Makita GD0800C 1/4" SJS™ Die Grinder, Teal

It looks like the designers at Makita got it right. This is a very smooth and quiet die grinder. There is no perceptible vibration at any speed and the motor sound is minimal. But don't expect silence when you put grinding wheels or burrs into the unit and begin removing metal. The cutting action will make far more noise than the motor or bearings. The noise then gets irritating so wear ear plugs and/or ear muffs.My use has been grinding cast iron and steel castings to prepare them for painting. I have also used it to grind mower blades, a job which is now much easier and safer than using my 4 1/2" wheel grinder.The weight is just right. I was afraid it would get heavy after a while but it didn't. It has enough mass to make controlling it feel good without making it too heavy for extended use.Unlike many tools, the Makita does not get hot to the touch. Neither the motor end nor the gears and bearings gets more than warm which means the motor and bearings are designed right and of high quality.The most important feature of the 800C is probably the variable speed which is 7000 to 28000 RPM. The importance of this is due to the fact that all grinding wheels, burrs, wire brushes or felt bobs have different maximum speeds at which they are rated to be safe. It is not wise to exceed the rated speed of the cutting tool. Variable speed also allows the user to adjust the speed to make the most efficient cut or the smoothest finish. Without this feature you would not be able to safely use many grinding wheels or wire brushes and control would be much more difficult.In many hours of use I have not needed to use the highest speeds, staying below 19000 down to 13000.Electronic speed control works imperceptibly to keep the speed where you set it even when you put pressure on the tool to remove material faster. I have never noticed the speed or motor sound vary at all. I imagine a person could bear down hard enough to overpower this feature and bog down the motor, but that's where the 6.6 amps comes in. That means it has enough power to maintain it's speed even under heavy pressure.The side handle is strong and stays in place, though it can be loosened and rotated to suit left handers. It provides excellent control of the cutting action. This is not a one handed tool, like the little hobby grinders so commonly seen. You don't hold it like a pencil. It takes two hands at all times, and the ergonomics are good.The only gripe I have been able to come up with is that the collet nut is hard to loosen when removing bits. It begins to loosen normally then stops and requires extra force to start unthreading again. I don't know if this is a one-off with this unit, or if it is a manufacturing issue. The collet is captive inside the nut, so maybe this is how it is meant to work. At any rate it is a minor concern.The two collet wrenches are sturdy.All in all this is a sophisticated tool that shows a lot of thought by its designers.

This tool replaced an older, less powerful Makita tool. The difference is striking, the motor, being bigger, just doesn’t bog down, so it cuts through materials quickly. It is also variable speed, so for using it on soft or delicate material, the ability to use a slow speed is great. It is a formidable tool, and a bit heavy but the brace / handle really helps support it and makes it steady and safer. The only negative thing is the locking chuck, as others have mentioned, takes some getting used to. If you tighten it too much, it can be difficult to get the bit loose. Just be aware, not to torque it down too much. All in all, a relatively expensive die grinder that is worth the money.

This is a very good grinder. It is powerful and the bearings are smooth enough to make it precise. In fact, I made a fixture to attach it to my metal lathe. Using this tool, I was able to restore some damaged parts to precision tolerances. Excellent!

I was excited to get this die grinder, as my dewalt had died after very heavy use and abuse, hours of nonstop grinding in hot summers. I've since went to air but missed having something easily portable with electric so I looked around. It seemed most people prefered makita over bosh so I bit.I wasn't a fan of the switch, never am, but i figured i could lock it in place and how dangerous can a die grinder be, especially when in a 1/2" steel race.On my first use I used it for 30 seconds with a carbide bur {i've been using the burrs for 2 years now at 30,000RPM in air grinders} to ream out rough edges of an exhaust pipe. very light duty. did great, very very smooth. but that's by no way a test compared to what my dewalt did.Second use was a few days later, i used to ream out a bolt hole. regular a36 steel, 1/2" hole making into a slot. When I turned out tool has a rough feel and a slight grind but smoothed out. Okay? i thought. reamed out my hole and thought all was fine. Used same burr.Third use. Put same burr in. Found the speed adjustment, cool i thought i didn't remember reading this was adjustable. I've used at speed 5 the last two times, I thought, lets start slow and took it down to 2 or 3,I can't remember which. I flip the switch on, the tool soft start was non-existent, the tool vibrated like a regular die grinder would've vibrated {considering it was smooth the first and most of second use} but was loud, the tool seemed to spin FAST, faster than it did at max speed. In 2 seconds the tool had somehow taken a burr that i've used many times on air die grinders at 30,000rpm and vibrated/span the bit and bent the shaft at a complete 90 degree angle, hit my other hand's finger without me noticing {only taking skin} and was a death trap. The switch was stuck on so I had to try to reachfor the cord as my peer beside me called me a dumba** for putting some weird 90 degree deathtrap tooling into a die grinder that was hurting me and uncontrollable not knowing how a die grinder could deform a steel shaft into a complete 90 degree.Some may speculate, oh the tooling was bad. was already bent, or whatever. No, it was straight, I probably have 35 hours of light grinding on this bit if I had to guess. during those 35ish hours of use I've never pressed hard on the bit to deform the shaft as the carbide was still sharp.Some people may say, you did something to break the grinder. It had a minute of use. It was brand new never opened when I got it. After the first two uses I put it in the original box how it was shipped and stored it in my truck on the floor under the seat where nothing was on it and it wasn't sliding around.I can see how an unbalanced tool can bend a steel shaft with vibration and rotation, but I was still completely surprised it happened. and how in the blink of an eye the bit went from no run out to a wild nun chuck.I have some other light duty makita lithium tools. I have a lot of brands actually, all are light duty but get high use. Makita was probably my second favorite. I don't have anything heavy duty because I have a heavier tooling and am not mobile. I will not buy another makita product. There is nothing the company can do or say to make this right. When the battery powered makita tools die I won't fix them and definitely will not replace them with Makita.