I’m pretty critical of cordless angle grinders because they are one of the rare tools that, in my opinion, don’t make as much sense going cordless. I say this coming from the side of a fabricator who used many an angle grinder when building fences, structures, chassis, barbecue smokers, trailers, mezzanines, and more. For the home fabricator who works for a couple of hours on a weekend doing things, they can be great, and I’m a huge fan of cordless tools overall. But for someone prepping steel and aluminum for big projects they just aren’t going to cut it.

Anyone who has spent hours and hours with a grinder in their hand will understand why. First, they won’t last long enough on a charge to get that kind of work done. Second, the first cordless grinder offerings didn’t have enough power to keep up with corded grinders. But perhaps one of the biggest reasons is the life span under those conditions.

Grinders, under those conditions, tend to not last more than a year or two. Some do, don’t get me wrong, but even buying high-end name brand grinders you will find that one lasts a long time and another doesn’t. It just depends. So spending big money on cordless grinders over a corded grinder doesn’t make a lot of sense to a lot of guys. In fact, there are a whole lot of shops that buy a bunch of cheap 4 1/2 – inch and 7-inch angle grinders knowing that each year you are going to be throwing some away. A $40 grinder that only lasts a year is no big deal compared to a $200 grinder that lasts two years when costs matter for your business.

But are cordless grinders still the right choice for you at home? I’m a fan of having a grinder ready with the wheel I want at all times, so I tend to have either three or four on hand. One with a cutoff wheel, one with a flap disc, one with a composite disc, and sometimes one with a traditional “stone style” hard grinding disc. This way you grab what you need as you need it without having to change out discs every few minutes.

Check out the Project Farm video below to find out which cordless grinder you should be looking to buy if you are in the market for more cordless tools in your shop!

Video Description:

Angle Grinder Brands: Knockoff Makita vs Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt, Ryobi, Bosch, Craftsman, Ridgid, Metabo, Workpro. Grinder performance compared cutting through ½ inch rebar with 5 pounds of pressure. Tool power/torque compared using a grinding disc with incremental increases in pressure up to 20 pounds. I purchased all of the angle grinders to ensure a fair and unbiased review. So, thanks for supporting the channel!