4.5 grinder recommendation?

[California]

What is people's experience using a coarse flap disc vs a traditional wheel? Seems to me the flap disc cuts faster with less bogging down.

 

[yomax4]

Most hard wheels have gone away. Too much vibe and metal gouging. New technology has moved the flap discs to the head of the class. Zirconium for steel, Ceramic for stainless and heavy steel grinding. There's a newer Aluminum flap wheel with a coating so it doesn't load up. Plus they all come in many different grits and grit shapes and styles. Hard wheels still shine if you need to hog out a filet weld but some new flaps are compressed and very hard on the edges and some are trimmable. Just touch the edge to your table top and the nylon backing peels away so you can use more of the disc.

 

[Big Barn]

Most hard wheels have gone away. Too much vibe and metal gouging.

Hard wheels still shine if you need to hog out a filet weld .

And ^^^THAT ^^^ I am a little embarrassed to say is why I keep one grinder dedicated to having a hard wheel attached.

I would really like to say I don’t have to use it much but.......

 

[coxhaus]

What grit and brand of flap discs are you using to replace hard discs? I bought a Dewalt variety pack at Tractor Supply a while back but I have not used them. I have an extra grinder on the way to run a flap disc.

 

[California]

What grit and brand of flap discs are you using to replace hard discs? I bought a Dewalt variety pack at Tractor Supply a while back but I have not used them. I have an extra grinder on the way to run a flap disc.

Dunno about best but here's cheapest: 99 cent HF coupon.

 

[Big Barn]

I have had good luck using Klingspoor abrasives for many years as I bought them from a good friend who ran a tool truck. Unfortunately the franchisor screwed him and the the other franchisee over when he didn’t make good on his contract and turned to an online business model.

This is the last of my Klingspoor flapwheels




On recommendation from yomax4 I now use Weldcote products which I really like

 

[coxhaus]

I am looking for the type of flap disc we used in MIG class. I can't remember what it was but we used a grinding wheel then a flap disc and the steel was shinny bright. What grit do you think it was? 80 or 120? This was a test bend I did in MIG class. I guess it has gotten a little rusty now.

I don't see Weldcoat on eBay. What do you think of 3M? I started to use 3M sanding paper in wood work because it last so long. I get it at Sherwin Williams.

I had my own grinder and hard wheel but I borrowed a flap disc for this test from central checkout.

 

[Big Barn]

I see nothing wrong with trying HF flap wheels like California posted. At those low prices you have nothing to lose.

Personally I would stay away from other than name brand cut off wheels and traditional hard wheels though. To me it is just not worth taking the risk. JMHO

 

[coxhaus]

I have never been happy with anything from HF over the last 40 years except their 20 ton press. Probably because I don't use the press to it's limit.

I like the Hitachi hard grinding discs. This is one of the reasons I ordered the grinder I listed above. You get 5 Hitachi discs with the grinder for $39 with free delivery from Amazon.

 

[California]

The cheap HF flap discs I've used worked as expected. No complaints.

I don't know what better discs could do. They might last longer.

 

[coxhaus]

I might give them a try. I am still trying to figure out grit. HF does not list 80 grit and I am thinking 80 grit is what we used in MIG class but I don't really remember.

 

[Fallon]

I see nothing wrong with trying HF flap wheels like California posted. At those low prices you have nothing to lose.

Personally I would stay away from other than name brand cut off wheels and traditional hard wheels though. To me it is just not worth taking the risk. JMHO

I'll 2nd that. In general I haven't been to impressed by any HF abrasives. But they are cheap enough it doesnt hurt to try. Except for the hard wheels, especially cutoff wheels. Shrapnel can hurt if those disintegrate on you. Keeping your guards in place is important.

 

[yomax4]

.99 cent flaps are what they are. If you only go through 5-6 a year it's probably the way to go. An explanation of all the differences wouldn't be worth it. Technology changed a couple of years back and some of the newer to the market abrasives are far superior in cut speed and disc life. @ $3.00 ea they will cut faster, smoother and last 4 X longer than the .99 wheels. It's all about grit shape and size and how it is applied to the backing as well as the quality of each piece of grit. I hate grinding.

 

[coxhaus]

.99 cent flaps are what they are. If you only go through 5-6 a year it's probably the way to go. An explanation of all the differences wouldn't be worth it. Technology changed a couple of years back and some of the newer to the market abrasives are far superior in cut speed and disc life. @ $3.00 ea they will cut faster, smoother and last 4 X longer than the .99 wheels. It's all about grit shape and size and how it is applied to the backing as well as the quality of each piece of grit. I hate grinding.

This is the way I feel about sand paper so I buy 3M sand paper. I gave up on cheap sand paper. I don't really have any experience on flap discs. They are pretty new to me. But I would like to get setup like MIG class.

 

[California]

I agree on sandpaper and buy nothing but name brand - Norton etc. The cheap stuff is frustrating, useless.

But aside from wearing out sooner what differences do people notice with premium angle grinder discs? You might persuade me to step up ...

 

[coxhaus]

I just found on eBay some Klingspor flap wheels so I ordered some.

 

[Big Barn]

I just found on eBay some Klingspor flap wheels so I ordered some.

Not that I know for certain of course but I’m confident you will be happy with any of the name brands.

I have been extremely happy with Klingspor. I was fortunate to buy the remaining inventory of metal working abrasives from my friends tool truck at a huge discount.


Plus he gave me all the auto body shop sample packs he had left. (Pics below)

 

[ArlyA]

The good thing about Harbor freight stuff is its cheap... The bad thing is you've still got the job to do but its broke or wore out. What's the solution?

 

[flyerdan]

I was out today and got 2 ea. of the 60 and 120 grit flap discs. I have plenty of Norton 5" 36 grit for real weld dressing, these are just in case I need to make something prettier. We'll see; they won't be a high use item here.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Their grinders at HF were 9.99 this weekend. Even if they are light duty, at this point, you'd have 8 or 9 for a lower end better quality one. My thought would be to keep them loaded with a different tool each like a brush or cutting disk.

FWIW,
The best product I have found for the price is Pearl Abrasives. Their redline disks last and last and last. Pearl Abrasive Co. Home