Electric Tools

The angle grinder and the disc it carries:

what is bolted to a grinder decides its job, and the one-handed four-and-a-half-inch size covers most work on a house. A diamond disc with a segmented rim cuts block and concrete, a continuous or turbo rim cuts ceramic and porcelain tile without chipping the glaze, and a thin abrasive disc cuts rod and tube. To run conduit through a wall that is already up, two parallel cuts with the diamond disc and a chisel between them open the channel; the chisel is with the manual tools. The seven- and nine-inch grinders are two-handed and cut deeper in one pass, and they are what a metalworker picks up to cut square tube and angle for a gate.

Circular saws, jigsaws and the demolition hammer:

each one does a single job well. A circular saw rips plywood and boards for formwork in a few straight passes, a jigsaw follows curves in plywood and melamine for a kitchen unit or a closet, and a mitre saw gives a carpenter the clean angled cut that frames and mouldings need. In a metalwork shop the bench chop saw squares off tube for welding a set of window grilles. A demolition hammer is not a bigger rotary hammer: it only hammers, it does not drill, and it is the tool for breaking a slab or lifting an old tile floor. The cement for the new one is under building materials. The heavy tools, the nine-inch grinder, the demolition hammer and the mitre saw, are nearly always corded, because a battery will not carry them through a full day of cutting.

An entry-level grinder against a Bosch or a Makita:

a four-and-a-half-inch grinder at the entry level sells new for around Q300, and the same size from Bosch, Makita or DeWalt runs about Q900 to Q1,300. The cheap one is fine for a single remodel; the dearer one is built to cut every day. A budget grinder that has done a season on building sites saves little against a new one at that price, while a brand-name grinder keeps far more of its value, because its bearings, switch and brushes can be replaced and it goes back to work.

Bearings, gears and the guard on a used grinder:

unplug it, take the disc off and turn the spindle by hand. It should spin smooth and silent. A gritty or notchy feel is a worn bearing, and any side-to-side play in the spindle means the disc will wobble in the cut. Then run it with a disc fitted and listen to the head: a steady hum is fine, a rattle or a rising whine is the gears, and a head too hot to hold after a short run has been worked dry. A grinder offered without its guard or side handle was almost certainly used without them, and both should come with it. Look along the cable for insulating tape or a splice near the handle, where it fails first. On a circular saw, the lower blade guard should snap back on its own; on a demolition hammer, the chisel should lock in without play and the body should not weep grease. A tool in a big brand’s colours that feels light and carries an unfamiliar model plate is usually a look-alike.

A grinder listing that says what it cut:

tell buyers whether the tool worked every day in a metalwork shop or on one house, because that changes what they will offer. Give the brand, the disc or blade size, and which discs, blades or chisels go with it. Photograph the guard, the side handle and the cable where it enters the body, and add a short clip of it running so the bearings can be heard. A closing workshop’s tools sell faster grouped by trade. A buyer coming in from Jutiapa or Retalhuleu will want to plug it in and cut something, so keep an offcut of tube or a spare block ready, with a disc already on.