Anyone tried Chinese angle grinder attachments?

[hooblah]

For £13.29 this looks tempting. But will it work as intended or will I be inclined to throw it away after 5 mins?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M14-Mini...316908?hash=item56e54e896c:g:iqkAAOSwbGdfYd8D

 

[optima21]

well the belts are a non standard size so you might be waiting a while for them from china

and I think it will be a bit bulky and clumsy in operation, especially in tight places

 

[julianf]

I seem to recall my black and decker finger sander being about £45. Which is £30 or so more, but -

A) it works
B) does not require me to give up the grinder
C) was still well supported when I needed to buy a new arm many years after initial purchase.

YMMV.

 

[hooblah]

Some good points.

There are a few different power files available. The black and decker is one. But there's also the likes of silverline. The black and decker seems a bit bulky with that motor hanging off the side. Does it get in the way or hinder you at all? The silverline is more streamlined with the motor built into the handle, but less powerful.
Then there's evolution and draper which look identical but a bit more power than the black and decker.
And finally you have Makita, but you pay through the nose. It uses a 9mm belt, compared to the rest which all use 13mm.

 

[Turbo]

Keep your eye out for the ones that come into Aldi now & then. I have one plus several B&D powerfiles and the aldi one is better built & comes with 3 heads.

 

[lchris21]

they look real janky in my opinion ......Ive got a B&D electric version which is great, but has its limitations? Been toying with the idea of an air driven version. What I find with the B&D one is the balance in the hand when doing intricate stuff, its fairly light for its bulk but you've got to concentrate a bit to make sure you dont dig in? I think with the extra weight of an angry grinder attached to that ebay effort....there will be a lot of swearing

I see the forum's favourite brand Silverline do a powered version? maybe worth a look? Perhaps you can do a review on one

 

[Keith 66]

I bought an angle grinder attachment years ago on a whim, tried it once, the belt whizzed round at a terrifying speed. It was far too brutal & without speed control frankly lethal, I threw it out after a while.
The black & decker isnt bad. Cheapest way to buy the belts was machine mart.

 

[bourbon]

I have the Sliverline one. good bit of kit (for me) Variable speed. As said, Machine Mart for the belts, One gripe is they don't do a finer grit belt

 

[Lazurus]

B @ D for me. years old and still going stromg - you need to get the right belts though as there are some minor length variations which although fir the B@D popo very quickly as there do not tighten properly

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

B&D here too...avoid evolution....should be called devolution. Love their chop saws...they should have stuck to what they know!

I buy the belt sander belts and tear them myself...blue are the way to go for steel (zirconia?)

 

[optima21]

I prefer the aldi ones to the black and decker ones, and the aldi one is lasting much longer than the b & d ones did

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

These are the belts I use...I learned this trick on this forum so not my idea.

There is a grain to the belts so you can make a small cut and then tear them off...a lot cheaper this way.

 

[Kram]

One of these would be useful but I can imagine the belt only lasting seconds.

Are flap wheel style belts available? I imagine they would last much longer.

 

[MoreWellie]

I bought a Macallister from screwfix and use it with the Abracs blue zirconium belts off ebay

Personal rather than commercial use but I am happy enough to buy another if I broke this one

I do oil the bearing at the end of the arm occasionally but otherwise just abuse it like I am sure most people do. Feels ok using one handed which is a plus

 

[steveo3002]

save up for a proper one...you need the trigger and variable speed most of the time

bet grinder speed would throw the belt or destroy it in seconds

 

[hooblah]

save up for a proper one...you need the trigger and variable speed most of the time

bet grinder speed would throw the belt or destroy it in seconds

Lol thanks. Don't really need to save up to buy a b&d, is it not a proper one?

 

[hooblah]

I have the Kobe air belt sander which uses the standard 610 X 13 belts and is great. Only issues maybe running it from a small compressor.

Electric only im afraid! I dont fancy dragging my compressor around with me.

 

[Agroshield]

And finally you have Makita, but you pay through the nose. It uses a 9mm belt, compared to the rest which all use 13mm.

It might be more accurate to say that as standard it comes with a 9mm belt. You can buy 6mm and 13mm arms for it if you require the other two widths. I do not believe any of the lesser brands offer the facility to use three different belt widths on the same machine. The 9mm is good for fine tuning door lock mortices.

...bet grinder speed would throw the belt or destroy it in seconds

Depends on the size of pulley on the grinder. You know the quoted speed of a 4.5" grinder (circa. 13k rpm) so you can work out the pulley diameter to give your chosen surface speed.

There are many YouTube videos of people making finger sander attachments for a grinder if anyone is interested in rolling their own.

 

[Shedendman]

I have the Sliverline one. good bit of kit (for me) Variable speed. As said, Machine Mart for the belts, One gripe is they don't do a finer grit belt

These fit the silverline type
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/75-X-457...186269?hash=item23d4a1265d:g:EpgAAOxygj5SeoTw
And as @Pigeon_Droppings2 said cut them up to the required size,should at least get 6 small belts out of one big belt

 

[hooblah]

B&D here too...avoid evolution....should be called devolution. Love their chop saws...they should have stuck to what they know!

Can you elaborate on that please?
They actually look alright, and very similar, if not the same as the makita version.