Hey guys, I was just wondering what your favorite weld-grinding tool is... I've used the solid disks which seem to be good for heavy gauge stuff, and flap disks which work good but seem to wear out real fast for me, etc... What's your fav? Anything I don't know about? Thanks, Phil
Some of you guy's won't like this but,... On sheet metal I use a die grinder and the edge of a cut off wheel to knock down the most of it, than a "Flapper" to finish it off, when using the cut off wheel take your time, keep it moving, and practice as much controll as you got, I have also used the little 90 degree air sander / grinder with really good sucess.
Most likely too damn much but what i run into (literally) is on uneven surfaces I end up coming into contact with a rough edge that tears up the disk and it's all down hill from there... That's just my experience though and I think it's with 3M disks... I like how they work but they are kind of expensive too...
I have 2 grinders, one with a grinding wheel and with the sanding disc, get the bulk off with the wheel and then smooth it off with the sander.
And you never need to grind your hammer welds at all ?,..... I guess I have been doing it wrong all these years. How do you get them flat enough to not need to be ground at all ? (I thought I had a good teacher but I must have missed something.)
The flap discs rock for MIG welds. They are a bit more costy, but they work faster and leave a better surface. I'm partial to the 36 (or 40) Grit ones. For TIG (if they even need it) or gas welds, I like the roloc style discs on an angle die grinder. The 3" ones are my preference...
I like them too for grinding MIG welds, but they seem to wear down really fast. I have tried every brand I can find, and they all loose their grit pretty fast. The norton sanding discs hold their grit for a long time, I wish they made flap discs with the same material.
On the same topic, What kind of wire do you use? The stuff I have seems to be awful hard to grind. Maybe it's the wheels I use - they don't wear too fast but it takes for ever to grind the weld down.
I like flap wheels, the solid discs feels funny to me, I believe the flap discs are also more forgiving as far as not messing up what you're working on.
MIG welds are inherently rock-hard. (That's why no one hammer welds with them.) If you do any force-cooling with water or compressed air, they get even harder. Wearing out discs has a lot to do with how much pressure you apply. You just have to find that compromise where you're not burning up the grinder or creating too much heat on the metal... but it shouldn't take a week to grind down one rosette weld. But yeah, flap discs are expensive, but for me there's enough payoff to justify the extra. (That says a lot coming from me.)
I don't grind structural welds. If they need a little touch-up I'll hit them lightly with my Dynafile.
I have found you get what you pay for in a cheap flap disc. Sears, lowes and Home Depot sell ****.I have been getting mine from Fastenall. They are about or just a tad higher in price as everyone else but they last 3 times longer. Try them and I am sure you will be suprised. Keith in Missouri
I have been buying them fron Granger lately and they have been better (and about $3 more per disc), but I'll try fastenal, there is one around here.
I also use a die grinder with a cut off wheel. There is also a mig wire called easy grind that is not as hard as the standard wire but I understand the strength is not as high either.
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