Electric die grinder

[marlinspike]

After reading the latest thread on die grinders in the air tools forum, I am coming around to the idea of buying an electric die grinder to dress down welds. The cheapest decent brand seems to be a Makita gdo600 at about £80.

Is it worth paying (a lot) more to get a variable speed one? Anybody used both?

I have a B and D powerfile, which is great, but still struggle to get into tricky areas to grind down welds. Is the die grinder a step up from a powerfile in terms of how well it removes material and finishes the weld?

I have a 25l compressor but from what I have read it's unlikely that this would power an air grinder, even though some claim a power requirement of only 3 cfm. Shame, because air ones start at about £15...

Any comments welcome.

 

[langy]

Loads of threads on this already, do a search maybe

 

[blenkie1]

I have both. Got a 110v Metabo and several air ones. The Metabo was a good bit dearer than the Makita. The compressor will run it for very short periods and i mean short. The air ones are handy because they are small enough to get into spaces but the electric ones will run all day

 

[Cobbler]

I think you will find the 3cfm is what they call average consumption, they base this on 25% duty cycle. This is fine for something like an air chisel as you tend to use it stop start. I bought a mini cut off tool, advertised 4cfm, this was average. I didn't realise this until I tried to use it, the actual consumption is 16cfm. It's the wrong way to do it on this sort of kit as you need to use it for a more extended period.

 

[Perry Owens]

I tried an air die grinder on my 25L Clarke compressor - waste of time. I bought a 110V Evolution electric die grinder from the Evo Outlet on Ebay for £35. It was advertised as refurbished but I couldn't find a mark on it and the tools with it were brand new. It's been great so far. I also have an Evolution power file but I find the die grinder is much quicker for dressing welds.

Perry

 

[Jim Davey]

If you plan on using it a lot a Metabo will last a lot longer.

 

[Maker]

I've got a Metabo, I was given it so I don't know what they cost new but it's excellent and I'd thoroughly recommend it. It's got the speed control and I think it would be worth getting one with it as some things (eg. Flapwheels) have a lower top speed rating than other things (eg. Carbide burrs)

As an aside, can someone recommend a place to get decent carbide burrs?

 

[Jim Davey]

Merlin

 

[Maker]

Single cut or double cut?

 

[Jim Davey]

They do both, round, bullnose, barrel, flame, taper all different diameters and profiles. I'd reccomend Boelube for keeping them unclogged and cutting freely.

 

[marlinspike]

Thanks for the comments so far.

Maker - I hadn't really thought about using it with anything other than carbide burrs, but your point about using flap wheels has made me think I might get more use out of a variable speed one in the long run. I have been looking out on ebay this week but nothing much on there at the moment, though there are a couple I am watching.

I have done a search and read several threads. Most of the threads are on air grinders and I was specifically interested in electric ones v powerfiles and whether it was worth paying almost double for a variable speed one.

I guess part of my problem is that I am not used to paying a lot for tools and once my car resto is finished I probably won't use it again. On the otherhand, it would probably save time and hassle and it could always go on ebay.

 

[jinjahbiscuit]

I have an Evolution die grinder that has proved quite good so far. It came with a set of burrs, cutting discs and abrasive thingies.

I just checked the price and they seem to have increased quite a bit, now £95, whereas I paid about £80.

 

[marlinspike]

Perry and Jinjah - someone else on here recommended the Evolution die grinder but as mentioned they seem quite expensive now. I hadn't realised there was an Evo shop on eBay and though there aren't any in stock at the moment, I will keep an eye on the shop.

 

[Maker]

I don't know if I could justify paying double for the speed control, especially as the flap wheels will work at full speed, it just says on them not to. If you're going to sell it when you're finished with it then I would suggest getting the best you (realistically) can.

They do both, round, bullnose, barrel, flame, taper all different diameters and profiles. I'd reccomend Boelube for keeping them unclogged and cutting freely.

I meant which cut is better or how they differ in use. Are any shapes more useful than others? Where do you buy this Boelube?

 

[Jim Davey]

I'm not allowed to sell it myself, look it up online, I'm sure you'll get it at any industrial wholesaler.
And you need alu-cut burrs for aluminium, thry have really coarse flutes and clog less easily.

 

[Turbo]

I thought a powerfile was good until I bought a die grinder - a million times better plus it will go into the tightest corners with the correct burr cutter.

 

[marlinspike]

Well after your comments guys, I think I am sold on getting one. Might have to be the cheapest decent one - which is a single speed Makita 600 at about £80. Seems to have a 3 year warranty though.

Turbo - which brand do you have?

I presume 6mm is the most common collet fitting and should be easy to find accessories for.

 

[ronan]

I bought a stayer die grinder years ago , have given it plenty of use and abuse and its still going strong though the bearings are getting a bit noisy now. If you are using burrs to dress welds in enclosed places, be extremely careful of loose cuffs and other clothing, i see an accident with a die grinder grabbing a cuff on a work glove and it tore it to shreds in seconds, the wearer was lucky to escape injury.

 

[roofman]

I bought a stayer die grinder years ago , have given it plenty of use and abuse and its still going strong though the bearings are getting a bit noisy now. If you are using burrs to dress welds in enclosed places, be extremely careful of loose cuffs and other clothing, i see an accident with a die grinder grabbing a cuff on a work glove and it tore it to shreds in seconds, the wearer was lucky to escape injury.

Also be very carefull doing slots or enlarging holes ect...they can grab the sides at an alarming rate and have your ^r$e twitching big time

 

[Turbo]

Turbo - which brand do you have?

I have an Ata air die grinder I bought used on ebay. I have 2 x 7cfm 25 litre compressors feeding into a 75 litre tank and it will still run out of air eventually so you need a good air supply for it.

I presume 6mm is the most common collet fitting and should be easy to find accessories for.

6mm or 1/4" is the most common size collet but you can get different size collets for them. I would like to get a 1/8" collet for mine as I have a load of 1/8" dremel type tooling.

One of the advantages of the air driven die grinders is that if they catch the motor will stall instead of twisting your wrists.