Never use an Abrasive Cut-Off Wheel Again?

[DFB]

What do you guys think of these..

Seem Milwaukee is betting that this will replace the standard abrasive cut off wheel for the price point. Almost 400 cuts is claimed for one 4 1/2 wheel. Price $34

Milwaukee STEELHEAD Diamond, Goodbye Abrasive Cut-Off Wheels - coptool.com


I'm not a metal worker and that's why I decided not to post this over in welding forum.. but I do use small grinders in my general construction and field maintenance scenarios, to cut some chain or stuff like rod rebar or pipe, or maybe grind off a stubborn nut/bolt or ten dismantling something. :confused2:



What does the average guy pay now maybe about .80 to $1.00 apiece for 10 pk bundle o cheap import wheels?

Could one of these be the better choice in the long run?

I'm sure different name brands will follow along the path sooner than later too.


Where is that tool forum when you need it.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I'd pay $34 to try one.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I just bought 2 10 packs of 4 1/4 abrasive blades for about $8 each. Can't say how many get ruined before their barely used. And it is tempting to use a small worn down abrasive wheel beyond what I should
I would try a diamond blade for about $30.

 

[MossRoad]

Looks promising.

 

[tbrooks26]

I use that $#it on everything, but wood of course. I do a couple of tile jobs every year so I usually have some around. Some jobs the grinder with diamond blade is just a whole lot easier than getting out and setting up the wet saw. So, many years ago, I tried it at cutting metal, and it works great! Lasts longer and cuts rebar faster than an abrasive. Just have to be careful not to get it to hot. I've never had a problem there, because I'm not usually cutting a lot of metal with it. I even keep a couple around for my skill saw too. Zips through metal roofing or concrete board/siding/block or rock. Rented a saw to cut a concrete driveway once. Started with an abrasive, after 5 minutes, only making it a few feet, I went back to the store and got a diamond blade. Made 2 cuts 20 feet long in about 20 mins. Honestly I dont do alot of metal working, but I quit using abrasives years ago.

 

[timswi]

I like the idea, although I use 3M abrasive wheels on my whizzer wheel (they are like 2" I think) for mostly body work..if they'd come up with that in a smaller platform I'd really be interested.

 

[kenmac]

I'll wait for some reviews.. If it works as as well as the cut off wheels. I've had several of these cut off wheels come apart on me.Hit me in the arm leg,etc. this may be a safer option..

 

[Coyote machine]

Industrial quality diamonds are the go to tool for cutting. They knock grit abrasives on their butt. I had a doorway cut into a house I was working on through a solid concrete wall. They brought a jig, set it up and cut it with a 3' diameter diamond wheel. It was amazing to watch the ability of the saw to cut with near no effort. They took down the jig and pulled the slab to the ground, done. 4' w x 8' h opening, flawless.
I'm going to return my abrasives pack I just purchased and get one of these for my 4 1/2" angle grinder.
YEAH!

 

[Mysfyt]

Just ordered one. I'll post a review when I get it.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I like the idea, have been cutting concrete with diamond saws and they cut the rebar as well. I will try one before long. Thanks for posting. Ed

 

[PILOON]

Well I'm a multi trade renovation sort of person and in a pinch as well as lazy I simply grabbed my angle grinder that had a diamond blade for cutting ceramic tiles and went at it to cut off a series of 3/8 bolts.
Naturally I had to cut thru the nuts as well.
I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well that blade performed as well as the durability.
One nice advantage is that the disc diameter does not change like with abrasive discs.
To note that the diamond disc that I was using was an 'el cheepo' and probably not using the best adhesive but it still did the job.
I later still used it on ceramic tiles and it still performed well.

 

[EddieWalker]

First time I've seen this for cutting metal. I've been using something similar for concrete for years. When I was at my plumbing supply house, they cut some steel pipe for me using a chop saw and a special metal cutting blade that looked very much like a fine tooth wood saw blade. It cut great. Fast and clean. I looked them up and felt they where too expensive for how often I cut metal with my chop saw compared to my regular cheap blades that I have.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Actually, more and more guys are using the toothed blades for ferrous and non ferrous materials. Maybe bypassing this technology altogether. The first time I saw a friend cutting aluminum on his mitre saw with one of those, I said what the $%#& are you doing? Now they are using them for steel too!

 

[LD1]

Problem with toothed blades is the RPM. They cannot be retrofitted to a cheap chop saw.

Seems these diamond blades are the ticket. concrete eats an abrasive very quick, diamonds last seemingly forever in comparison. If steel is gonna yield the same results, I think for the money, these are a good deal. Will wait to see how some you that have ordered like them.

I dont really buy into their claims though.

I DO believe they got 541 cuts through 25ga metal studs with their 14" and 391 cuts through the 1/2 rebar.

What I dont buy is the claims of how poorly the abrasive did. Only 6-29 cuts for 4.5" through rebar and only 6-13 through the studs for the chop saw....:confused2: Seems a bit far fetched IMO. When building my shop, I needed 60 4' pieces of 1/2" rebar for the cores, and had 12 20' sticks. Yep, 4-cuts each so thats 48 cuts. did it with a 4-1/2 (maybe a 5") zip disc. Maybe wore it down 1/2" in diameter overall. Could have easily got another 100+ cuts.

And the chop saw only making 6 cuts in light 25 gauge studs. How did they manage to wear the wheel down in only 6 cuts?

 

[joefromga]

I like diamonds.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Problem with toothed blades is the RPM. They cannot be retrofitted to a cheap chop saw.

Seems these diamond blades are the ticket. concrete eats an abrasive very quick, diamonds last seemingly forever in comparison. If steel is gonna yield the same results, I think for the money, these are a good deal. Will wait to see how some you that have ordered like them.

I dont really buy into their claims though.

I DO believe they got 541 cuts through 25ga metal studs with their 14" and 391 cuts through the 1/2 rebar.

What I dont buy is the claims of how poorly the abrasive did. Only 6-29 cuts for 4.5" through rebar and only 6-13 through the studs for the chop saw....:confused2: Seems a bit far fetched IMO. When building my shop, I needed 60 4' pieces of 1/2" rebar for the cores, and had 12 20' sticks. Yep, 4-cuts each so thats 48 cuts. did it with a 4-1/2 (maybe a 5") zip disc. Maybe wore it down 1/2" in diameter overall. Could have easily got another 100+ cuts.

And the chop saw only making 6 cuts in light 25 gauge studs. How did they manage to wear the wheel down in only 6 cuts?

Chatter.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Just ordered one. I'll post a review when I get it.

I'll wait for your review. My problem is I hate changing them out! and if this cuts that down it has got my vote.
Wonder if the labor saved in changing them out would make up the cost difference?

 

[/pine]

Yikes...!...$200 for a 14"...supposedly on sale from $450.00...!

I just got a Makita cut off saw (2414NB) for Christmas...sure beats the "redneck plasma cutter" method (4.5" x 1/16" disks on a grinder)...!!...I'll wait and see how long the (original) abrasive blade lasts...

 

[tbrooks26]

You can by a 10" tile or rock blade usually for about $100. I've haven't used that size much on metal, but they will work I'm sure. We did a rock job years ago, homeowner picked out rock, we stacked rock. Homeowner wanted tighter joints (dry stack), but same rock. So 2 cheap miter saws with 10" diamond blades, a week later we turned 2 pallets of rock into bricks lol. We had about a pallet worth of waste when done! Thats what they wanted though. As I said above, love diamond blades! To me they are worth the extra price, but I don't use them on metal on a regular basis. My only concern would be getting it to hot, which will ruin it. I've done it on rock before.

 

[SARG]

The pros use the diamond blades in the 4 1/2 inch angle grinders to cut vinyl siding. Amazing to watch a guy that has experience and knows what he's doing.