Milwaukee M12 Angle Die Grinder

I grind a lot of welds doing sheetmetal restorations at Eclectic Motorworks. Much of the grinding follows butt welding patch panels in. My goto method for years has been to use a straight, air-powered die grinder with a 1/16" x 3" cutoff wheels to grind the top off the welds, then blend them flush with a 90 degree air-powered die grinder and a 2" 36 grit disk.

My son just bought Milwaukee's M12 angle die grinder and I was skeptical.  But I tried it in place of the air powered one I normally use. It's great! I don't think the extra size or weight will be an issue. Not having to have an air line or a (big) compressor running is a total bonus. The Milwaukee is also much quieter. I don't know how long the battery will go between charges, but I'm sold for now. And multiple batteries is easy. I thought I'd pass this along, as this would especially be great for those of you who don't have a big air compressor.

I found it easier to modulate the speed of the Milwaukee than the air unit. I think the abrasives are lasting longer as well.  Highly recommended! I'm getting my own.

I recently just bought a big assortment of Milwaukee m12 tool. Do not regret it at all.

I'm also a big fan of the M12 line. One of my favorites is the M12 under hood light, which I was able to snag one of the few times I've ever seen it on sale. The M12 rocket light is something I use a ton for car and other household projects (painting being a common one). As I get older I've found that in addition to reading glasses, I need a ton of light to see what I'm doing.

On the tool side, the non-fuel M12 3/8" ratchet gets a bunch of use, along with the M12 portable inflator (I put one in each car's emergency kit). I have the M12 Fuel versions of the 1/4" impact, drill driver, and multi-tool - all three have a ton of hours on them and perform well.

This has been on my Christmas list since I saw Mike use it in the Stanceworks K Swap Ferrari series. I wish dewalt would come out with something similar to the M12 line since I've already got a bunch of their 20v tools, but oh well. 

Turbine said:

 I wish dewalt would come out with something similar to the M12 line since I've already got a bunch of their 20v tools, but oh well. 

Ive been waiting for DeWalt to come out with a cordless ratchet and they finally did so I jumped right on it because Im also committed to a bunch of their tools and batteries.   Great little tool but THEY CHANGED THE BATTERY.   So its not compatible with any of my old tools, sigh.

In reply to JThw8 :

Really? Ugh! Well, I guess there's no reason not to cross over now

FWIW, Torque Test Channel recently 'dyno tested' some cordless die grinders

also cordless cutoff tools

I picked up the M12 angle grinder last year, because my compressor is too small to run an air grinder and I have no space for a larger compressor.  I use it mostly for surface prep and weld cleanup and like Carl, I've been pretty impressed with it.  Battery life was my biggest concern before buying, but it's proven to be a non-issue.  I have two 4.0Ah batteries and I've found that if I run one down and switch to the other, the first one will be fully charged well before the second needs a recharge.  

Update:  I'm still impressed. I recently put in 2 patches that had 20+ inches of MIG weld to grind. I did the initial grinding with a 1/16" cutting wheel as usual, then the M12 with the battery shown above. MIG welds are much harder than TIG so I generally hate grinding them. With this tool, it's less hate inducing. I can confirm I'm getting about twice the life of the abrasive and the battery lasted plenty long.