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Angle grinders

i bought one of those cheap 4 1/2 angle grinders from harbor freight a few weeks ago... i played around with it cutting some soft steel to make some anchors( push in the lawn) for christmas decorations.. it seeded to cut the metal real quick as i had some old unknown type of stuff that was spot welded and could cut some straight pieces out of it so it served its purpose... question: i came with two grinding wheels and i bought a 10 pack of grinding/cut off wheels.... i used the metal and also the masonary cut off wheels from Ace hardware previously that were about 1/4 in. thick and had them installed in a circular saw for cutting some slate that i put on my patio and it worked real good... when using the angle grinder are you suppose to use the 4/12 inch side to grind down metal or the 1/4 inch side to grind the metal(or does it make any difference??, i dont want to put too much force on the angle to crack the wheels).. and the 10 pack also has a set of 1/8 in thick cut off wheels, well i kinda got it that you use the thin side to cut off, but what about the 1/4 in ones???????? thanks for any info.. and yes i do have goggles as i had a previous accident from a dremel cut off wheel in the eye and will never use anything without the goggles.... kinda hurt having the doc pull 12 pieces of cut off wheel out of the eye.....

Reply to
jim
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I use mine either way depending on what I'm doing. They are reinforced so side or on the 1/4 edge is fine.

Reply to
Doug

thanks doug, how long have you been using one??? i also used mine both ways, but was wondering if someone that has been using it for a long time did the same.... i dont want to make any mistake and have this big disc break off.. i know they each say check the wheels and if they have a crack dont use it...

Reply to
jim

Might consider a full face shield.

Reply to
Ian Stirling

If I may, I'd like to add that if you wear a face shield, you still need to wear goggles/safety glasses. Face shields by themselves are not considered protective eye wear, but face protection. A proper respirator may also be in order, and definitely hearing protection. I don't want to sound like someone's mother, but I've been there and done (without) that and have regretted it.

Dave Young

Reply to
Dave Young

jim wrote: (clip) are you suppose to use the 4/12 inch side to grind down metal or the 1/4 inch side to grind the metal(or does it make any difference(clip) ^^^^^^^^^ Hold the grinder so the 4 1/2" side makes an angle to the steel--whatever is comfortable to hold, and which results in the kind of grinding action you need. The disc will wear away at that angle, so you get a contact about 1/4 to 3/8" wide. Holding the 1/4" edge to the work is difficult, but it may be necessary if you need to grind into a corner, or make a narrow contact.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Hi Jim, Not sure that you intended to cut steel with the masonry disc, but just in case, I saw someone come unstuck using a masonry disc on steel, it exploded.

As far as I can find out, the steel and masonry discs are designed to wear away at a different rate, so that they don't become blunt and generate too much heat. The steel one has a softer 'glue' bonding the abrasive together, so it lets go of the abrasive sooner. If you use the masonry one on steel, the abrasive hangs around too long after it has gone blunt, and generates much more heat than intended, which can cause failure of the disc.

regards,

Reply to
john johnson

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