Die grinder FTW
 

I just bought a die grinder last week and am already really loving this thing. It is like a Dremel, but on a horse sized dose of steroids.

Northern Industrial Air Die Grinder — 1/4in. Inlet, 3 CFM, 22,000 RPM, 90 PSI | Air Grinders | Northern Tool + Equipment

I figured out pretty quickly though it is a good idea to use it with a regulator: One, because it will empty the compressor tank FAST at full throttle. Two, because it is a powerful little bastard at 90+ psi :eek5:

i have an electric die grinder i bought off of ebay a few years ago ... and it has a $20 bit in it lol. Chews the fuck out of my crappy welds though and so far it hasn't exploded.

Do not put a 20,000rpm blade in it. Some fucktard at my school's tech hangar did that and it exploded on me while I was using it.

I need to put one on my to get list. That would make porting easy compared to a shit Dremel. probably handy with a lot of other things too.

What kind of bit/stone do you guys use for grinding steel/welds? Everything I've tried either sucks and takes forever or breaks.

Seriously for welds and steel, I found that an electric angle grinder works better. I use the cheap B&D grinding wheels and flap wheels from Walmart and the DeWalt metal cutting wheels from Lowes.

They make short work of exhaust tubing (both cutting and grinding welds), and it did a great job when I was cutting my firewall up for the swap.

Walmart.com: Black & Decker 4-1/2" 5.5 Amp Small Angle Grinder (Model# 7750): Home Improvement

Frank

I'm with Frank on the angle grinders- I've got two, one with a cutting disc and the other with a grinding disc. One of them is a harborfreight piece that "sales" for <$20 and it has yet to fail me in many years.

Yeah, that's what I use for areas with more access, and it works great. But for getting into tight spaces (i.e. opening up a hole in a flange), I have yet to find a die grinder bit/stone up to the task.

You need a carbide rotary file/bur. I have two from Enco that will grind out just about anything- just keep 'em lubricated.

But when it comes to opening up holes, nothing beats a step drill. I picked up a three bit set Irwin set (like this one) from Enco and they have never failed me. Ranks high on the useful tool list for me. Cuts perfectly round holes when enlarging existing and in thinner metal too.

When it comes to the metal on metal cutting stuff I've had way better luck with Enco's inexpensive line than anybody else. HarborFreight's metal cutting bits and drills are useless if they're the cheap stuff.

^ That Enco stuff looks nice. The most recent thing I tried was this from HF, with limited success :lol:

Yeah- that stuff works great for stone, glass etc. But stay away from the cheap HF stuff that claims to be for metal- it doesn't work. Enco is step up from HF in most cases. Too bad their Atlanta store closed (way back).

Those carbide rotary bits are the only way o go for metal removal. Everything else is just for smoothing. Even on my underpowered Dremel, and in my slow speed drill, those types of bits cut through everything like butter. My hardened steel roll bar didn't resist at all. So I can only imagine on a good grinder. The tear drop shape is a good all round tool, so many angles on it, you can do some good shaping with it.

I bought a $300 Sioux Tools die grinder when I was building my airplane. It worked well for a couple of years. When it died I replaced it with an AmPro from Advance Auto for like $29. Couldn't see sinking another $300 in a die grinder. It was more powerful and has so far held up longer than the Sioux. I am really impressed with it for the $$$.

Buy it. Like it.

Oh, and those little 4" cutoff wheels from HF. I buy them by the 50 pack. Dirt cheap and use them for everything from cutting off to grinding. Awesome to have around.

Yeah I got some cutoff wheels as well. They are a nice cutting tool.

ya, someone mentioned a carbide bit ... thats what ive got and it chews through metal like a fat kit through a pack of little Debbie snacks.