Ryobi RAG80125-S

Not very user frendly – Main issues I have with this grinder is the clunky operation button that you have to push down flat and requires excessive force to operate. The reason I bought this was to use to cutoff, unfortunately the lever lock on the guard protudes into half the radius of the disc, thereby giving you even less cut than a 100mm grinder. This is an absolutely absurd design and comparing it with the Bosch 100mm grinder I already had it's pretty much useless. The clearance at BDC of guard is 24mm of cutting disc, what a joke. This will be going back to Bunnings.

Didn't last – Looks good and is very competitively priced. A slimmer body would be nice, and the switch on top rather than the side is clumsy to operate. Tool in the handle is gimmicky. Who uses the tool anyway? Quality maybe so so, mine stopped working after a few months and maybe at most 20 hours of total use cutting thin steel (Hobby use). Front motor bearing has disintegrated, so back it went. 4 year warranty is good. I think for anyone who actually uses a grinder spend a little more.

Fine for the price – This seems to be the pick of the sub-$100 bunch at Bunnings. It has a tool-free adjustable wheel guard and a smart wrench storage in the handle (why don't they all do this!) [EDIT: see below]. The body's a little big, not excessive but the slim Bosch is definitely nicer to hold (I would've bought the Bosch, but its primitive guard requires a screwdriver to adjust; who's got time for that?). The gearbox is reasonably low profile and is some sort of metal alloy. It does not have a slow-start, which isn't a big deal for me. Vibration-wise, it's ok but you really feel it after a session with a wire brush. The power lead's stupidly short, only 1.75m, and the cable's rather light duty - I expect it'll be rare to find one of these in a couple of years that doesn't have electrical tape patching up a nick or two.

It comes with a single cutting disc and a soft bag large enough for the grinder and a few cutoff and grinding wheels, but that's it. It's probably not a good idea to keep grinding wheels in a soft bag, so I'll be keeping this in a separate case.

I see no access hatch/etc to replace the motor brushes, so I guess Ryobi intend for the grinder to be thrown out once the brushes are worn down.

pros:

- price

- tool-less guard, wrench slot in handle

- uh, that's about it

cons:

- short power lead

- ergonomics aren't the best: body diameter, vibration

- no motor brush access

- no hard case, provided bag is kinda useless

Having said all that, it seems the best value of the cheapies at Bunnings for occasional/home use.

EDIT: the wrench storage slot in the handle is not useful - the wrench usually ends up falling out due to vibration. So now I know why other manufacturers don't do this!