Makita Cordless Grinders - DGA505 and DGA455 Review

The last 10 years has seen the scope and range of professional power tools shed their cords and cables, opening up a whole new world of freedom from tethered power supplies. The evolution of lithium-ion battery technology has moved us from the fickle nature of ni-cad to the high capacity emporium of cordless tools.

However, some tools seemed to lag behind in this progression, the sort of tools that demand high power currents to move their motors, tools like planers, hammer drills and grinders. And then along came the sort of motors that were smarter than we’d ever seen before, requiring less current, running cooler, able to withstand the daily knocks and bumps that we subject them to and needing virtually no maintenance.

These tools were lighter, more compact and could happily live off the power stored in a lithium-ion battery like no tools we’d seen before.

Makita has been pushing brushless, cordless power tools onto the market like no other manufacturer and their latest angle grinders are threatening to confound the naysers who claimed that a grinder would always need a power cable in order to get the job done.

See the DGA455 in action here:

Cutting steel, deburring welds, polishing metal; these are the sort of applications where we’ll naturally reach for an angle grinder. And these are the sort of tasks that Makita’s new brushless angle grinders were born to peform.

Straight out of the box, a key benefit of these angle grinders is the “Z” stamped next to the product number. That means the tool is “naked” or “body-only“. You won’t get a charger and a you won’t get a li-ion battery. But because each tool is “starred” you’ll be able to use any of your existing Makita 3Ah, 4Ah or 5Ah 18V batteries if they also have a “star” embossed. Read more about battery compatibility here.

Slot your 18V battery into the base of the angle grinder and you’ll have the following at your finger tips, via the safety paddle switch:

• 0-8,500 rpm: high speed is there for polishing etc, and slower speeds are there when you need torque for cutting rebar, for example
• Anti-restart motor: hit a jam? The motor will cut out. Release the switch, press it again to restart the motor
• Soft-start: you’ve got full control over the rpm of the disc at your finger tips
• Automatic Speed Control: think of the cruise control in your car. Press hard on the work piece, the motor will increase the output to maintain the RPMs you need
• Battery Protection Circuit: obviously the tool needs to pull loads of current from the battery. This can put a load of stress on your precious li-ion packs. BPC will protect them again from overload current, high temperature and discharge
• Kickback protection: if you’re pushing the grinder too hard and the disc is going to lock up, this feature will absolutely prevent you injuring yourself by shutting the tool down

Watch the DGA505 in action here:

So, what are the differences between the Makita DGA455 and DGA505 cordless angle grinders?

Essentially none! Each has all the spec and benefits we’ve already discussed, the only difference is the disc size. The DGA505 takes 125mm discs, while the DGA455 uses 115mm discs. That’s it.

Click here to read our guide to making sure you’re using the correct grinding discs and read our report on angle grinder safety checks here.