DEWALT DWE4057
800 W · restart protection · soft start · €70
The cheapest machine here with restart protection — the feature that stops a grinder starting by itself.
Best for: Anyone who leaves tools plugged in — which is everyone, eventually
Grinders
Your first angle grinder: three features
Angle grinders are the most-used and most dangerous tool in a metal workshop. Three features change that, and they arrive at three distinct price points: restart protection from about €70, a brake from about €200, and jam detection above that.
Angle grinders are the most-used and most dangerous tool in a metal workshop. Three features change that, and they arrive at three distinct price points: restart protection from about €70, a brake from about €200, and jam detection above that.
Which welder suits your metal?
- You grind and cut now and then
- A 125 mm (4.92 in) with restart protection: the feature that costs least and prevents most.
- You often work with thin cutting discs
- The brake changes everything: it is between releasing the trigger and the disc actually stopping that the machine gets away from you.
- You dress large volumes of weld
- A 230 mm (9.06 in), but with kickback detection: the torque of a large grinder is not something a wrist recovers.
- You work at height
- A cordless machine with a brake: the lead is the first thing that costs you your balance on a scaffold.
Picking by the metal
Dressing and blending
The commonest work, and the hardest on discs. The side handle and vibration control matter here more than power.
Cutting off
Thin disc, cutting on the edge, never loaded sideways. This is the use where the brake and kickback detection justify themselves on their own.
Stripping and wire brushing
Wire cups and flap discs: little effort, but wires do come off. A face shield is not optional.
Preparing for welding
Take paint, galvanizing and mill scale back over the whole area that will get hot, not just along the joint.
What matters at the arc
- Restart protection
- It stops the machine setting off on its own when power returns with the trigger latched. It is the site power cut that makes this useful, not carelessness.
- The brake
- A grinder without one keeps spinning long after the trigger is released. Most injuries happen in that window, when the machine is assumed to be stopped.
- Kickback detection
- When the disc jams, the torque goes into the machine. A clutch or an electronic cut-out sends that torque somewhere other than your wrist.
- Handle and vibration
- An anti-vibration handle is judged in the hand, running free. It is not comfort: loss of feeling in the fingers arrives without warning.
Which figure for which metal
| Feature | What it prevents | How to check it |
|---|---|---|
| Restart protection | The machine starting on its own when power returns | It does not restart by itself: worth confirming once, safely |
| Brake | Residual spin after the trigger is released | The disc should stop within a couple of seconds, not ten |
| Kickback detection | Torque coming back at you when the disc jams | Stated by the maker: it is not something to test on purpose |
| Anti-vibration handle | Fatigue and loss of feeling | Judged in the hand, running free, before you buy |
Where it goes wrong at the bench
- Taking the guard off to see the line
- The commonest and most dangerous modification. The guard is angled to throw fragments away from the operator: without it, they come towards your face.
- Grinding with a cutting disc
- A cutting disc works on its edge. Loaded from the side, it splits. The two discs look alike and are not interchangeable.
- Ignoring the date printed on the disc
- Abrasive discs have an expiry date. Past it, the bond has aged, and rotational speed does the rest.
- Putting the machine down before it stops
- A grinder set down with the disc still turning walks off on its own. That is exactly what the brake prevents, and exactly what you do when you are in a hurry.
By the welder you are
- A first grinder
- A 125 mm (4.92 in) with restart protection and a brake. The bigger size can follow if the work demands it, not the other way round.
- The shop
- Two machines beat one: a small one set up for cutting, a large one for dressing. Changing discs ten times a day eventually gets paid for in accidents.
- Site work
- Cordless, braked, with kickback detection: on a scaffold, torque and trailing leads are the two real dangers.
Consumables, duty cycle and working life
An angle grinder always gives notice before it fails: bearing noise, a hot housing, loss of speed under load. Nothing here supports quoting a service life — it depends mostly on how much dust it swallows and how long it spends at full load.
- Blow the vents out regularly: metal dust is conductive and abrasive at once.
- Check the brushes on machines that have them; arcing visible through the vents says it is time.
- Tighten the disc nut with the supplied wrench, never with pliers.
- Replace a cracked side handle rather than doing without: it is what gives you the second hand.
Safety
An angle grinder combines high rim speed, a brittle disc and a free hand. It is the shop tool that sends most people to hospital.
- A face shield as well as glasses, not instead of them.
- Check the maximum speed printed on the disc: it must exceed the machine’s.
- Stand out of the disc’s line, never in its plane of rotation.
- Let the disc come up to speed clear of the work, then enter the cut gradually.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-08-14. The live price is at the top of the page.
What we chose, and on what basis
metabo W 1100-125
1,100 W · anti-rotation guard · €64
A guard that cannot spin round under load — a small detail that stops sparks arriving where your face is.
Best for: Steady cutting and grinding in the workshop, where the tool stays on the bench between jobs
Makita GA5091X01
1,900 W · anti-restart · AFT stops the motor on a jam · €207
The machine that cuts its own motor when the disc jams — which is the moment a grinder throws itself out of your hands.
Best for: Daily cutting and grinding, where the jam that throws the tool is a question of when
FLEX 2000 W 125 mm, with brake
2,000 W · brake stops in 3.5 s · anti-kickback · brushless · €279
The only machine here that publishes how long its brake takes — 3.5 seconds — instead of just claiming to have one.
Best for: Someone using a grinder for hours a day, who wants the disc stopped before the tool is set down
Bosch Professional GWS 9-125 S
900 W · 2,800–11,000 rpm · speed preselection · €61
Variable speed at €61 — which matters because stainless, paint and thin sheet all want a slower disc than steel.
Best for: Mixed work — stainless, painted steel, thin sheet — where full speed is the wrong answer
The questions welders ask
Which feature should I buy first?
Restart protection. A grinder left switched on and plugged in starts by itself when power returns — on a bench, on the floor, or in a hand that was not ready. It appears on machines from around €70 and it is absent from every cheaper machine on this site.
Is a brake worth €130 more?
It depends on how you work. The danger with an unbraked grinder is the five to ten seconds after you release the switch, when people set the tool down, reach for the work or let it hang. If you put the tool down between cuts — which is everybody — a brake is the feature that matches how you actually behave.
125 or 230 mm (9.06 in) for a first machine?
125 mm (4.92 in) in almost every case: lighter, more manageable, and enough for the vast majority of work. The 230 mm (9.06 in) earns its place when depth of cut demands it, and it asks for an experience of torque you do not have at the start.
Corded or cordless?
Cordless brings freedom of movement and removes the lead, the first thing that costs you your balance at height. Corded keeps the advantage on long, continuous work, where a battery imposes pauses.
What do the numbers printed on a disc mean?
Diameter, thickness, bore, maximum permissible speed and a date. The maximum speed must exceed the machine’s, and the date marks the point beyond which the disc must not be used.
Can I fit a wood blade to a grinder?
No. Toothed wood blades are prohibited on an angle grinder: the speed and the lack of guidance cause violent kickback. It is one of the most serious accident causes in portable power tools.
Does the guard have to sit a particular way?
Yes: between the disc and the operator, so that fragments and sparks go the other way. It is set according to the working position, and that is exactly why it pivots.
How do I know a grinder is finished?
Bearing noise, a smell of hot varnish, loss of speed under load, or heavy sparking at the vents. Any one of those is reason enough to have it looked at before picking it up again.
Each welder, and the metal it is meant for
DEWALT DWE4057
For work that: Anyone who leaves tools plugged in — which is everyone, eventually
Where it is best: Restart protection at €70 — the cheapest on this page to have it
Where it is worst: No brake: the disc still free-spins after release
metabo W 1100-125
For work that: Steady cutting and grinding in the workshop, where the tool stays on the bench between jobs
Where it is best: An anti-rotation guard, which is a safety feature disguised as a convenience one
Where it is worst: No brake, no restart protection, no kickback cut-out
Makita GA5091X01
For work that: Daily cutting and grinding, where the jam that throws the tool is a question of when
Where it is best: All three safety systems: brake, anti-restart and jam detection
Where it is worst: €207, four times the cheapest machine on this page
FLEX 2000 W 125 mm, with brake
For work that: Someone using a grinder for hours a day, who wants the disc stopped before the tool is set down
Where it is best: A published brake time — 3.5 s — which is a measurable claim rather than a word
Where it is worst: €279, the most expensive grinder on this page
Bosch Professional GWS 9-125 S
For work that: Mixed work — stainless, painted steel, thin sheet — where full speed is the wrong answer
Where it is best: Speed preselection, which almost nothing else under €100 here offers
Where it is worst: Still no brake and no restart protection
What it will consume
Tips, nozzles, wire and gas from the same aisle, at the price we read. Confirm they suit the machine you choose before ordering: it turns on the torch and the part number, which the product page gives.
- Amboss Werkzeuge Flap disc set Ø 125 mm, K40–120 · Cutting & grinding discs — Ø 125 mm (4.92 in) · grits 40, 60, 80, 120 · 2 of each
- Bosch Accessories X-LOCK 5-piece set, Ø 125 mm · Cutting & grinding discs — Ø 125 mm (4.92 in) · 5 discs · X-LOCK mount · stainless and steel
- IPOTOOLS LY800H · Helmets & PPE — True Color · 100 × 93 mm (3.94 × 3.66 in) viewing area · auto-darkening
- SIXTOL Welding Mask 1 · Helmets & PPE — Solar auto-darkening · grinding mode · €23
- HEIHAK 06231043, 18 in, 3-pack · Clamps & vices — 3 × 18 in · 7.8 in throat · 6.3 in opening · swivel pads · $31
- Biugaaufai 6 Inch locking C-clamp set · Clamps & vices — 6 in locking C-clamps · nickel-plated alloy steel · trigger release · $33
The call, in one line
- If the work demands our rating → look at FLEX 2000 W 125 mm, with brake
Comparisons that are worth reading
Welder against welder, where the comparison is already written up.
What this selection rests on
The welders here are taken from the catalog of this site. Specifications come from the maker and from the Amazon product page; prices are what Keepa reported for the date shown, and both move. The order rests on declared specifications, on stated strengths against stated limits, and on price. No machine here has struck an arc in our hands, and nothing on this page pretends it has.
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