# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Grinder- 100mm or 125mm?

## JB1

I need an angle grinder for general purpose, cutting a few bricks, tiles, etc.  
What size should I get? you can use a smaller disc on a larger grinder but not the other way round..  
Any disadvantage of getting the larger one? 
Was thinking to get either a Bosch Blue over the Makita as the Bosch has a 6 year warranty!

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## phild01

I far prefer a lightweight 115mm.  100mm (same body weight), discs wear down too quickly, 125 too heavy for single handed use.
I always have a 115 and a 125 at hand and seldom use my 100.

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## rebuildr86

You cant actualy use a smaller disc on a larger grinder.
125 is the way to go, and id go bosch beacuse ive had makitas that have just corroded, something happened to the alloy housing. my bosch 125 (100 bucks from bunnings) is still going after 5 years of constant tiling and metalwork use and has only needed a replacement set of brushes once, 4 months ago. The brushes of this machine are designed to snap in half to a little plastic spacer lodged inside the brush, to halt the tool and save the armature from damage. Very happy i chose bosch.
The larger ones are easier to keep steady, and for anything where you need to apply torgue to a wide contact area, like a flat sanding disc removing large areas of rust, the 100 just doesnt allow the same contact surface area. 100mms are for playing around  :Smilie:

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## JB1

Thanks, perfect! I'll get the Bosch 125mm 
I had an Bosch green grinder that I just can't seem to find.. can't remember if it was 100 or 115 or 125mm. 
It's amazing how cheap Bosch Blue power tools are these days. Whether they are the same quality as the older German made Bosch Blue is questionable but it can't be that bad if it comes with a 6 year warranty.   

> I far prefer a lightweight 115mm.  100mm (same  body weight), discs wear down too quickly, 125 too heavy for single  handed use.
> I always have a 115 and a 125 at hand and seldom use my 100.

  115mm isn't very common these days. Certainly Bunnings and Total Tools only seem to stock either 100mm or 125mm.

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## rebuildr86

Phil you have too many tools by the sound of it :Tongue:

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## rebuildr86

i can say that my bosch vibrates a fair bit more than i remember my makita doing, but so far the bosch has proven substantially better value for money.

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## Bros

Get the 125 grinder. I bought an AEG some time back as I got annoyed changing from grinding disk to cutting disk for about $60 from Bunnings, I see they are $95 now.
If you want to cut bricks use someone else's grinder as brick dust is not friendly to grinders.

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## Uncle Bob

Use big grinders on bigger things. Using piddly grinders on big stuff is a PITA and more dangerous.

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## phild01

> Phil you have too many tools by the sound of it

  Didn't mention the 9" ones :Wink: 
I also like to have several to save mucking around changing from flap to thin to diamond.

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## phild01

> 115mm isn't very common these days. Certainly Bunnings and Total Tools only seem to stock either 100mm or 125mm.

  Correct and I'll never understand that.  However cheapies can be found and much prefer them to a 100mm.  My 100mm is a DeWalt and rarely ever used preferring the cheap nasty $20 115.  Kmart had them for $22, reminder to me to see if still available and buy a few. 
Also don't like using the thin blades in the 125.  The blade flexes a lot and the weight is too tiring.

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## Marc

Get the 125mm or 5" grinder, forget the 100mm. Check the watts. Some 125 grinders are actually just a 100mm with a bigger guard. It must be 1400W. Bosh and Makita have good ones. I prefer the rat tail version with the dead man switch. Milwaukee is my preferred one but they are pricey. Makita has a $250 version of rat tail grinder that beats the Bosh cylindrical odd to hold shape for the same price.
For cutting, be it bricks tiles of steel, you need a good grip with both hands, and power to spare.
As for using a grinder one handed, and worse one that does not have dead man switch ... well that is real bad practice.
To cut blocks nothing beats the 9" with diamond wheel

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## phild01

> As for using a grinder one handed, and worse one that does not have dead man switch ... well that is real bad practice.

  Probably why I don't like the 125, unless I really need it.  115 rules :Tongue:

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## Marc

Suppose personal preference counts too. 
I cut large I beams, PFC, railroad tracks with a 5" grinder and 1mm cutting wheel without a problem. Of course you need to keep it steady and firm and let the disk do the work. I buy 1mm disk (Pferd) by the box. Best tool invented so far. One thing I learned with the thin cutting disk is to take the disk out of the grinder once I finish. They are fragile and it is too easy to put the grinder in a box or on a shelf leaning on the disk. In a few days the disk is bent and when you go start it it goes puff. 
Yes they don't go bang, too light  :Smilie:

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## JB1

> Get the 125 grinder. I bought an AEG some time back as I got annoyed changing from grinding disk to cutting disk for about $60 from Bunnings, I see they are $95 now.
> If you want to cut bricks use someone else's grinder as brick dust is not friendly to grinders.

  $60, how cheap is that..  1100 watts too..  
The Bosch is only $89 and comes with a 6 year warranty. Cheap enough not to worry about ..   

> Get the 125mm or 5" grinder, forget the 100mm. Check  the watts. Some 125 grinders are actually just a 100mm with a bigger  guard. It must be 1400W. Bosh and Makita have good ones. I prefer the  rat tail version with the dead man switch. Milwaukee is my preferred one  but they are pricey. Makita has a $250 version of rat tail grinder that  beats the Bosh cylindrical odd to hold shape for the same price.
> For cutting, be it bricks tiles of steel, you need a good grip with both hands, and power to spare.
> As for using a grinder one handed, and worse one that does not have dead man switch ... well that is real bad practice.
> To cut blocks nothing beats the 9" with diamond wheel

  hmmmm the Bosch Blue I'm looking at is only 720w. Maybe consider the 1100w AEG for a similar price? 
What is a rat tail? 
I have access to a 9inch grinder. I've used it before but prefer not to, just too big and heavy.

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## phild01

> What is a rat tail?

  second image

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## METRIX

If there is 2 things bosch do well are grinders and demo hammers. 
Also pickup a quick release nut from Bunnings, you can change wheels without any tools, best thing I ever added to the small grinders, tgey are branded AEG

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## JB1

It doesn't appear any of the cheapies have rat tails, .. i.e. $89 Bosch Blue 
They look much more comfortable to hold.    

> Also pickup a quick release nut from Bunnings, you can change wheels without any tools,

  Thanks for the tip..

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## rebuildr86

I use mine primarily for tile mitre cutting, just the 89 dollar one, and i use it one handed with one hand holding the tile. Its incredibly light. my cordless bosch 125 however, is a strain on one hand. 
If you are going to be doing intricate stuff, the rat tail will cause problems, but if you are goign to be doing dangerous stuff, then its a must.

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## Whitey66

Have a look at the new brushless Bosch Blue 125mm. Great grinder with plenty of power and once you cut the cord and go cordless you'll probably never use your corded one again.
I've got about 6 small angle grinders, 2 cordless Bosch Blues and the rest are corded 100, 115 and 125. The only ones I use now are the 2 cordless with the new ProCore batteries  :2thumbsup: 
If i'm cutting or grinding something bigger, the 9" Hitachi gets a run, it will be a long time till cordless has enough grunt for a 9" for reasonable money.
But for bang for buck, you can't beat the Bosch Blue corded variety.

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## rebuildr86

Whitey do u find the bosch uses bulk battery power? I got given a bosch procore 18v set from bosch because they are awesome, and its incredibly good, bit heavy, and is the biggest consumer of battery out of all my boach tools.
By given,  i mean given from bosch australia, because they are a huge company with humans, and responded to my request for a discounted replacement of my stolen power tools with supply of a brand new set of procore tools at no cost. Seriously the best company 8n the world.

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## Whitey66

Yes, compared to all the other Bosch Blue tools I have. It's due to the fact that these grinders are supposed to have the power of a corded grinder, and due to the fact that they are only 18v, this means lots of Amps to get the equivalent Watts of a corded tool.
I've got about 16 batteries now anyway, so the only issue is swapping them out.
Still much easier than the restrictions, hassles and the constant test and tagging of corded jobbies.

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## Whitey66

> If there is 2 things bosch do well are grinders and demo hammers. 
> Also pickup a quick release nut from Bunnings, you can change wheels without any tools, best thing I ever added to the small grinders, tgey are branded AEG

   I only ever do mine up by hand, just push the spindle lock button and tighten blade with my other hand.
They self tighten as soon as you turn it on and put a load on the blade or disc. The only time i've ever had one come loose (very rare) is when using a diamond blade and after switch off (the inertia of the spinning blade on the decelerating spindle causes this), never when it's under power.
No tools needed for removal either, give it a try  :2thumbsup:  
JB1, consider getting the 1400 Watt model as Marc suggests, it's about double the price though. Sometimes a more powerful grinder is much safer than an under powered one.

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## METRIX

> It doesn't appear any of the cheapies have rat tails, .. i.e. $89 Bosch Blue 
> They look much more comfortable to hold.    
> Thanks for the tip..

  They are now done by Kango, make sure to get the right size  https://www.bunnings.com.au/kango-m1...c-nut_p6320791

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## METRIX

> Have a look at the new brushless Bosch Blue 125mm. Great grinder with plenty of power and once you cut the cord and go cordless you'll probably never use your corded one again.
> I've got about 6 small angle grinders, 2 cordless Bosch Blues and the rest are corded 100, 115 and 125. The only ones I use now are the 2 cordless with the new ProCore batteries 
> If i'm cutting or grinding something bigger, the 9" Hitachi gets a run, it will be a long time till cordless has enough grunt for a 9" for reasonable money.
> But for bang for buck, you can't beat the Bosch Blue corded variety.

  I have 2 x Metabo 100mm corded, these are the best grinders ever, german made very light and powerful.
Also have a Bosch blue 115, and the Bosch cordless 125, they are both nice grinders, then a Metabo 9", finally an electric Husqvarna 350mm. 
Metabo are renown for making the best grinders, especially the proper ones made in Germany with the Marathon motors, they run forever. 
I find if i'm doing a fiddly job which needs a lot of grinding / cutting I will use the 100mm Metabo all day every day, because its balanced really nicely, it's light and powerful. 
The cordless definitely has it's advantages but cant keep up with a true 240v version. 
You will also find that stupid switch on the Bosch cordless will not turn off after a while, as the grooves get slightly worn down and when you run your finger on it to turn it off, it just slides over the switch, what a stupid designed switch. 
My Metabo are 10 and 6 years old switch still works fine everytime, Bosch cordless 2.5 year old switch grippy bits worn out.

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## JB1

I wonder why the keyless change tool doesn't  come standard.    

> I only ever do mine up by hand, just push the spindle lock button and tighten blade with my other hand.
> They self tighten as soon as you turn it on and put a load on the blade or disc. The only time i've ever had one come loose (very rare) is when using a diamond blade and after switch off (the inertia of the spinning blade on the decelerating spindle causes this), never when it's under power.
> No tools needed for removal either, give it a try  
> JB1, consider getting the 1400 Watt model as Marc suggests, it's about double the price though. Sometimes a more powerful grinder is much safer than an under powered one.

  If I was a pro I would but I'm just a DIY hack and wouls be lucky to use it 3 times a year. 
Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

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## phild01

I find power is a secondary consideration, even my small least powerful grinders are effortless.  I did try an 18v AEG once and it was pretty hopeless.

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## METRIX

> I wonder why the keyless change tool doesn't  come standard.

  Cost, so they can sell you another thing, I hate standard grinder locking nuts, you cannot find the key whenever you need it.

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## phild01

> Cost, so they can sell you another thing, I hate standard grinder locking nuts, you cannot find the key whenever you need it.

   All the cheapies use the same size wrench, I must have half a dozen lying about, can always find one of them :Biggrin:

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## Marc

Milwaukee has keyless nut as standard.  https://sydneytools.com.au/milwaukee...xoC2FMQAvD_BwE

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## JB1

Ended up buying the Bosch.  
It's much smaller and lighter than the others. 6 year warranty doesn't hurt either. The only one which felt reasonably comfortable to use with just 1 hand.  
The AEG had an adjustable guard which was great and also more powerful but so much bigger and heavier.   
====

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## Marc

Have any of you "one hand users" of grinders who stay on unless you switch them off ever seen what a grinder does when let lose whilst running? 
Come on guys, have a grip and use both hands and the side handle. Grinders with no handle are no longer made for a reason. One hand or no guard are just as bad.  :Annoyed:

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## METRIX

> Have any of you "one hand users" of grinders who stay on unless you switch them off ever seen what a grinder does when let lose whilst running? 
> Come on guys, have a grip and use both hands and the side handle. Grinders with no handle are no longer made for a reason. One hand or no guard are just as bad.

  My mate has a scar about 20cm down the inside of one arm and received a lot of stitches after he was using a grinder without guard and it went wrong.
I don't understand why people take the guard off, I have been using grinders since I was 15 and never seen the need to use them with no guard.

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## phild01

> Have any of you "one hand users" of grinders who stay on unless you switch them off ever seen what a grinder does when let lose whilst running? 
> Come on guys, have a grip and use both hands and the side handle. Grinders with no handle are no longer made for a reason. One hand or no guard are just as bad.

  Agree for anyone new to this.
My small grinders are light enough for single handed use and their side handles are long gone.  Never had an issue using them that way, don't expect any either.  The 9 inch ones are a different story.

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## cyclic

Never ceases to amaze me how people worry about 9" grinders, or grinders without handles or guards, yet they drive cars one hand while eating a pie, having a drink, texting, or, as a bloke driving a small truck was doing last week, using 2 mobile phones with his elbows on the steering wheel. 
Grinders are only as safe as the nut holding them.

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## Bros

> Never ceases to amaze me how people worry about 9" grinders,

    A lot of industrial sites have banned the big grinders due to to many accidents. 
My daughter works at TAFE and they threw out a lot of 100mm grinders that when you let them go they will still run, I ended up with a 100mm makita to add to my collection.

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## METRIX

> A lot of industrial sites have banned the big grinders due to to many accidents. 
> My daughter works at TAFE and they threw out a lot of 100mm grinders that when you let them go they will still run, I ended up with a 100mm makita to add to my collection.

  I hate the grinders with these stupid dead man switches, they are a pain to use.

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## Bros

> I hate the grinders with these stupid dead man switches, they are a pain to use.

  Me too.

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## sol381

I picked up a cordless milwaukee grinder with a paddle switch.. lots of reviewers didnt like them as you have to slide a switch then pull the trigger.. I like it now.. take your hand off it stops.. The basic switch on most grinders are a pain as they can either be a bugger to engage or they disengage without warning. I used to always use a grinder with no guard and no handle but since i picked up this grinder i always use both..Grinders are by far the biggest cause of accidents on the jobsite.

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## phild01

I feel safer using it single handed as my body can be further away from the action. The blade does the work and it doesn't need a lot of power to do it either.   

> I picked up a cordless milwaukee grinder

  How does the speed compare with a corded one, the AEG I tried was a lot slower. 
Not sure I would want a battery one anyway being heavier and I would need to use both hands.

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## Whitey66

> I hate the grinders with these stupid dead man switches, they are a pain to use.

   The new Bosch Blue cordless stop when you drop them https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUEM-_qISDM
It's shown at about the 4 minute mark.

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## chrisp

> I far prefer a lightweight 115mm.  100mm (same body weight), discs wear down too quickly, 125 too heavy for single handed use.
> I always have a 115 and a 125 at hand and seldom use my 100.

  
I was in the 115mm camp too. Many years ago (but I dont know if it is still true), the 100mm grinders had different sized arbor thread size to all the bigger grinders. By going to a 115, all the big attachments can be used on a 115mm grinder. 
Ive now moved to a Hitachi cordless and brushless grinder (125mm). Cordless is so much more convenient (and no burning power cords when welding!). A nice feature on the Hitachi is that is slows down when not loaded and comes back to speed when it is loaded. It has the deadman type switch that takes a little getting used to, but it is fine once one is familiar with it.

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## Marc

That (drop stop) feature is only for the cordless grinders and requires a big whack to stop. Let it go on a bench or on the floor whilst crouching down and see how it crawls all over you up the wall and out the door. 
Spend a few hours in the emergency ward of your local hospital on a weekend and see the confident grinder users line up. There is absolutely no reason to use one hand only for grinding. None whatsoever. You have two hands and the tool has two handles. 
The dead man switch and the soft start need getting used to. I do a lot of heavy work with large grinders and I wouldn't dream to muck around with kicking grinders and fixed switches. 
I was going to say you should always wear a face shield when grinding, but don't see the point with you confident lot  :Frown:

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## phild01

> I was going to say you should always wear a face shield when grinding, but don't see the point with you confident lot

  Have one and gets discretionary use maybe sometimes :Smilie:   Trouble is, it's not very long before you can't see through the things.

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## chrisp

> I don't understand why people take the guard off, I have been using grinders since I was 15 and never seen the need to use them with no guard.

  Your comment bought a smile to my face. I used to manage an engineering facility and some staff where adamant that guards were for the non-tradesperson and so they removed to guards as they were real tradesmen (yep, they were all male). I soon put a stop to it. 
One safety inspector told me that he could tell the age of a tradesman by their attitude to guards. The old ones thought that guards were a hindrance (and often complained that it was safety gone mad) whereas younger tradespeople accepted the guarding as part of the tool/machine. 
I used to quote the statistics - most electrocuted are qualified electricians, most car crush deaths happen to qualified mechanics. The guards are for their safety and they can use them or walk! I wasnt very popular manager with the old tradies!

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## phild01

I never remove the guards, that's where I draw a line too.

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## JB1

Pretty silly to remove the guard. 
I used it today, 720w but enough grunt to cut bricks with a diamond blade. 
It was light enough to use with 1 hand, had to remove the handle to get into a corner. Don't worry Marc, I put it back on. 
I wish it had a built in adjustable guard like the AEG. I'm sure the AEG is more powerful but the Bosch is far lighter. 
Overall For $85 the Bosch is a good tool. 
I do wonder why do power tools market ù the input power consumption to rate how powerful it is rather than the torque. 
Input power consumption doesn't always have linear relationship with how much power it produces.  We don't say, Car A uses 15L/100km so must be more powerful than Car B that uses 13L/100. 
====

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## sol381

Its brilliant..speed is 8500mm so same as my corded makita.. we use it for everything.. cuts through 90mm steel posts very easily. i used to be like you and only using one hand but got used to the side handle very quickly.. isnt really that much heavier.. i just want to go cordless with all my tools now. so thats why i got it..     

> I feel safer using it single handed as my body can be further away from the action. The blade does the work and it doesn't need a lot of power to do it either.  
> How does the speed compare with a corded one, the AEG I tried was a lot slower. 
> Not sure I would want a battery one anyway being heavier and I would need to use both hands.

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## Marc

Guards can be in the way sometimes, but you have to learn to find different ways to access that corner. 
Milwaukee makes it easy to move the guard around since it slides around rather easy into different positions.  
Cutting or grinding something that seems not accessible to the grinder means you need to use a different tool. Die grinder, oscillating blade, hammer and chisel, jackhammer, etc.  
i am a bit biased with grinder safety probably because I have seen my fair share of disasters. At the local hospital emergency ward where I worked as an interpreter fora few years, and first hand looking in disbelief what some of my  friends and relatives were able to achieve.  
One that takes the crown, was my friend auto electrician who thought that a grinder is a good tool for pruning the bushes of his next door neighbour. Fitting a small circular saw to his 100 mm crappito, and dutifully removing the guard,  he proceeded to cut back tiny branches from a hedge. At first he was holding it with both hands even when he had removed the handle to be able to reach inside the bush. After a while and happy with his success, he started to cut further into the bush reaching with one hand. It took one tiny branch to jam his crappito to make the grinder jump out of his hand, turn around and bite his other hand and cut 3 fingers off. I can still remember the feeling of the fingers I collected and put in a freezer bag taken them to the hospital to get them reunited with his hand.  
Another genius friend thought a grinder is a great tool to sand the wooden floor of his front porch. It was a tiny little porch surrounded by 1m high brick wall. His 100 mm crappito worked well sanding (with no guard) until it slipped out of his hands and continued running chasing him around the porch like a rabid monkey. it cut into his leg, arm, hand and chest before cutting his own cord off. Nice! 
My son in law, was helping his friend replace an old fence with a colorbond fence. Having seen me doing this a few times, he felt full of confidence. Borrowed my 9" grinder to cut the old fence post off ... For some unknown reason he thought that cutting from right to left was the way to go so proceeded to reposition the left hand handle on the top ( you can do this with larger grinders) and was cutting with right hand on the dead man switch and left hand on the vertical handle cutting from right to left the post at ground level. It took the slightest movement of the cutting disk to jamb the grinder and make it rotate clockwise along his long axis, jumping out of his left hand and cutting straight into his left forearm from below. Yes he can still move his fingers after extensive surgery. 
Recently I was brushing rust off the top of an I beam, standing on a ladder and fitting the grinder between the beam and the top floor. everything was working well until I hit the head of a bolt, hidden under the rust and the brush dug in and slammed the grinder in my face. I was wearing a face shield and the only damage was to my ego. The face mask needed replacing anyway.  
I can relate a few dozen more stories of people I don't know with horrific injuries relating to grinders, most of them not 9" but 4" on weekends. 
It pays to think before you start what could go wrong and position yourself accordingly just in case. it pays every time. 
And just to top it off, my friend that comes to visit every Tuesday, was telling me about a mate that works in a factory where they produce cast iron covers. He worked there for decades doing always the same thing, grinding off the seams of the cast on a bench grinder of generous proportions and without a cover (of course). This guy started working every day at 4am so that he could leave at lunch time and have the afternoon off. This meant he would work alone for 2 hours. The first 6 am starter, that used to be greeted by a racket, found the factory still but for a whizzing noise.
When he went to investigate, he found the early starter dead on the ground, the bench grinder with no grinding wheel and the guy on the floor without a face. The grinding wheel exploded and took his face with it. To the Workcover investigator they told that the grinding wheel cover would not stop an exploding wheel anyway so why bother ...

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## phild01

> My son in law, was helping his friend replace an old fence with a colorbond fence. Having seen me doing this a few times, he felt full of confidence. Borrowed my 9" grinder to cut the old fence post off .. 
> Recently I was brushing rust off the top of an I beam, standing on a ladder fitting the grinder between the beam and the top floor. everything was working well until I hit the head of a bolt

  Well Marc, all I can say is:
 I would never lend a 9inch grinder to the uninitiated;
and
 how did you hold that grinder with two hands and have 3 points of connection to the ladder!  :Wink:

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## phild01

> Its brilliant..speed is 8500mm so same as my corded makita.. we use it for everything.. cuts through 90mm steel posts very easily. i used to be like you and only using one hand but got used to the side handle very quickly.. isnt really that much heavier.. i just want to go cordless with all my tools now. so thats why i got it..

   Noticed the DeWalt is similar speed.  I have a 6A battery I got with the DeWalt drill (love this drill) so might look at that.

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## cyclic

The only reason I have no guard on one of my 100mm makita grinders is for cutting inside 100 dwv pvc or earthenware pipe.
Unfortunately it is the one with the diamond blade, so it also gets used (no guard) for tiles and the odd brick.
Another 100 makita with guard, has a grinding disc for steel and the odd ali, and it sometimes gets a disc change to cut stainless or steel or ali, while the third 100 makita went missing into my son's shed years ago. 
I also have a 5" cheapie from the rabbit shop which I do not like.
Only bought it because my 9" was an hours drive away.
Just not comfortable in my hand.
Used it once to cut a concrete kerb and promptly cut the lead back to about 8 inches from the grinder. 
The 9" makita grinder of course, I could not live without.
Just love the torque as it tries to bend both your hands back and twist them into unbelievable positions. 
It has a guard and is used mostly these days for cutting concrete.

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## Bros

> The 9" makita grinder of course, I could not live without.
> Just love the torque as it tries to bend both your hands back and twist them into unbelievable positions.

  And that is their danger. My late FIL who had no mechanical knowledge tried to sharpen a knife with one of these grinders laying upside down on top of a wheelie bin and I don't need to tell you what happened.  
It had no connection with his death three yrs later.

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## phild01

Tools need to be respected until you know how to do stupid things :Biggrin: 
The first time I used a grinder, I was petrified about the disc shattering.  Took me ages cutting 4" RHS.

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## Marc

> Well Marc, all I can say is:
>  I would never lend a 9inch grinder to the uninitiated;
> and
>  how did you hold that grinder with two hands and have 3 points of connection to the ladder!

  Sure thing ... the fact that he borrowed it does not mean I lent it to him. And as for the ladder you aer right but it was a little 3 step ladder.

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## pharmaboy2

> I use mine primarily for tile mitre cutting, just the 89 dollar one, and i use it one handed with one hand holding the tile. Its incredibly light. my cordless bosch 125 however, is a strain on one hand. 
> If you are going to be doing intricate stuff, the rat tail will cause problems, but if you are goign to be doing dangerous stuff, then its a must.

  Im just so jealous you can cut a mitre by free hand!  Tiler I used was cutting 1500 long tiles freehand for mitres - hard to watch it took so long, and every fail was a $50 tile ;(

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## pharmaboy2

> Tools need to be respected until you know how to do stupid things
> The first time I used a grinder, I was petrified about the disc shattering.  Took me ages cutting 4" RHS.

  Reminds me of the nine inch grinder with the 12 inch cutting blade we had at a job many years ago.   The labourer who got the kickback strike from it I bet wish it was a 12 inch grinder, probably still wishes it today 
so safety advice, think twice or thryce before taking the guard off

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## cyclic

> Tools need to be respected until you know how to do stupid things
> The first time I used a grinder, I was petrified about the disc shattering.  Took me ages cutting 4" RHS.

  That was your first mistake.
I would never use a grinder to cut something like 4" RHS.
I would use a drop saw or power saw, much safer.

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## phild01

> That was your first mistake.
> I would never use a grinder to cut something like 4" RHS.
> I would use a drop saw or power saw, much safer.

  Since then I do have a drop saw but it fails to do a proper square cut.  The newer 115 thin blades are great and will cut 4" RHS with ease, as long as you watch where the steel might compress against the blade.  It's what I mean by knowing what you are doing...without it, cutting steel that big can as you say, be unsafe.  Steel like RHS is a bit like KD tmber and has varying stress that can deform when you cut it.

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