GA5050 125mm 1300W paddle switch angle grinder

The GA5050 is a corded angle grinder manufactured by Makita that was introduced in 2020. The model name suggests it is successor of the GA5040 the new GA5050  has a paddle switch making it not a direct replacement.

The machine is powered by a 1300 watt brushed electric motor.

The main improvement over previous models is that the wheel guard can now be more easily adjusted. removed or installed. The only thing that is needed is press the lever under the side handle hole on the left side.

Exterior

The barrel shaped body of the machine is plastic Makita teal colored in the middle and rubberized black on the back with a loop hole on the bottom. The body has more contours than older models. The most obvious change is a bulge on the top which seems to be intended to prevent the body from sliding from the operators hand.

The machine is activated with a new type of paddle switch with a lock on function. This combines the safety of a traditional paddle switch which acts like a dead man switch with the versatility of slide switch which does not need to held down continuously.

The front of the machine is the gear housing and is made out of aluminium. It has ventilation outlets on top and a black spindle lock button. There are threaded holes on each side to attach the side handle.

Although Makita does not say on their website it looks like the gear housing can be unscrewed from the body and attached in four different positions just like with many other angle grinders

On the bottom of the gear housing is a 14 mm spindle or 5/8" in countries where that is more common. The disc is held in place with a lock nut for which a wrench is needed to loosen and tighten it.

Safety

Compared to the GA5040 there are some improvements in safety.

The new wheel guard design with toolless adjustability makes it easier to put the guard in the right position and less attractive to remove it completely because less time is spent adjusting it.

The paddle switch also makes it safer to use than a grinder with a slide switch.

Besides this there is no soft start, restart protection, kickback protection, brake or clutch. There is also no mention of the vibration reduction system that the GA5040 has.

The GA5050R variant of this machine does have restart protection.

Variants

• GA5050R with restart protection