Technical Die Grinder or Angle Grinder?

Been a while since I have been on the forums, however I feel this is the best place to ask... Basically I have quite a few bolts that I have tried tirelessly to remove, I've used bolt buster, WD40, wirebrushes, hammers, brute strength and even heat (open flame to the bolts) however they are just not budging. So that brings me to my question:

What do you recommend to remove difficult bolts, a Die Grinder or Angle Grinder?

Any feedback is appreciated, and for what it is worth I don't have either tools as I have been pretty good up until this point so looking for feedback and suggestions on what I can buy as well.

 

Kind of depends on how hard they are to get to. I use my die grinder almost all the time. Other poeple would rather use an angle grinder. It's up to you.

 

Hey RichFox thanks for the response, the 2 bolts are underneath the car, I have about 13 inches of room as the car is raised higher than usual. in terms of accessibility it is reasonable.

 

either a straight cutoff wheel (die grinder with an arbor that holds the wheel), or an angle grinder.. we can't see where the bolts are....kind of hard to say what would be best. Pictures help a lot.

 

I like my handy dandy air angle die grinder for small stuff,a side grinder with a cut of wheel for bigger projects. HRP

 

When you say you applying an open flame to the bolts, are you heating the bolts up until they glow cherry red?
If you aren't, they are not hot enough to shift. Don't forget, if you cut the heads off, and you then need to get the rest of the bolt out, it will be way more difficult.

 

They went orange, but they did not shift at all.

Pretty much done with the bolts I have spent 2 weekends on trying to remove them (coming back to them to break up the frustration). Probably a good 50-60% of the bolts have been rusted in bad, to the point that simply moving them takes the head straight off and then I have to punch out the rest with a hammer and cold chisel, so no stranger to bolts getting stuck. Pretty much at my wits end with these 2 particular bolts.

 

Well, if you can twist the head off and punch the rest out. That's what I'd do. Laying under a car with a die grinder and or cutoff wheel with those shavings flying all over ya, is not something to be desired.

 

If you have quite of few bolts and plenty/ease of access I'd probably go w/the angle grinder.. I can find a die grinder to be tedious on anything substantial .. angle usually uses a bigger wheel + more power = less headache.. imo..

for electric I have a made in Germany bosch that has served me well.. one of the nice things about if is the front exhaust design.. some cheaper grinders can blow grit in your face/eyes,, even w/safty glasses.. so

for air I have a dynabrade 52633 grinder that's been faith full.. but can be spendy and requires more of a serious compressor..

 

Thanks Gasolinefed, fortunately I have a 1955 Ford Fairlane which thankfully has plenty of room Appreciate the feedback regarding this.

 

I have both (never know) however I favor the angle when doing cut off work.

 

If the hex head is still the bolt I have a small 1/4 drive air gun with a 3/8 drive anvil. I heat cherry red then use the small impact while I heat. The vibration usually does the trick. If you don’t have a small air gun heat and try hitting the head of the bolt with a hammer while you apply turning force with wrench.

 

...why doesn't a torch work?..pics please

 

Heat 'em cherry red, then let them cool completely before trying to turn them. Soaking them with 'Blaster after they've cooled is also a good thing. If they won't budge after doing this process, do it again. The real secret is letting the bolt cool completely before you try to turn it.

 

Can you tighten it more and snap it off?

 

Body/frame bolts? chassis bolts? suspension bolts? Captive nuts? Bolts/nuts? It all matters.
If the bolts haven't become one with the female thread you should try quenching with ICE cold water after thoroughly heating. It may require several cycles of hot/cold shock to separate them.

 

Choose which works best for your work location . Never. Never remove the guards . Always wear your PPE . It’s a little tuff to buy replacement eyes , so far but maybe a 3D printer will have that covered soon ! As far as guards , I share a story , I was on a crew repairing a 26 in , 850 MAOP pipeline hit by the ripper on a bulldozer blade . The welder was grinding the bevel to weld the pipe replacement into the line . The grinder wheel broke , no guard on the grinder (9 in wheel ) , it went across the street hit a man , and buried into his chest . He left by air care and I never seen him again . There are tons of energy stored inside a wheel spinning at the rate of 10000 rpm . Please respect and be careful , this junk we repair as a hobby is fun , but the fun is gone if you get hurt or lamed for life .

 

Real useful around here, goofy places and tight areas.


I've yet to meet a bolt that a cutting torch would not remove.

 

If it has a nut on it I'd agree with just tightening it until it breaks. A lot of the time that is simpler than trying to unscrew it.
It still is really hard for any of us to give the perfect advice unless we know everything we can about the exact bolts you are fighting with in what kind of vehicle.

 

also as noted there are companies who make dedicated cut off tools.. but for your first purchase you might go grinder.. more versatile imo.. grind/cut/wire wheel and sand w/ flap discs.. just a thought..

 

Snap, drill or torch the heads off, then drive the studs through with a BMF air chisel. Shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. This is a brute force event, we're not trying to extract a broken stud from a Deusenberg block.

 

I have had good luck with heat(propane torch) and candle wax, for large and small bolts.

 

Oooooh I like that!

 

Ditto, you'd be amazed where the wax will wick in.

I have one of these: https://www.eastwood.com/4-in-air-cut-off-tool-w-forward-and-reverse.html
The reversible feature is nice, it's really noisy.

 

Rusty undercarriage bolts start at 'impact wrench', the next step is 'torch'....

 

Good quality ultra thin 4 1/2" metal cutting discs on a powerful (900/1000w or so) angle grinder makes short work of almost anything with little mess and the discs last a surprisingly long time (but when they do decide to go they're gone in moments!). Much easier and quicker than an air powered cut off wheel.

Chris

 

Taking off bolts with sockets and wrenches is the boring part. When you have to grab the angle grinder and cut off wheel. That`s when it becomes enjoyable. People watching you usually back up about 5 to 10 steps. Then you get to pull out your hammer and punch and you get to smack the heck out of it.

 

Use what you have.
Angle grinder discs should last longer.

 

Good stuff

 

I bought that same one. I like it.