I'm finding as I tear apart these 60-70 years old ch***is that some more power that a 5lb hammer and propane torch will be required. I plan to take some welding cl***es soon and I'm thinking an Angle Grinder might be a good "next tool". With a cut-off wheel to chop thru unwanted rusty steel, and a sanding/grinding disc for smoothing unsightly welds. Am I right that an Angle Grinder would be a good choice, if so can you give any guidance to what to look for and what to avoid? Any other suggestions for "Must Have" tools would be appreciated... Thanks!
An angle grinder is required for me and I'm not even nearly as involved as some of these guys are. Do you have an air-compressor? You might think about buying one if not. It's expensive to start, but air tools are cheaper than electric, more powerful, more reliable, and sound cooler. I'm not about to talk brands, I buy the cheap **** from Harbor Freight and use high-quality consumables.
Definatley an Air compressor, but get a good one that has actual pistons and valves instead of reeds and sheet metal type pistons, and like they have already said above the air tools are cheap and sound great the longer you use them the cooler they run kinda, the opposite of electric tools. Angle grinder is a good one especially if you are welding cutting and fabricating. I am not a great welder but I am a fantiastic Grinder. They are also fairly cheap. I like my Makita 4". My Motto is you can't have too many tools, in fact I invent projects so that I can buy new tools.
Great source for asking on things also is the guys on garagejournal.com . . . another Ryan project. I've learned quite a bit over there already. You gotta temper what you read with some of the "throw tons of money because I want this right" vs. "this will work just great". $1500 - 3K for an aircompressor is way outta my ballpark for play . . . I just don't use mine that much and when it goes TU, I'll replace it with something better. Some indespensible tools so far: Drillpress - mine is a cheapie . . . (look for a good used one, probably at the "Made in China" price of a new one) 14" Cut-off saw -- mine again is cheap . . . but accurate enough for what I do. Before I had it, I was using metal cutting blade in the power saw with a wood template for holding things. Welder -- mine is a 110 volt, but it's HTP with solid copper core, does decent enough job for everything I've tackled. I don't know that I'd want to do a frame or anything with it. Beer Fridge -- with a good stocked beer fridge you might get some guys ****ered into loading up their tools and coming over and helping you . . or at least shooting the breeze.
angle grinder 4.5 inch...get a GOOD one...one time i thought i found a deal on some cheapies for a few bucks......it didnt make it through 1 bracket. .....get a makita. drill press. (also great for chocking a little polishing bit to do small stuff) sawsall, welder plan on spending a lot on cutoff wheels and sawsall blades.
Ditto on the angle grinder. It's probably the most used tool in my shop. As mentioned above, don't waste your time and money on a cheap angle grinder. I've got a makita that just won't quit. 6 years and it's still goin' strong.
Not to go agaisnt the grain, but theres nothing wrong with the cheap angle grinders... I got the 20 dollar Harbor Freight one to replace my DeWalt one that the switch went bad in (40 dollar replacement part cost), and it is SCARY how similar it is to my DeWalt. Read that as, I could take the DeWalt case off, put it on the HF (its exactly the same, totally interchangable), and no one would know. They have the same metal gearboxes, same everything (and I had the "expensive" DeWalt, not the all-plastic one). Something tells me some of them roll of the same line and get different cases and stickers, and then different prices. The cheapie takes some abuse too, I'm not gentle. You could drive nails with it.
Seems like everyone recommends the Makita...so it is. I've got a compressor, Sears something like 4.5HP 30 gallon, don't remember the specs, but it cost ~$300 last year, I think I'll still get an electric angle grinder to start... a little more versitile. On the welder, I guess stick welding is beyond rank amateur stage? Guages and tanks will come after a machine?
i tell ya what, my father has been welding all his life, and i had a few guys that are much better than me use my welder, i have a millermatic 135 110v that i have a tank on, can run 024 or 030 wire and i can flux if need be, but with the gas, everyone whos used it is VERY VERY surprised. it welds NICE.
You might want to look into a used machine, you can get alot better setup for alot less money. I got a Lincoln SP-125+, cart, full bottle, flow meter+regulator, and 2 spools of wire PLUS the giant spool already in it, for like $400, in perfect condition. They're pretty easy to come by used.
Yeah, with welders and air-compressors, they seem to be the best deal if you buy used. Remember, all prices are asking prices and they won't respect you if you don't ****er. Also, I'd stay away from Sears stuff on welders and compressors, they're alright, but they're priced the same as the GREAT brands...
I used to use nothing but Makita, and still use alot of them, but one sunday afternoon, the last Makita 4 1/2" grinder I had running in the shop, went up in smoke, so I went down to the farm store and got a $20 angle grinder....damn thing will not die, it came with 3 wheels and a set of brushes. Another shop locally said the same thing to me...I believe the brand was "Power Glide"
Yeah I use the hell out of air. The tools used the most in my shop are air powered. Next would be the welders. The only electric tool I use a lot is my drill. Air drills aren't as torquey as electric. Oh and for grinders, use electric. That's really it. Air tools are easy to work on, work with, they work well, and work hard. As someone said earlier, they break in and work even better. Just keep them oiled. I use my cut off tool for 99% of my cutting. It's slow but clean, and not near as slow as doing it by hand. I know I should oil my air tools more often, I usually only remember when they start dragging ***. I could go on for months on the tools I have in my shop that I think are just important as hell but really, just do like most of us. When you need a tool for it, go tool shopping!
I learned to weld with stick so it shouldn't be beyond amateur stage although its use is limited to structural steel. If you want to do sheet-metal then spring for the MIG. OR, if you want you can get an Oxy-Fuel setup with cutting and welding tips, then go find a stick welder at an estate/garage sale, farm auction, whatever. Then you can cut and weld it all plus you're gonna look like a bad *** using torches and a pre-war arc welder.
"Oxy-Fuel" that's what I was thinking of, I guess before I buy *any* welding stuff I should take a cl*** and learn how first! I've got a rusty pile of parts that'll cost a small fortune to turn into something unless I can do (most of) it my self... and I don't have a small fortune Thanks for all the info!
Hayduke---ya just have to have #1 oxy-acetylene rig #2--two cylinder 5 horsepower compressor with an ***ortment of cheap off shore air-tools (if they break throw them out and buy more, they're cheap), and #3---A big ***ed electric angle grinder,preferably one with a 5/8" threaded shank that will take a 6" diameter grinding wheel. This is larger than a lot of guys like to use,---they are heavy---but--the weight is an advantage when you have to do a lot of grinding, and you can really lean on those puppies and not burn out the armature. Mine is an ancient Black and Decker, that I've had for about 30 years, and had rebuilt a couple of times.---Brian
I have a cheap DeWalt too, they ****. When I use my friend's Makita it's a huge difference. Still, the angle grinder has taken the crown for most-used tool in the garage. Even counting the bottle opener! Get all the accessories you can buy. The flap wheel disks grind better than the stones, but they build heat much faster. I also love my drill press. It's a cheapo ****sman, but it saves me hours of work all the time. It doubles as a bench grinder until I make some room to mount a real one.
I forgot that VERY handy tool . . . the bench grinder. I don't know what I'd do without that. I snagged an old one at a garage sale, the motor weighed probably 30 lbs . . . a homemade job with belt and a board. I put a lot of miles on that one. My new one has light and all the amen***ies. I think the best tool is brains/time . . . if you don't have it, you can generally figure a way around it with enough thought and time. Having a garage full of tools definitely spoils you though . . . I'm not spoiled. I've got a cheap four inch angle grinder . . . the only problem was I had to get one of those nifty "I wanna be a chop saw" adapters and my grinder barely fit/worked . . . it was setup for those 4 1/2 inch ones . . . in the end it was a huge PITA . . . I needed another grinder, so I just ended up buying the chop saw on sale.
The hot setup in my garage is three El Cheapo ($15) electric angle grinders from Harbor Freight all plugged into a three-way extension cord. One with a cutoff wheel, another with a grinding disk, and a third with a flap disk. Much better than stopping and changing disks all day. Now, I have more time to run into the kitchen and grab another cold one .
one of the best buys is the walmart die grinder/angle grinder $19.95 i get 2-3 years out them and i use them daily...just keep them oiled..
I've got an older hand-me-down Makita angle grinder that overheats from time to time - it is now the "wire cup wheel *****" The new grinder is a Rigid brand from Home Depot ~$80. This is a made in Germany piece. When sold by the original manufacturer, it is about $150. Can't remember the manufacturer though.
4.5HP is about the minimum that you'd probably want to run; same with 30 gallon. If you want to paint, you may want to talk to some guys who do a lot of that (I don't), but I think that might be a 'ragged edge' combo for trying to paint a big car (unless you do a panel at a time). That being said, I have a small compressor head and a 1HP 110v industrial motor on my little Franken-compressor, however. The price (free) was right. But the motor is a big MF that's easily as big a case as any modern 5HP motor, and starts the compressor head up against 100 PSI w/o batting an eyelash. I've got about a 30-40 gal. tank, and it's too little. But a guy can always plumb in a big auxillary tank, so it's not a huge deal. Like lots of other guys said, I'd look for buys on used stuff. Buy the stuff right, and then you can always liquidate w/o pain when it's time to upgrade. -bill
We got our air tools at Lowes. They carry Ingersoll-Rand stuff that is reasonably priced, and lasts forever. Got my bench grinder from Craftsman. It has a light, variable speed, and kicks ***. Angle grinders rule, cheap or not. Clamps come in handy a lot. Drill press is on the way, can't wait. Band saw, chop saw, sawzall, mig, belt sander, tools rule! Hey Whit, if you need to use any of our stuff, just give me a call. -- Mark
Yes, yes, yes...the more the better. Go to every garage sale and buy all the C-clamps you can find. I need at least 10 to function in the shop (seriously).
My angle grinder is a 4 1/2 inch makita. I have beat the livin **** out of it and it still works like day one. I bought a cheap 15 dollar jobbie and it didnt make it one day. Same with the bench grinder. I bought a cheapie and it lasted one day. I got my grandfathers old bench grinder from the 50's and it is the best tool in my shop. The bearings in the old thing let it roll for about 5 miuntes after its off. I also got my grandfathers arc welder which I dont use much. Only when needed. I use my $120 harbor freight flux core welder for most stuff. If you buy one of those welders you have to take the feed motor ***embly apart and take out the grease thats in it. Put in some good grease and go. The grease in it will run directly into the feed motor and short it out. Other than that it works like a champ. I got a cheap corded drill as my makita has been fixed twice and is broke again so I refuse to fix it a third time. I think its all hit or miss on tools as to whether a cheap one will last or die and whether a expense one will do the same. I do know this, if you can find old tools at garage or estate sales buy them. There used to be people who took pride in the things they built, that isnt around much anymore. My ancient tools that got p***ed down to me from my relatives are the best built tools I have.The most expensive stuff nowadays cant compare.
My ancient tools that got p***ed down to me from my relatives are the best built tools I have.The most expensive stuff nowadays cant compare. Thats because the ancient tools were made in North America
Lots of talk about angle grinders but no one mentioned that some come with an on-off switch rather than a trigger. I like the trigger better because if something happens,and you loose control, the grinder cuts off power. If it has on-off it is still running, cutting, grinding what ever is in its path. Yes it can happen to the best of us. Just my $.02
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