Porter-Cables New Line of Ball
and Roller Bearing Angle Grinders
I have been testing a Porter Cable 7430K grinder now for six months
now. I loaned it out to a friend who was doing a bit of welding on
a frame jig for repairing crashed cars. He buys rolled over cars
and trucks never front or rear crashes and repairs them and uses
them for his own vehicles. He constantly has a like new pickup and
a new car for his wife to drive. His father in-law has a laser
frame alignment shop so he fixes the small details he missed at his
father in-laws shop. This grinder has 6 amps and runs at 10,000 rpm
but it is completely made with roller and ball bearings so the noise
level is lower and it does not loose rpm when you really bear down.
I have a couple of big 7” grinders, a Makita and a Milwaukee that don't
even compare to this smaller lighter 4 ½” model.
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I have companies send me tools all the time for my magazine testing
and I can say this is the best grinder I have used bar none. I have a steel wheel and an aluminum wheel and the stock Porter Cable wheels seem to cut very fast and last a long time. I have nothing but good things to say about this grinder and it is made for the long haul. It has a nice carrying case with a wheel wrench as part of the handle and other accessories. They have a great warranty and this model sells for only $59.99 but it is not a cheapo tool it runs silent compared to grinders that use only bushings and un-oiled gears. I am a certified welder and I do any type of welding in any metal.
This is a serious grinder for a very low price. I make all types of fittings for boats that I fabricate myself from stainless steel, aluminum and bronze With the right style wheel this grinder does the job of my much bigger grinders and it sure saves my poor back while doing so. Porter-Cable has gone all out and they have made this new range of grinders for pro use.
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This particular grinder has a six amp motor and the 5” model has an huge 9 amp motor. My big Friend ground down as hard as he could push to try to stop the grinder wheel. Not only did it not stop but it didn’t loose RPM at any time while he tried. It sure left a big gouge in the steel plate he was grinding. He was so impressed by that grinder that he bought the 5” wheel model with 9 amps that only runs about $79.99. So if you are in the market for a new great grinder and you want to try the Porter-Cable models just go down to your Home Depot and buy one. It’s a 30 day money back guaranty so if you think you do not like it just take it back for a full refund. If you open up a lot of other brands of grinders they will not have bearings but just bushings. The bearings make the huge difference when you want to grind slag or cut out and clean up a weld to check for holes.
You will not be disappointed in the purchase.
I can not see myself using a bigger grinder in the foreseeable future because I am not fabricating 100 foot booms or building anymore steel hulled boats. I can work fine with a 4 ½” wheel grinder at 6 amps. An all ball bearing grinder at six amps is like a 7 inch bushing type grinder with 12 amps. The less the friction the more power at the grinding wheel. You won’t find anything at Harbor Freight that will work as long or well as a Porter-Cable grinder.
From my too small tool crib,
John