I have an angle grinder which i use very rarely and I finally need to buy replacement
cutting discs for it. It takes 115mm discs (4 1/2") and all I really need is a couple of
1mm and 3mm cutting discs.
They will last me for ages, so discs that don't wear out quick is not important. I have had
a quick look and the prices seem to be all over the place. I only need them to cut metal
every now and then. Is there any reason to buy expensive discs, or will cheap ones do
the job..?
Thanks Chaps...
if you need them rarely, whats a couple bucks once in a great while?
get nortons, american vermont from menards, or dewalt XPs from lowes.
any of those are middle of the road, fairly inexpensive, and will be SAFE and last just fine.
i would go with the dewault XPs, they cut well, and last quite a long time. price is definitely fair, whether you go through a bunch all the time, or just a couple a year.
I used to buy cheap ones and used them for years. Until a cutting wheel disintegrated at 13,000 rpm and shrapnel flew everywhere, with little chunks hitting me in the face. Turned it off, said "phew, I got lucky" but didn't get any smarter. A few weeks later, same thing happened except this time it cut my arm and a big chunk hit me HARD in the leg, an inch from my wiener.
No more. Now I only use Norton, and I bought a big face shield. I'm not 20 anymore. Not invincible.
I used to buy cheap ones and used them for years. Until a cutting wheel disintegrated at 13,000 rpm and shrapnel flew everywhere, with little chunks hitting me in the face. Turned it off, said "phew, I got lucky" but didn't get any smarter. A few weeks later, same thing happened except this time it cut my arm and a big chunk hit me HARD in the leg, an inch from my wiener.
No more. Now I only use Norton, and I bought a big face shield. I'm not 20 anymore. Not invincible.
I could have written that....the first part anyways...
I'm still using cheap shit and just got half a cut off wheel in the leg. Luckily I was wearing heavier jeans - but only because it was a cool day. Gave me a good bruise - had I been wearing shorts it would have gone in my leg I'm sure.
I do however always wear a face shield (not just glasses) and also welding gloves when cutting now - after having several close calls of the wheel catching and the grinder kicking back and cutting my hand or arm several times....
I buy 10 discs for 9.99 at Canadian tire and one will run down to a nub on about 3 feet of cutting.
I used to buy cheap ones and used them for years. Until a cutting wheel disintegrated at 13,000 rpm and shrapnel flew everywhere, with little chunks hitting me in the face. Turned it off, said "phew, I got lucky" but didn't get any smarter. A few weeks later, same thing happened except this time it cut my arm and a big chunk hit me HARD in the leg, an inch from my wiener.
No more. Now I only use Norton, and I bought a big face shield. I'm not 20 anymore. Not invincible.
sounds like you also need a weiner shield! Does HF have them? Hahahahaha.
You said you won't go through very many discs, so why cheap out on the few you will buy? Spend the extra few bucks on a good disc, it will last you longer and most importantly you don't want to cheap out on your safety!
If you went through a disc a day you might have some cost savings buying cheap, but when you use a disc a year it's not worth it to buy cheap.
I've seen the brand new explode and I've seen the china brands explode. Just make sure to wear appropriate eye protection and GLOVES. Also, I tend to do things with my mouth slightly open. There's been so many times when things get ugly and I realize wow, that came an inch from shooting me in the mouth... Either go face shield or make a conscious effort to keep your mouth and nose away from the vector things will travel. Getting hit in the cheek is one thing, but getting something shot into the back of your mouth/throat is a whole 'nother story.
I buy 10 discs for 9.99 at Canadian tire and one will run down to a nub on about 3 feet of cutting.
I use the Canadian Tire wheels too and have never had a problem. I also know where the "nub" is.
CTC has a variety pack that goes on sale fairly often and I almost always pick one up. The kit includes a cupped wire wheel and some sanding discs too. I am way ahead of the game in terms of what need for the next year or so so there's no point in buying unless they ARE on sale.
I have some HF wheels for my 4" and have seen them chip, but never explode. I was in the shop when someone else had a grinder wheel break into several large chunks, but they basically all fell down rather than flying. Not sure what brand that was.
This is only based on
my experience. Please take heed of the several people telling you otherwise. I have never had an incident with HF cutting wheels for my occasional use. Haven't had a problem with the PC grinding wheel, Northern flap wheel, and probably a few other off-brand wheels. When I use my grinder, I have a face shield, gloves of some sort (usually mechanics gloves but I should have something heavier) and I try to stand behind/near something with my piece clamped at an angle. Scrap plywood, welding shields if you have them handy, something to box in any flying pieces in case something goes wrong, and
definitely do not take off the shield on your grinder. It's not quite blast cabinet safe, but unless it's overhead or still attached, you can do some simple things to make grinding and cutting a lot safer in case something does shatter and fly all over.
I have seen the smaller dremel wheels fly all over though. Even name brand. If I can help it, I will only get the reinforced ones for that.
My experience has tended to be that the "better" ones do tend to be better and last longer. It's not as clear-cut as it could be though: there are expensive disks that last no longer than most cheap ones and there are cheap ones that punch well above their weight. I'm across the pond, so specific recommendations from me would be unlikely to help you. The best advice I can give is to try a few different ones and when you find one that you think hits the sweet-spot for your use, stock up on them.
For my cordless grinder (4 1/2" Makita), the disks I tend to use most are the Lenox MetalMax or similar diamond-edged steel disks. These have advantages and disadvantages, so whether they are appropriate depends on what you do with your grinder. I do mostly maintenance work on sites and I like the MetalMax because they don't wear down significantly in use and they are MUCH less likely to shatter than thin cutting disks. They don't cut as well/fast as the thin disks, but they are able to do a pretty good job of grinding compared to a thin cutting disk. In a lot of cases, I'll need to cut off an anchor bolt, which leaves a sloping stub that needs grinding off flush with the surface. The MetalMax (other similar products are available) is just the quickest, easiest, safest way I've found to do certain jobs and tends to be the disk that gets left on the grinder by default. There are certainly times when I'll use grinding disks, thin cutting disks, flap disks or clean-and-strip disks, because they each do certain jobs much better than anything else.
You'll probably get a bunch of responses from Harbor Freight to Pferd and more. I generally use Milwaukee or Dewalt blades, they're easy to get, not super expensive, and hold up fine for my use. I will say that the Diablo blades didn't last long when I was cutting black pipe, the Milwaukee metal cutting blades lasted probably 75% longer.
Project Farm has a couple videos on YouTube testing different brands of cut off wheels.
I thought Project Farm's episode was bullshit due to the fact that all he tested was the shit he could buy at Home Depot. No Pferd, Walter, SAIT, Metabo, Norton or 3M discs were included. If you want quality go to a welding supply house not Home Depot and Lowes.
Do the diamond coated wheels last say, 10 regular disks or?
It's difficult to say because it varies according to the nature of the task and the reason you need to change disks. If you are cutting steel angle/section into lengths, for example, and need to change disks when they're no longer big enough to make a complete cut, the MetalMax will likely outlast a box of 100 thin cutting disks.
If you are cutting 1/4" allthread, and wear the disk right down, the MetalMax might only last as long as ten thin cutting disks.
For the sort of stuff I do, I'm pretty confident the steel/diamond disks have a useful life between 10 and 100 times that of the (reasonably decent) thin disks I use. YMMV.
They do cut slower though, so in a workshop environment with everything to hand, you need to account for the time saved by using thin disks. On site, the extra few seconds per cut tends to be of more trivial concern.
You’re doing the right thing by looking beyond whatever is available locally!
Much good advice here already, and I would also advise looking for known makes where feasible. If you can find a good supplier, then sometimes you can trust what they offer, even if it’s unfamiliar.
I’m assuming you are in the U.S? I’m in the U.K, but we share suppliers such as MSC and Zoro, both of who offer cutting discs. You may find that good quality discs from one of these suppliers, cost no more than poorer ones from a store with higher margins.
Are you cutting stone / masonry, or metal?
For the former, forget conventional discs. I do this work seldom, but when I do I only use diamond discs. They remove less material, and the disc doesn’t disintegrate as you cut, so they are way cleaner to use.
I use these Marcrist, but that might be a British brand. Anything reputable works.
For steel, I now only use these ”thin kerf” cutting discs. By minimising the thickness of the cut they reduce the cutting effort, and the dust, but good quality is more important than ever with these thin discs. Norton, Sait and Pferd have all been mentioned, and I can vouch for them all.
I’ve recently been using these 0.8mm Flexovit discs and they are great.
If I find a disc I like I tend to stock up, but cutting discs are susceptible to moisture, so I tend to vacuum seal my supplies!
If I get an urgent job, it’s great to be able to go to my stores and pull out a cutting disc, grinding disc, flapwheel, or wire brush, in whatever size I need, without worrying about the quality!
I do hobby welding, but have done some pretty good sized projects around the house.
I started with a 4.5" angle grinder like everyone else. Later bought a 4.5 Ryobi cordless for very work and a 7" Makita beast.
Not that long ago I bought a 6" DeWalt grinder and a NIB Bosch 5" grinder. I try to buy cutting discs, grinding wheels and flap wheels in bulk on Lehigh Abrasives. I may purchase $60-$80 at a time and I'm good for a while. The prices and performance I find are better than local stuff. And I hate stopping in the middle of job just to go buy a $3 disc at the home center.
The 6" DeWalt is the most versatile in speed, power, and performance. I'm currently working using some metabo 6" discs and those things are wicked.
I have been buying 4" cut off wheels for my angle grinder. Was wondering if there is better quality? I am using it on mild steel, car frame and burning thru them really fast. Hoping there is one better then another. Thanks
Sorry if this has already been hashed over, but I could not find anything. What are your all's experiences with brands of grinding wheels and cut off wheels in the 4 1/2 inch to 6 inch size for angle grinders that last/work better than others. I have recently re-located to a place where I now...
Again, there is a PF test on these. Yes, he only tested the Home Depot, or Amazon "shit" because that's what 99% of people buy. People that are buying consumables at a welding store are most likely commercial customers, and as such they already know the answer to which is best to them; they're not the PF audience.
The Lenox diamond wheels work great, but they are slow cutting. Their main advantage IMO is they will not explode. If you are only doing a few cuts now and then in a home shop, they're worth a try based on the safety aspect alone.
For occasional home use, cost is going to most likely be a large factor in the decision; this is why the PF test has relevance for a DIYer. If a wheel costs 50% as much as the "best" and offers 80% of the life and performance of the best/most expensive wheel, that 50/80 ratio is an acceptable tradeoff to me in favor of the cheaper product for infrequent use. But if you're running a fab shop and paying someone that will have to change wheels, then that 50/80 is probably not a good tradeoff when your billed labor rate can be $100/hour.
You'll get the longest life out of discs from Sait, Weiler, Norton, Metabo, or other industrial supply brands. From the big box I notice Diablo does outlast Avanti. Honestly I've had pretty good luck with even Benchmark, which is a somewhat known but still cheap Amazon brand, on my 6" grinder. Doesn't last too long but good bang for the buck. Definitely had plenty of other cheap ones explode at the slightest flex, so they can be hit or miss.
THIS
Go to a professional/industrial welding supply shop and get some-
I like Weiler, Metabo Super Slicer, Radnor. Walter products are also very good.
The stuff from Benchmark is just homeowner grade stuff. No better than big box store stuff, just cheaper.
Weil sait dewalt milfcky Diablo etc are all good.
HF ones in this case is nfg, the disc dust too much and disc life just sucked. When I cut up the steel bath tub 1/8 thick steel I think, the Diablo then used and hf one used Diablo last 3x longer than HF one and lot less dust.
This off brand is also very good, some Canadian guy here advertise it 2 or 3 years ago and I tried it. Its cut quality is comparable to dewalt and Diablo ones but priced a lot less at 1/3 cost. Ordered a second batch.
MITOLS 4 1/2 Cut Off Wheel - 25 PCS High Precision Ultra Thin Metal and Stainless Cutting Wheels for Angle Grinder, Type 1 0.045" Thick, 7/8" Arbor, 4-1/2" Diameter, Aluminum Oxide, RPM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P1N2F5J/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Probably you can find that post if you search MITOLS here