weld prep tools

I need to get one of those small (2") sanding pads that you can put in a right angle die grinder(air tool).

Mostly I will use them to remove paint from steel to be welded, but also to blend welds that need to be blended.

I see that there is several styles of mounting, type R, type S, etc. Are there any advantages of one style over the others?

And the mounting pads come in various stiffnesses. Any recommendations?

Do they make a special air tool for this, or do you just use a die grinder?

Reply to
dan
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Not sure what you are welding, but a small wheel seems to be a little light. A 4" with a flat wire brush or cup knot brush will eat paint. For tight places, a 2" may be better. I would suggest a needle gun, but that still leaves paint residue in the cracks.

To answer your question, there are lots of different things. I have some paddle wheels with sandpaper on them that work in certain places. But the old standby is the cup knot brush. A flat 2" disk kicks too much for my taste.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

What's that Lassie? You say that Steve B fell down the old sci.engr.joining.welding mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue by Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:37:37 -0800:

I'm welding mostly steel sheet, but will be working with aluminum too.

I have a 4 1/4" angle grinder that works great but that is too big sometimes.

I would think that too(kicks out). But I see them being used on TV shows like 'X-tream 4x4' and the other ones(power block? on spike channel). If they mentioned the brand, I would think they are promoting the tools, but they don't.

Looks handy for getting in and around something. I can get the disks at a good price, but on packs of 100.

Reply to
dan

For aluminum, I like a 1 - 2" stainless wire wheel chucked into a drill that will turn slowly. I used a Bosch cordless drill till it died, now I am using a 1/2" Hitachi and it works great. Slow speed keeps the kicking down and it also prevents removing too much metal, the small stainless brushes are pretty aggressive on aluminum.

Good Luck, BobH

Reply to
BobH

Just be sure you don't use the same brushes / disks / pads on both the steel and the aluminum. You want to avoid cross-contamination of your base materials.

We use the stainless steel wire brushes, cupped and knotted (wires twisted together in bundles) in a standard die grinder (air powered). We also use those 1/4" shafted, 2" diameter sanding pad thingies that you can get at any store. The pads screw into the shafted backer with left-hand thread. They work really well in a die grinder to sand, polish and blend your welds, while the heavier grits take paint off in a hurry. There are all kinds of abrasive pads for them.

Reply to
TinLizziedl

You just have to try different things and see what works for you. Not knowing exactly what you are working on, or how tight of spaces you have, it is difficult to suggest. Perhaps even use a bead blaster if you get into tight places if you can get it into the cabinet.

Trouble I have found with some of the smaller things used on Dremels, Foredoms, et al, is that they have one use and pffffffffffffft, they are toast. Gets expensive. Why are you stuck on disks? Round stones, or carbide burrs MIGHT work, too. Just keep trying.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

And don't use a regular steel brush on SS. Trust me, I know.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

What's that Lassie? You say that TinLizziedl fell down the old sci.engr.joining.welding mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue by Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:30:54 -0800:

Yep, got it. I have a bunch of those toothbrush size SS brushes, some marked for AL, some marked for SS.

Are the wire brushes just for AL. or do you use them for steel and SS too?

Are you sure they have a left hand thread?

That's what I'm thinking of getting. The rubber backing pads come in several stifnesses. What do you recommend. Hard, medium, soft?

Reply to
dan

What's that Lassie? You say that Steve B fell down the old sci.engr.joining.welding mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue by Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:25:52 -0800:

I've been working with steel, about .045" reclaimed from oil drums. After de-heading with a giant can opener, I cut small shapes (triangles, squares, rhombuses, pentagons) from the lid with a plasma cutter and template. I then need to clean the slag/dross from the edges, and remove the paint from the weld area. I have been using a

3M de-burring wheel(cant remember the name, we call them gray wheels).

After welding into icosahedron, dodecahedron, tetrahedrons, etc, I need to blend the welds. Sometimes I want to just minimize the weld, other times I want to hide it all together(make the pieces look like a solid).

Disks can make a flat surface.

Reply to
dan

I only use the rotary stainless steel wire brush on AL to clean the oxide off right before welding. The oxide is pretty tough and the rotary wheel makes proper cleanup easy and fast.

I use the stainless toothbrushes on AK, Steel and stainless. Each brush is marked on the handle what is is used for. TMT is correct about not mixing your brushes. When welding steel, if I tack or weld on an attached surface, I use the toothbrush to clean the oxides off before I do the weld. Similar thing with stainless.

BobH

Reply to
BobH

If you can get hold of a Grainger catalog, they have extensive assortments of these pads. Look up Roloc. I assume you know about sanding flap disks that mount on a right angle grinder - they're the greatest!

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Reply to
DanG

Don't mix your metals, don't mix your brushes. If you're sanding/polishing/brushing AL, stop and change tools before working on steel or stainless. Try not to let the dusts from Al mix with dust from steel or stainless either, or you might just serendipidously find the formula for thermite, too.

I'm not sure, now- I've looked at the pictures and it appears to be right-hand thread. Anyway, it's the TR system shown on this website:

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That link is to the 3M PDF catalog specific to what we're talking about.

The shipyard I'm at only has the medium, I think. They work really well for getting into smaller spaces, and are stiff enough to really remove material while still flexible enough to enable you to follow a contour. So long as you don't go all gorilla on it and really bear down too hard or slice it to ribbons those backing pads last forever.

Reply to
TinLizziedl

Best wire brushes Ive EVER found are those made and sold by Ohio Brush.

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The owner is a regular poster on rec.crafts.metalworking, and takes suggestions and feedback very well.

Gunner

Whenever a Liberal utters the term "Common Sense approach"....grab your wallet, your ass, and your guns because the sombitch is about to do something damned nasty to all three of them.

Reply to
Gunner Asch

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