush issues that only manifest themselves at certain angles. If the brushes are good, then check the internal wire connections and switch. Go ahead and take that sucker apart; don't be scared. Nothing to lose if it's already broken and was cheap china to begin with.


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## SE18 (Oct 7, 2013)

thanks, gents


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## davidh (Oct 7, 2013)

didn;t they offer a lifetime warranty for a couple extra bucks ?


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## mhooper (Oct 8, 2013)

I have two angle grinders from Harbor Freight. The switches in both died fairly quickly. 
The switches are not sealed, any dust or debris sucked up by the motor goes past the switch. I disassembled and remove the switches to cleaned them several times ( a royal pain to disassemble the switches themselves. The switches finally quit altogether.  I was not able to find replacement switches that fit.  My solution was to remove the switch and wire direct to motor.  I have a start/stop switch (table saw type) I plug the grinders into, works well.  You can also use a foot switch (dead man type) instead of a push button type.  I noticed that the grinders has more power with less heat build up when I wired them direct.  I'm think that the factory switches must have allot of resistance in contacts.
Hope this helps

mhooper


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## SE18 (Oct 8, 2013)

mhooper, yes, this helps! I just found that a 1 yr warranty costs $10 and they're now on sale for $10 at my local HF, which is 30 miles away. Seems the wiring as you described is straightforward.


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## Dave Smith (Oct 8, 2013)

if you are tired of the angle grinders bouncing then just buy the coarse 36 grit flap disks and you will be hooked --they won't grind a slot but will grind metal faster than the hard grinding wheels--they have gotten a lot less expensive and are sure smooth.  the best HF grinder is the one that has the paddle switch  on the handle.


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## SE18 (Oct 8, 2013)

thanks; I've never heard of a flap disk before; I'll check it out


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## UncleRuss (Oct 8, 2013)

I am not a welder.  Therefore most of my welds look like bird s**t dribbled along a seam.  Flap disks are like a bizzilion sheets of emery cloth going round and round on your grinder.  A flap disk reduces and blends my unsightly welds very well. After a coat or two of 1/4" paint my work almost look professional.  I don't know about the ones from HF but the ones from the weld shop really work well.  The ones down around 36 grit can really be agressive, then use the finer ones to thin and blend.  Grinding disks will become obsolete!

Great fun!  I know you will like them.:allgood:


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## jocat54 (Oct 9, 2013)

I have a couple HF grinders, one is about 10-12 years old. The switch went out on it when it was less than a year old. As everyone knows you can't buy a replacement switch from HF. I just mounted a toggle switch in place of the original and it is still working good to this day.

The other one is only a couple of months old so we'll see how it holds up.

I do use these on a pretty regular basis and abuse them.


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