480W Electric Grinder

I needed an electric die grinder for small specific infrequent tasks in my shop, so it made little sense to spend a chunk of change on a big-name maker. I thought if I get a year of service out of this, it will be a great deal. I was expecting the sort of quality usually associated with Harbor Freight tools, and holy cow was I pleasantly surprised. Shocked, even. The Good: this is a well-made tool with heavy plastic and aluminum castings. Fit and finish are outstanding. It uses a brushed motor, and it's rebuildable (brushless motors are a scam...cheap to make and much lower in torque at low speeds). Two additional brushes are included. The chuck is a Jacobs type so you're not limited to only 1/4" arbors, and it's shrouded in a stationary sleeve, making the tool easy to grip at the front. Total indicated runout 2" from the chuck jaws is .004" which is shockingly good for a cheap tool like this (may be luck, or it may be good QC...I don't know). It has preset variable speed and plenty of power to drive a 2" sanding drum, grinding stone, or 3" Roloc disk. It has plenty of airflow to keep the tool cool, with a directional fan and the exhaust blowing out the front of the tool near the work. This is a great feature because it draws in cooler air from the rear of the tool, away from the business end where there's lots of abrasive particles that would otherwise enter the tool and cause an early death. The Bad: the shroud on the chuck can really slow you down when changing to a different sized arbor because you cannot spin the chuck by hand; the key must be used. The tool is not reversible like some pneumatic die grinders. The air vents can be blocked by your grip and cause the tool to overheat, so pay attention. The switch can be hard to reach; it's not a trigger type, it's a recessed flat toggle at the rear of the tool, and is operated with a fingertip. The Ugly: the power cord is comically short and not even rated at Service Junior specs. I'll be replacing it; the good news is the strain relief is not molded onto the cord, so it can be used with the new, longer cord I'll install. Despite the Bad and Ugly, this tool is a no-brainer. I'll be buying one or two more before the price goes up because having a few means not having to change a drum/disk. Plug in and go. NOTE: I am not a shill reviewer; I'm a shlub like most people with their own shop, and I have many good name-brand tools. I also like a good deal on a good tool, and this is definitely a good deal on a good tool. Recommended.

I have many years experience with many different types of rotary tools. Foredom flax shafts, assorted dental lab grade micromotors, belt driven dental drills, 2 different Dremel tools, vintage electric hand grinder. I am familiar with care, maintenance and even some minor repairs of these tools.As of right now, after a couple of hours of use of grinding out some old rivets and wire brushing some hardware, I am giving this 5 stars, which could change in the future if it quits working too soon. I will probably use this a few hours every week and it should last for a minimum of 3-5 years, for a tool like this and the price.What this tool is good for... Smaller to some medium grinding, spot polishing, small part polishing, wire brush and sanding, rough carving work. This is mainly for more "rough" applications, not a "finesse" tool, but still more nimble than larger hand/die grinder tools. For what this tool is, it is fairly versatile little tool.Why I like it..... The tool has a very nice balance of size and power. It is small enough to use in "smaller" spaces. Running it for 15 minutes non-stop, grinding and it didn't get too hot to hold (I was concerned about overheating). After a few hours of on & off use and I still didn't encounter any overheating issues. It does get warm, but not unreasonably so.The chuck is what made me jump and buy this when I saw it. The grip is much better than any collet chuck on a typical rotary tool. I have been wanting something exactly like this tool for some time. The chuck and key are well made and work smoothly.What I don't like...... The switch. Wish they spent a tad more on the switch and charged a few $ more. It works, but it is stepped and NOT step-less and sometimes it is a bit "sluggish" when changing the speed. I haven't had any issues with it not powering on or anything. It does powers right up when turned on.What I wish it had.... A protective shield attachment like many of the smaller rotary tools have for use when using something like a cut-off wheel. Some users might appreciate it if it had a reverse setting, along with a true step-less speed control would make it more useful for carving. Another suggestion is to offer this with just the tool & key and no accessories and have another option with a case and a better accessory assortment at a higher price. (I didn't need the accessories. It doesn't come with any case, but I didn't need one either.)Honestly, I should have knocked off a star for the stepped, sluggish switch, but I want to encourage this company to invest in their grinders. I would love to own one of these knowing that it is of the same quality as a contractor grade tool like Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, etc.I will update my review if I encounter any issues in the coming months.

Tool works fine for most small and detailed applications. Do not expect to use this to remove welding slag or grind welds.

Useless tool I have ever purchase, If you are considering buying one you better buy warranty beyond the one month you get. I used the tool ONCE, kept getting too hot to handle it so I had to stop using it. Once it cooled down the next time I wanted to use it just didn't run at all. Unfortunatelly it was over 30 day and I had to toss it it the trash.I gave it one start because I had no choice, should be cero starts.

DISCOUNT THE COMPLAINTS. This piece is a bargain, given its unique versatility. Some complain about vibration, but it vibrates less than a more expensive dremel while being more versatile due to the chuck and it won’t vibrate if you use short-shafted tools in the chuck. The farther your tool extends from the chuck, the greater the chance this will vibrate. Yes it gets warm. Big deal. Wear gloves if you need to. The bottom line here is that you get a LOT of useful versatility for a very modest price.

After my Dremel tool died for the final time I decided to replace it with something else and this die grinder was small enough to do what I wanted it to do. The reviews of this tool and other similar tools helped me choose to order this one.This tool has the chuck with key that I wanted, would accept various size shafts for my assorted collection, and is variable speed. So far I am very happy with it. Works great, isn't too loud, seems to have plenty of power for my use, and seems to be very good quality.I can recommend this to friends without reservation.