I think it might be useful to get a small angle-grinder for hacking the occasional rusted bolt from the dark recesses of my car!
Any recommendation as to what and where from? Or maybe there's a better tools for such things? Anything's got to be better than a hacksaw blade in a rag! Thanks
Of course.
Get a cheap one, kill it, finally get a Metabo. Or buy a green Bosch, which will last for ages in light use.
Features you need are 4 1/2" disks and the standard thread size. Don't go for 4" or 5".
You should have a spindle lock button and a well designed on/off switch. Anything else is a question of build quality. Better ones also have no-spanner nuts and anti-vibration handles.
You must also have good googles or faceshield, ear defenders and strong gloves. Antivibration gloves are best, but thick leather will do.
You also need a big tin box to keep it in along with its stack of whirly disks. Get _lots_ of whirly disks, they're the whole point of the exercise. Choice here makes the tool more useful.
Screwfix do nice narrow chop blades. They have a good range of everything.
Rigid disks (grind or cutoff, stone or metal) are traditional and everyone should have some. For metal shaping a flap disk is a better bet though. Leaves a much better finish and comes in a range of grits. Norton's (via Screwfix) are OK, but the Hermes blue ones from CSM Abrasives are even better and go to 120 grit fineness.
Whirly wire brushes are excellent rust strippers, but buy good quality twisted ones and wear a thick apron. They throw bristles like crazy!
A diamond stone saw is handy and now cheap (Axminster!), but 9" grinders have more reach. Could be an excuse to get a 5" for that extra
1/4" though.3M make some nice metal polishing plastic abrasives.
Wood carving disks are scarey. Get an Arbortech (solid) not a Lancelot (chainsaw), if you must.
Plasma cutter, Multimaster. Nothing as cheap and universal though.
|I think it might be useful to get a small angle-grinder for hacking |the occasional rusted bolt from the dark recesses of my car! | |Any recommendation as to what and where from? Or maybe there's a |better tools for such things? Anything's got to be better than a |hacksaw blade in a rag!
Lidl then if it burns out get another. A little care and it will last years.
=============================== Angle grinders are useful but a nut splitter can often be used where an angle grinder can't go:
Are there such things as whirly *plastic* scrubbing brushes for an angle grinder?
A nut splitter's fine on a nut, but the OP was referring to bolts
:-)
I quite agree, I've got 4 cheapies - cutting, grinding, zirconium flap and twisted wire brush. Since they are so cheap I can afford to be lazy and not have to swap wheels about, this can become a PITA on larger jobs.
Mine have lasted a few years, and at a tenner a pop (a couple or three beers) it matters little when they expire.
Julian.
I'd just recommend being bloody careful with it :-) Stitches come out tomorrow :-)
=============================== True, but in practice it's more often necessary to remove damaged nuts rather than bolts / bolt heads by destructive means. Additionally, a nut splitter can be used to grip a bolt head sufficiently to loosen it prior to removing with a spanner.
Cic.
In message , "Andy Dingley " writes
Why don't you like 5"? Very handy for all those worn down 9" discs:-)
Won't help the OP I agree.
regards
Likely to do lots of damage to the surrounding metalwork. A set of nut splitters is a better idea. Angle grinders ain't precision tools.
How logical - hadn't thought of that and changing disks is a pain I agree.
I certainly back up the Screwfix, Lidl, etc route, and will be now looking for a 2nd one. Darn that's something else to be found a storage place in the workshop!
Rob
Angle grinders can be very useful tools, but definitely not in the dark recesses of a car, they are indiscriminate in what they slice through, wiring, lighter steel than what your aiming for!! and many other things you didn't realise ran past the Bolt head you were trying to remove!!
Des
Yes, there are.
I don't mind 5", but 4" are definitely a bad idea. Most disks you use will be 4 1/2" and they're just a bit clumsy in a 5" machine. In a 4" they simply won't fit.
If all you're after is day-in-day-out grinding in a factory, then 5" is great. For the flexibility of a DIY machine, I wouldn't recommend it.
Even more of a problem to remove using an angle grinder, then, without damage to the surrounding structure. ;-)
Yes - Wickes, for one, do them. Sort of heavy duty pan scourer. Great for removing paint and light rust.
I keep one cheap angle grinder permanently so equipped.
Not AFAIK, as the speed is too high. Drill-chuck mounted ones are common and useful.
Thanks for the warning. I understand the risks. Actually I have used a dremel type thing with a cutting disk, in the past. That worked but took a while :-) On one occasion a reciprocating saw with a fine steel-cutting blade. That also worked. But as usual the problem is access. btw This in not all on the same car!
Just wondered what new thing(s) was/were out there for this kind of job. ps I light the dark recesses with a, um..., LV lamp :-)
3M do some excellent dense mesh ones of these, especially the one that's a three-lobed blob rather than a circle. It avoids the usual risk of scratches from the disk edge. They also have some good "plastic bristle" pads that are a flat disk with axial bristles. Good for stripping paint but expensive and wear rate is high.
If you use the loose mesh paint remover from Screwfix it works tolerably well on some lighter materials (good for fibreglass) but it self destructs almost instantly if you catch an edge.
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