air cut off tool comparison

saw a campbell hausfeld and sears craftsman air cutoff tool. The campbell
hausefeld is rated at 3/4 horsepower w/ 25,000 rpm. The sears craftsman
is rated at 1/2 horsepower w/ 20,000 rpm, yet he more powerful campbell
is less money. Also, it states the campbell with cut through frame rails,
bolts, etc. the sears gives none. Thanks for any info.

 

I use the $10 Harbor Freight ones. They last a few years, even with rare oiling, damp air, and abuse. Buy the extra $5 warranty and get em replaced free, no questions. For $10 it can't be beat. They are 22k RPM. They also have a "professional" version but it's just the same thing with a plastic case. I had a TP Tools reversible one but apparently it grew legs, it was nice to have a reverse.

 

What texas******** said..............

 

I also have a harbor freight one. Its going on 4 years now, Ive oiled it maybe 3 times, it gets used atleast once a day and no problems at all.

 

Yup harbor freightfor cut off, and I have an angle head kobalt that is adjustable rotary speed

 

my HF cut off tool just died 3 months ago, rarely oiled it and it lasted 8 years.
there is better, and mine was LOUD, but for $10.00 today, or about $7.00 8 years ago, it was worth it.

 

I say if you need to cut through frames get a 4 inch electric grinder

I have ingersol rand and CP for pnumatic. I used one from Mac once and it was 10 times better.

 

is there a difference between a cutoff tool and a die grinder?, i had a small blue point i paid $150 for new, it was totaly gutless, bought a $25 offshore one and it could of ground up and spit out the blue point, that was 20 years ago and it's still going, now i have an old ingersoll-rand made in the USA, must be 30 years old and it's the smoothest, most powerful die grinder i have ever used.

 

My HF "Mini Die Grinder" is a grinder and a cut-off tool. There's a difference in the two, but why have two tools when one will do the job? Think a die grinder doesn't have the power that a cut-off has, but the little HF version is labeled as a die-grinder. With the adapter it works fine with cut-off wheels, but I use my 4.5" electric angle grinder with a thin cutting wheel to slice through anything thicker than sheetmetal. That little cut-off takes 5 times the time as the electric. Again, a HF orange and gray 4.5" electric angle grinder. They cost $20 and this one is going on 3 years of use & abuse, can't beat it. Just remember, everything from HF is a "throw away tool". Meaning once it acts up, dump it. Or in alot of cases, return it for free replacement, haha.

 

a cut off tool only has a chuck for cut off discs, besides that theyre the same. oh, and it had a guard thing. i use the harbor freight stuff too, have a drawer full of HF air tools. never had one fail. i use the mini ones, the smallest ones they carry, i hate bulky tools

 

this is a little off track but kinda not, i made a holder for my die grinder to hold my used up cutoff disks from my angle grinder, heres a couple pics of it. was one of my first lahte projects.

 

But will the HF cutoof tool cut through frame rails, or should I use my 4+1/2" electric grinder?

 

anything will cut thru frame rails if you have the patience and enough disks

Go traditional, young man...buy a hacksaw

 

good thinking...use em up.

 

I never could figure out why it's better to use electrcity to run a compressor to supply air to run a cutoff tool......Why not just use the 4.5 inch angle grinder with a cutoff disc to start with? Maybe for tight spots......Most people don't have an air compressor that is capable of keeping up with your average die grinder/cutoff tool

 

I have many of these.

Snap-On. 200+ dollars. Works great. Had for 8+ years. Use for sheetmetal.

Blue Point. 75+ dollars. Also works great. LOUD. Use with a thick grinding disc to cut off the top of welds.

Cobalt - 20+ dollars. Junk. Expect the gears to go out at any time. Had for 1 year. Use as a die grinder.

HF - 12+ dollars. Have 2 or 3. Mainly use them as back ups but have had them for 5+ years. For the money, they are probably the best value for someone who doesn't depend on them day in and day out. You could buy 10 of them at once and be money ahead compared to what I paid for a Snap On.

 

I have 3. 1 craftsman angle with a 3" cutoff wheel, 1 kobalt angle with a roloc on it, and 1 straight craftsman with a 3" cutoff. I use 1 of these three at ALL times on my car and I cant tell a difference between them. They will cut through a frame but take twice as long as my 4" electric. I seem to blow the harbor freight ones up within 20 minutes.

 

The 4-1/2 electric. I have two hf electrics. One for the cutoff disks and one for the flap wheels. I also have a B&D 4 inch angle grinder that I never use because it has an odd size arbor and I don't like the way the switch works. The pneumatic units work better for getting in tight areas most of the time if you have a swivel and smaller hose attached.

The last frame I cut in two I used my sawzall and a long blade to do the cutting but it doesn't always do an accurate cut. In this case accuracy wasn't an issue as I didn't intend to use the frame.

<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

 

I generally like the air tools for precision. The little die grinders are easier to hold in different positions (especially in tight spots working on-car). You can also usually throttle the air tools.

The electric grinders have way more torque and usually less rpm. With more torque, you're more likely to break a disc where the air tool will just bind up and stop.

I prefer a recipro saw (Sawzall) for cutting anything much thicker than sheet
metal. Start getting into 1/4" + stuff, and I'm lighting a torch.

As to the compressor using electricity to run the tool, keep in mind that the compressor doesn't run the whole time (if you have a decent size compressor), and the net result is less electricity used. All those grinders and drills and sanders, etc. can use up a lot of Ready Kilowatt compared to the pneumatic setup.

All that said, if you are just starting out and building your tool collection, going electric is probably a better way to go unless you just trip over an AWESOME deal on a serious compressor.

 

I had a snap on lasted 3 yrs. I bought 2 home depot campbells and have had them three years and they are just starting to get weak.

 

I'm also a big hf fan but I havent used there air cut off wheels yet, they have a plug in long shaft die-grinder that cuts through everything like knife through ****er with a cut off-wheel attachment. I have even chopped springs, body panels with it no prob. I'm also too cheap to shell out for an air compressor yet

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

both have their place in my garage. I like how light my air tool is in comparison to my electric grinder.

 

Curious in the reversable part. What advantage does that give you? Thanks.

 

When I was a body man, I found that you can go cheap on air tools like cutoff wheels, grinders, etc. Not on sanders like a D/A.

I've had my el cheapo cutoff die grinder for 20years, use the hell out of it.

 

It can help control the direction of the spark shower (keep it out of your face). Also provides better tool control when you have to cut something in an awkward position.

 

got a Home depot model and it runs out of power quickly. Guess I will try the HF one for ten bucks and see how it performs.

 

Got it and now I need to find one with reverse.

I like that feature for I'll often decide which way to attack a cut in order to avoid the spark shower. Thanks.

 

i use IR