[Spartan]

We'll see. I should say "I'll" see since I'm not speaking for the group and don't have tougher metals than anyone else here. I'm skeptical only because I've been fooled before, and have returned to the basics after shelling out $$$ for the high-end consumables.

I'll see.

Spartan,

This I will say, and I'm sure you'll agree...they're not cheap.

But there are more than a few folks claiming how great they are, so it's not just Oscar, he was just one of the more vocal ones. noddybrian or someone else was praising them as well. So, it can't be a fluke that people tend to be impressed by them...just saying...

That's exactly why I bought one to test.

But we're talking about such a small amount of money. I mean seriously how many of these could you possibly wear out in 2-3 months, maybe 1 ???

In 2-3 months I go through about 50 regular grinding discs.

[TraditionalToolworks]

In 2-3 months I go through about 50 regular grinding discs.

That seems incredibly high for the amount of volume it appears you produce.

Not doubting you, but 50 wheels is a LOT of wheels. You're going through almost 1 wheels a day.

What type of wheels are you currently using and how much are you paying for them?

[Spartan]

In 2-3 months I go through about 50 regular grinding discs.

That seems incredibly high for the amount of volume it appears you produce.

Not doubting you, but 50 wheels is a LOT of wheels. You're going through almost 1 wheels a day.

What type of wheels are you currently using and how much are you paying for them?

90% of my work is NDA. I've largely been expanding my work over the past few months due to COVID and other matters.

I normally use wheels from either McMaster or Lowe's for $2.00 - $2.50 a piece.

[TraditionalToolworks]

I normally use wheels from either McMaster or Lowe's for $2.00 - $2.50 a piece.

I don't know what type of wheels those are, do they have a brand name on them?

I have used Weiler Woverines, I can get those for about $2-$2.50/each.

Those are type 27 with a threaded hub on them.

The price on these from Baker Gas are $170 20-pak, so that's $8.50/ea

[Spartan]

I normally use wheels from either McMaster or Lowe's for $2.00 - $2.50 a piece.

I don't know what type of wheels those are, do they have a brand name on them?

I have used Weiler Woverines, I can get those for about $2-$2.50/each.

Those are type 27 with a threaded hub on them.

The price on these from Baker Gas are $170 20-pak, so that's $8.50/ea

I usually avoid the threaded hubs. The most recent Cubitron II is an exception to that. The bulk of the wheels I buy from McMaster are the typical 4.5" x1/4" and 7/8" arbor recessed grinding wheels and the brands seem to be generic and vary quite a bit but are still good quality as would be expected from McMaster. About as typical as you can get

When I pick up wheels from Lowes in a pinch they are the same specs, but usually Norton or Dewalt Brand.

I do not notice much of a difference between the McMaster wheels and the Lowes wheels, and the price is very similar.

[TraditionalToolworks]

I usually avoid the threaded hubs. The most recent Cubitron II is an exception to that.

I often did as well as they charge a lot more for them, but then I saw Aaron's video he did not long ago and have only shopped for threaded hub discs since. I found a lot of 10 flap discs on ebay of 60 grit TRU-MAXX flap discs w/threaded hub which are about $9/ea at Grainger and I got them for $2.25/ea including shipping.

Not that Aaron is any gospel but he makes a very good point here, actually 2...non-threaded hubs wobble and non-threaded hubs don't allow you to get the edge in the center of the disk. This is showing flap discs, but you get the idea.

n7EakpiI4Q4

[Oscar]

I got a whole bunch of both cutting discs and grinding wheels with the 5/8-11 threaded hubs but I removed them. These are 66530/66531 cutting wheels. You can tell which one had the threaded hub before. If you haven't gotten some of these, get some as well. They are really good.

[JayWal]

Why bother removing the hubs? I dont buy they as they're unnecessarily more expensive, just curious why you dont like them

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

[Oscar]

I got beef with them!

[Spartan]

I got beef with them!

You're a weird dude, Oscar.

[Spartan]

Have a few days use on the new cubitron grinding wheel now, and it is a winner for me for sure (yes, I know people already said that, but had to see for myself). I grind a lot of case hardened components when doing mods, and it holds up quite well, and I would say that the longevity of it is indeed probably 4-5 times the standard hard rocks. Hard to tell after only a few days use, but it's close enough.

Only thing preventing me from using it full time is the aggressiveness. Great for rapid material removal, but a bit much when trying to take the lighter cuts, even after the corner is broken in a bit. Will have to see if they offer grit options, but I'm doubtful.

I do also wish they were more accessible. Not necessarily cheaper, but just more readily available through suppliers. Seem oddly hard to find through typical supply channels. Probably intentional in order to maintain pricing.

[Oscar]

Where is that Oscar-is-right-yet-again counter, I don't remember where I left it....



For some reason, 3M tends to favor distribution to professional shops/sectors, hence the disclaimer for some products when you try to buy through Amazon. Not only that, my friend used to work for 3M, and he told me the same. They're looking for mult-million dollar contracts/sales, not selling 1-2 items from their warehouse somewhere so Joe Blow in his garage.

[Spartan]

Yup, Oscar was right (and TTW). I'm sold. Below is a pic of the wear on it after using it for much of the week on several builds. I would have exhausted at least 1, maybe 2, of my other grinding wheels under the same use.

Unbelievable.

However, I will be giving it to the shop "Bubba" next to see how it holds up. He hasn't been allowed to use it (break it) yet.

IMG_2282.jpg (75.31 KiB) Viewed 1790 times

[Oscar]

Try the 045 cut-off disks and the 1/8" grinding wheels. Just as good. The 7" diameter ¼" hard discs are KILLER!

[Spartan]

Try the 045 cut-off disks and the 1/8" grinding wheels. Just as good. The 7" diameter ¼" hard discs are KILLER!

I will absolutely do that. And just ordered 8 more of the 4.5"x 1/4" wheels.

Also think I figured out why you don't like the threaded hubs

[Oscar]

Try the 045 cut-off disks and the 1/8" grinding wheels. Just as good. The 7" diameter ¼" hard discs are KILLER!

I will absolutely do that. And just ordered 8 more of the 4.5"x 1/4" wheels.

Also think I figured out why you don't like the threaded hubs

You got beef with them too now?

[BillE.Dee]

spartan, where's the cheapest place you find for them ?? All of this hype, I gotta get 'em. With my eyes taking a crap like they are, I'm becoming a grinder..no doubt.

[Spartan]

spartan, where's the cheapest place you find for them ?? All of this hype, I gotta get 'em. With my eyes taking a crap like they are, I'm becoming a grinder..no doubt.

I've gotten them off Ebay both times. Paid $12.95 for just one of them a couple weeks ago, and just paid $45 for eight of them yesterday. There are several sellers that have them and in different styles. Just search for "Cubitron grinding" and scroll through the results until you see the size and style you want. Do also be aware there is Cubitron and Cubitron II. All I've gotten so far are the Cubitron II versions.

[Oscar]

Since we're on Cubitron-II abrasives, I was using my air belt sander and I had some Cubitron-II coarse (40grit) belts that I had not used. They were about 3 yrs old I think. I think I have confirmed why I wear out the fibre discs. The problem is that with coarse Cubitron-II ceramic media, the compound that they use to embed the grains seem to have a shelf-life. If you wait too long to use it, it hardens up and will end up splitting/cracking, which when combined with flexing, lets go of the media, and leaves the backing substrate open. The ceramic media itself is darn near diamond-like hardness/bulletproof, but large grains seem to exacerbate the problem when those three conditions are present.





I have other Cubitron-II sanding belts for my other belt sanders, but I've never had issues with those, which are not as coarse, and the follower-roller is even smaller. So I think it's a combination of coarse media grains + flexing + shelf-life that need to be taken into account.

[Oscar]

Spartan, Update? Did Billy Bob Bubba break them?

[Spartan]

Spartan, Update? Did Billy Bob Bubba break them?

Even bubba has not managed to break/destroy them. My new grinding wheels for sure. Definitely last at least 5 times or so longer than the standard OTC wheels. I bought 8 more of them at some point, and will also be ordering the cubitron cutoff wheels as you recommended once I need to order some more of those.

[Oscar]

Sounds good. Glad they worked out for ya. The flap discs I've found aren't that aggressive, but they do last a good long time. The fibre discs, now those are aggressive as heck.

[BugHunter]

I bought a couple of the grinding disks a while back (after seeing this thread). I'm sorta mixed on the performance vs cost. They sure don't seem to last for my use the way they do for some of you. They're nice, they definitely cut. But I'd need to spend more time testing side by side or finding some item that's trouble for the cheapo disks and this makes short work of it. At that point, I'd be a believer, but for now, I have a few and I'll wait till I "Need" them before wasting them on day to day stuff.

If the fiber gizmos are much better, I'd try them. For de-scaling steel, I use my blast cabinet if the part will fit, but most parts I'm doing, won't. I'm usually cleaning steel angle, and the lengths are generally pretty long. What I should do is take a truckload of it up to my powder coater and have him blast 20 or 30 pieces at once. He's got a building for blasting, and it would take about 5 minutes there.