So, I had a coupon.... $20 for one of those electric 3" cut off deals. I don't have an air compressor, so it makes sense. I really only got it to cut off the tops of the shocks I need to remove, so I can replace them. And no, my sawsall won't fit. 
So, will it last the 15-20 minutes I need it to work?
My guess is that it'll last a good long time. I had a 4.5" angle grinder that was pretty unkillable.
I bought one of those two years ago from HF.. helped cut a saab 900 apart and is still going strong
when I used the hf 4.5" electric angle grinders they usually last 3-4 weeks with regular use. hitachi ones from lowes usually last me closer to a year. if you do the math it doesn't work out in the hf ones favor. But for occasional and especially light use it should be just fine. Hope you used your 20% coupon in addition to your other coupon.
The big killer for the HF seems to be heat/heavy use. Keep a light touch, keep your gloves off the air vents, keep the wheel spinning and don't bog it down. Keys to long grinder life.
I uave a 4" grinder from harbor freight that has outlasted snap on breaker bars. I hate it. It's dangerous ( the on/off switch is temperamental), but dang it if it doesn't do the job. Its been almost 5 years now with the godforsaken thing... I keep trying to replace it, but it just won't die...
They are hit and miss. Some last years, others last seconds. My dad has one that must be 10 years old, I use it all the time. I had a friend break 3 in one day cutting an old car up.
thats been my experience too... I think I bought 3 of them that lasted short enough that I haven't bought any more. My brother has one he has had a couple years.
funny, I have one that probably has 10 hours on it of intermittent use. No leaks and the bearings are fine.
wierd
I use mine constantly due to not having a good compressor yet. Just keep the pressure light. If it shuts off it does have a reset switch, completely cycle the trigger off-on-off and then press the reset.
what kind of upper shock bolts are you trying to remove? if it's the stud kins that has a nut on it, then just put a tight fitting socket on it with a long extension and break it off by moving it side to side until the stud snaps off..
Leave the safety guard on.
We all do it, we take it off becuase it gets in the way.
Then this happens when the cutoff wheels fractures;
Thats my neck,about 2 inches from my jugular
How many of you are letting the brushes run in before putting them to use? From what I've heard, that seems to be the key to getting good life from HF power tools.
Mental wrote: Leave the safety guard on. We all do it, we take it off becuase it gets in the way. Then this happens when the cutoff wheels fractures;
Whoa. You and rickety cricket have similar wounds.
Mental wrote: Leave the safety guard on. We all do it, we take it off becuase it gets in the way. Then this happens when the cutoff wheels fractures;
wow, and I thought I had a tough lesson.. twice! once with a grinding wheel that took out a good chunk of my finger(but missed all the important stuff) and onces to the back of my hand with a braided wire wheel.
I can't say about a grinder, but my $20 HF drill lasted thru drilling off a brake disk. It let some smoke out but still worked.
I have smoked about a half dozen of them in a months time. Andrave hit the nail on the head with this
"The big killer for the HF seems to be heat/heavy use. Keep a light touch, keep your gloves off the air vents, keep the wheel spinning and don't bog it down. Keys to long grinder life. "
The thing that kill a few of mine was a large wire cup, it actually killed a larger more expensive grinder before them. The grinders don't take heavy loads well. Stick with sanding disks, cut off disks, and grinding wheels. Keep a back up one if you are going to be doing a lot of work with them. Also keep in mind they have a 90 day return policy
Mental wrote: Leave the safety guard on. We all do it, we take it off becuase it gets in the way. Then this happens when the cutoff wheels fractures;
My testicles just retracted into my body looking at that.
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