cutting tools, grinders, etc, new tools Options

[mikelsr]

I am getting ready to buy some cutting tools, grinders, etc and I was wondering what are some of the better tools out there for the job of maintaining 914s! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif)

What tools would you have in your workshop?

[bondo]

QUOTE (Rand @ Sep 30 2005, 02:01 PM)

Are you talking personal use? How much and how often? If it's just for your own hobby where they will get light to moderate use, then it's tough to beat Harbor Freight.

Yeah, I should clarify that this is stuff I use in my own garage, for personal projects and the occasional odd job.

That said, the architecture department at Cal Poly where I worked for several years used HF angle grinders almost exclusively.. They had a few Makita ones too. They both lasted about as long, and suffered from the same failures when exposed to heavy use.

Failure 1: Students grinding into the cord. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/slap.gif) (fixable)

Failure 2: Internal cord breakage where the cord enters the body. (fixable)

Failure 3: Student is grinding for hours.. grinder gets too hot to hold.. student gets gloves and continues grinding. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/alfred.gif) (not fixable)

Whether it's a cheapie or a brand name, if the motor melts down it's gonna be cheaper to buy another than have it fixed. The biggest difference between name brand and cheapie is noise. For you it doesn't really matter because you should be wearing ear protection anyways. But if you might get complaints from the neighbors (or wife) then that's the only reason I can see to get a name brand grinder.