Bosch GWS 18 V-LI Professional angle grinder review 

They have changed it now on some models- thankfully! Thanks for the comment 👍

Thanks for the info ;-)

I used to like re-pointing and used to find it therapeutic ;-) I killed a couple of grinders when grinding out the mortar though, so I know where you are coming from! I never thought of getting the grinders from Argos ;-) Thanks for the comment

Thanks for the comment ;-)

I'm glad the video helped Thanks for the comment 👍

Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment Rob ;-)

Thank God they have changed it Thanks for the comment 👍

I was cursing it when I was up the scaffold LOL, I can't believe they have made it so difficult to move! Thanks for the comment

Some of their stuff is good, but I'm not impressed with some of it to be honest. Thanks for the comment 👍

Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment

I remember the version where you could just press a button and move it, I don't know why they changed it to this difficult to use design! Thanks for the comment

Because its sh1t 😆

That was exactly what happened, I was up the scaffold with gloves, ear defenders, full face visor and gloves and needed to change the grinder from left to right handed to get into a tight space! I'm glad you find the videos useful, thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment 👍

Damn, I did not know the brushes are not replaceable! The one we have at work is still going strong after about 8 years- but it does not get used much. Thanks for the comment

Thanks for the comment ;-)

Have owned the same grinder for nearly 2 years now and I cant say that I have experienced the issue you have with the guard. Even when your screw is fully loosened the guard seems stubborn to move but with mine I can have the screw loosely tightened and its able to move alot more freely It will also stay in position without then having to tighten the screw. I havnt touched the allen key since I brought it. Cant think why there would be such variances between the same tool

Washer?

@@ultimatehandyman the washer you found at 2:32 🙃

@@MJF40 Thanks for the clarification 👍

You are welcome. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment

Thanks for the comment

It is the bottom of the range of the blue 18V grinders. My GWS 18V-125 SC Professional has tool free adjustment.

I don't know why they have made it so difficult to adjust- it is beyond me! Thanks for the comment

Thanks, I'm doing my best to make videos when I get chance ;-) Thanks for the comment

Absolutely. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment ;-)

You should always use the guard ;-) Thanks for the comment 👍

Yes, its a good grinder apart from the guard! Thanks for the comment

You are welcome. Thanks for the comment

I think Rigid electric power tools are made by the company that make Ryobi, AEG and Milwaukee (TTI) I would have expected it to easily cut 1/8 square tube! Thanks for the comment

No it is not a good thing. We need to change the position of the guard, we are highly trained and are all abrasive wheel regulation trained, as well as working at heights, confined space training and lifting and slinging trained. I'll not go into specific qualifications for the work that we do, but we are classed as trained engineers. We need to move the guard, with this grinder we cannot do that without removing the disc- it is a bad design flaw! The site I work on has an impressive safety record, we always put safety first! Having a grinder that is not fit for use does not make the job safer.

Thanks, I'll look out for one of those ;-)

Most angle grinders eat the batteries quickly, it depends on how much you use it. A 6AH will last longer, but you could just use the other 4AH battery- it depends how much use the grinder gets, as the other battery might not have chance to charge etc.

@@ultimatehandymanThanks, the drill is spot on, got rid of the grinder it was useless to be honest, got a Bosch 880 watt 115 angle grinder, £55 toolstation. Spot on, absolutely rips through steel.

Thanks for the comment

Ultimate Handyman no problemo awesome yt chanell dont ever give it up!! Are you from burnley?

Thanks, I'm from Darwen but occasionally go to Burnley ;-)

Ultimate Handyman ah ha near rawtenstall niice i wasnt too far out 😎 keep the vids coming chap cheers

Thanks. The bench vice is a Record 36 (6 inch), I bought it locally from a guy selling in on ebay for about £30 (they are over £700 new) I normally use Dronco 1mm thick slitting discs as these are stocked by my local shop, I did find a tin of Vulcan slitting discs in the back of the van but they expired in 2010 so I threw them in the bin! We use Dronco on site and have always been a good make. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment ;-)

I've found them on eBay, fave.co/3c30dOS They might also be available on Amazon etc. I just searched for "pin wrench and flange set" 👍

@@ultimatehandyman thanks

It stops quickly but not immediately, so I think it does have a brake as the mains powered machines at work take probably 3-4 times longer to stop.

Ultimate Handyman does it stop within 2 seconds?

I've tried timing it and got it to 1.96 seconds, but I don't have any technical or accurate testing equipment- only my stopwatch on my phone.

Ultimate Handyman OK seems a lot better than my Bosch corded angle grinder which takes about 10 seconds to stop... thanks for checking

You are welcome Thanks for the comments

They have just bought a new 110v Bosch grinder on site. The on/off switch is really weird and is almost the full length of the grinder, with a small red safety tab in the centre of it (it takes a bit of getting used to), but thankfully the guard can be adjusted by pressing a small lever with your thumb! I think they make these, so that they are easier to switch off, than they are to switch on - to reduce accidents. Thanks for the comment 👍

I didn't try the Vulcan discs, or at most I used one of them (years ago). I bought a pack of ten years ago when they were in the sale at Screwfix. When I was making this video I realised I had no discs left in the garage and so went to the van- but then realised the Vulcan discs expired in 2010! I went to the local ironmongers in town and picked up a tin of 10 for £10. I'm sure I have used Bosch's 1mm thick discs in the past and they are as good as the Dronco discs. Thanks for the comments ;-)

I was using one of the Bosch 110v grinders at work a few weeks back and I was in a foul mood because of it. They have only fitted these stupid guards to their 110v grinders! I was doing a large job on an industrial vessel which needed a weld cleaning up all the way around it using a wire brush, so I had to keep moving the guard- but obviously I had to remove the wire brush before I could move the guard and mess about with the damn thing! Thanks for the comment ;-)

........ yes, it will cost a lot of fingers and eyes as people leave off the guards, and then the operator will get blamed ! modern world. I tried modifying mine to turn - no luck, not easy. So i cut mine back in size to minimise the need to turn it, not ideal either . PS. Top little youtube channel. Pleasant style, short and digestable, and half the time i come away with a top little tip, or something thought provoking - which is impressive, considering how well worn the path around tool tips is. Thank you for all your efforts there .

Thanks for the comment ;-)

You are welcome Thanks for the comment

I'm sure the Bosch factory in China has high standards, but you really can't beat German engineering- they have the experience, knowledge and skill to engineer tools that last! Thanks for the comment 👍

Not at all. I'm a maintenance engineer in two local chemical plants.I work on the trucks (bogies) that weight about 8 tons (empty) and often require new wheels. Large ovens some of which are big enough to hold three of the bogies mentioned above, these work like large pressure cookers and require a lot of maintenance of the steam/water pipework, the doors often need working on and some of those can weight 2 ton. Industrial washing machines for washing 3m*6m sheets of 10mm thick glass.Vessels that contain several tone of flammable chemicals. Stock tanks that hold 120 tons of the raw product. Valves Pipework stirrers gear boxes Pressure relief valve removal and refitting.Actuators Large fans etc. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Sound very interesting and quite dangerous keep safe.

Yes, it's an interesting job but very safe as it's a world class company. Thanks for the comments

@@ultimatehandyman Whoa, like bruh 😮

All angle grinders can be used to cut wood with the correct blade, but it's not something I would recommend, as I have heard that the blades often jam and kickback! Thanks for the comment 👍

That's a good point. Thanks for the comment ;-)

When working on site you need to move the guard all the time. There are 10 other maintenance people on site and some of them are left handed. Also when working in confined spaces on some machines you can't always use the grinder right handed, so you might need to swap the guard and use it left handed.

When I worked as a welder/fabricator building assembly jigs I was forever moving the guard to get into awkward places.

llljustcallhimDave sounds for me you use just the wrong tools for the job... if I have left-hand people with me they always care about bring also the tools who already set to left-hand! ( normally have if u r not a 2 man company)... and if not... they don't borrow the tool and set to left-hand... and even they do so... de won't give me the tool back still with left-hand setting ;)

If I'm welding and fabricating I use a couple of corded grinders (Metabo and green Bosch). The guards on both are nicely "just tight enough" that I can shift them with a gloved hand. Which I do several times a day. I'd much rather have the guard in just the right place, and guarding me.

Does it still have the crap guard though? Thanks for the comment

@@ultimatehandyman If course Not.

Thank God for that. I do not know what Bosch were thinking of with this guard. I used to love Blue Bosch stuff, their SDS drills are normally superb. They bought a brand new 110v 4.5 inch grinder on site last week, today it has gone faulty! and it has had very little use. When you switch it on the speed of the grinder is not constant! I guess that will be going back for a warranty repair. Thanks for the comments

I would imagine that it will be very similar. Thanks for the comment

Absolutely. There are quite a few videos on RU-vid where people have removed the guards and it makes me cringe! Some people just have no idea how dangerous these grinders can be! Thanks for the comment ;-)

Yes, although we have one on site that is at least 6 years old and it's still going strong! Thanks for the comment

Thanks, I won't be reviewing the Ridgid machine I'm afraid, but I have reviewed a similar machine- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-raQilBckfME.html Ridgid normally make very good tools so I'm guessing that their twin saw will be good ;-) Thanks for the comment

thanks for the reply,i wanted to ask you are carbide metal blades worth it,do they really last longer,i have heard that the tips chip and break easily,what would you say?

I have only ever used Evolution's TCT blades- they are awesome! Much better than an abrasive disc and so far none of the blades that I own have ever had the teeth chip or break.

ok sounds great,thanks for the replies :)

Glad it was helpful!

Hi Arfan, For the skirting boards I would prime them using Zinsser 123. The gloss depends on the finish, I often use Zinsser AllCoat, which is a water based gloss. But water based gloss is not as shiny (glossy) as oil based gloss, but water based gloss is less likely to go yellow again. I recently painted an external window using AllCoat and it looks great. The AllCoat dries really quickly though and so you have to be quick when applying it, I struggled painting this gate using AllCoat in the summer as it dries so fast- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MfhTfE8ypVU.html You can paint onto lining paper with emulsion paint, but sometimes it can bubble. I recently painted over some lining paper and used Zinsser Gardz to prime it first, it looks like milk but soaks right in and gives a really hard surface to paint onto- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dR_743ud8hE.html

thanks chez will use the 123.dont like it too glossy to be honest.what about the permawhite can i use that on top of skirting board after i have used the 123

Yes, you can use Perma-White no problem at all.

You can change it from left to right handed use at any time. It depends what kind of position you need to be in. Often on site when working in cramped conditions, you had to constantly switch from left to right handed use etc. Thanks for the comment 👍

Thanks 👋

With the screw loose- you still can't adjust the guard, unless you remove the disk. We got a new Bosch 110V grinder on site a few weeks back, the guard on that is brilliant, you just press a tab with your thumb and you can turn it to any position- but now they have changed the switch, so you have to hold it on all the time. The switch is on the inside of the grinder (facing down), which means when you are grinding, you have to twist your hand around to hold the switch on! I'm sure someone at Bosch is trying to wind people up, first a totally useless guard, now the most annoying switch in history! Thanks for the comment

You are welcome Thanks for the comment 👍

Do you mean the Dewalt? That grinder is already 10 years old! Thanks for the comment

Absolutely. Thanks for the comment ;-)

The push-button adjusters or simple screw adjusters are great, but this winds me up every time I use it! Thanks for the comment

I don't think so, due to the design of the guard as it has indents for the guard to interlock with the grinder. Thanks for the comment ;-)

The raw video footage was 9 minutes 30 seconds. Thanks for the comment 👍

I don't know their reasoning behind making the guard so difficult to use. Thanks for the comment ;-)

I suspect they want to make sure that the guard is fixed in place when in use. With the Metabo style single screw people dont fully tighten the screw and just rotate the guard into place and rely on a little friction to hold it in place whilst cutting. I bet Dewalt have a patent on the lever style clamp. A badly designed guard is as dangerous as no guard at all coz some idiots just going to take it of and throw it away.

Absolutely. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment

It bugs me every time I use this grinder! Thanks for the comment

I also just bought one, due to beeing stuck with these batteries, and I was ready to return it to the store cause For the life of me I couldn't adjust the Guard sooo big thanks for the video, it saved me an awkward trip to the store 😉 But Yes I'm also annoyed about that guard, it's not very intuitive!

Thanks for the comment

They should really use the guard, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1TFisMcDrH4.html Thanks for the comment

Yes, but it is a pile of junk. We just got a brand new Bosch grinder at work (110v) and to position the guard you simply press a lever and position it, none of the messing about like you have to do with this guard. Thanks for the comment

No, but on this grinder, you have to remove the disc!

I hope you don't use it without the guard as it is very dangerous. Just do a Google image search for angle grinder accident and you will see what can happen when a disc shatters. Thanks for the comment ;-)

it'll be reet

Thanks for the comment ;-)

If you had asked me 20 years ago, which is my favourite brand of power tools, I would have said Bosch blue. They used to have a motto, which was something like “I would rather lose money, than trust”. Sadly, that is no longer the case! There are now much better power tool manufacturers in the market! Thanks for the comment 👍

Thanks, £20 is a bit expensive though. My Metabo came with one of those nuts as standard. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Thanks for the comment ;-)

Absolutely, which is why I bought one for myself as I thought the one on site had been damaged but like you say this must be normal. There was one comment about them making that noise due to the 4 pole motor and magnets used in the grinder! Thanks for the comment ;-)

😂😂😂 Thanks for the comment 👍

Thanks for the comment ;-)

I mean the 18v Metabo by the way 👍

Thanks Wayne, I don't know why Bosch came up with this design!

Because new engineers come into some company and try to fix/improve something that DOES NOT need improving!! It's not only with Bosch. I've noticed that a range of things from software to appliances to tools suffer from these problems. Something works perfectly then someone decides to "improve" it to worse.

Yeah, I don't know what they were thinking of with that guard design! Thanks for the comment ;-)

Absolutely. Thanks for the comment ;-)

Ha Ha, thanks for the comment Wayne ;-)