Welding Tips and Tricks

He folks,

What type grinder/ sander do you guys use to square up a crooked cut?

Example: cut a 2” square tube at 89* instead of 90. Assuming the piece is cut a hair long,
Is there some sort of bench grinder/sander you use to square it up easily?

Thanks, colby

I generally scribe a line (no soap stone if accuracy is required) and true it up by hand with an angle grinder.

If serious accuracy must be obtained, and a cutting error is involved, don't be afraid to use a file instead.

But truthfully, where accurate cuts are important, spend the extra time beforehand ensuring the machine will give you the tolerances you need.

It's less work in the long run.

as above,
but don't forget welders can fill gaps.

Agree with all of the above & you can hand grind / fill on most applications on 1offs / low volume & still have good eyesight ! but say its a thin walled stainless tube joint or 100 of them all the same it's less than ideal - then I'd go belt sander every time - if you do much & have some spare cash get the best linisher you can afford - if not a hand held air belt sander ( like a Dyna file clone ) works - either is preferable to angle grinders as they generally don't produce burrs which kinda trick the eye close to accurate line marks - ceramic grit belts are the best choice.

Depending on the size of the material, I will use either a 6x48 or 2x72 belt sander with 36-80 grit belts.
I understand the comment on filling a gap but with my welding skill (or lack there of), I do use the sander to get as close a fit as I can.

OK, when you guys say belt sander, are you talking about a stationary Sandor, or a handheld belt sander? Like the Tif used for woodworking, With a belt for metal?

When I said " linisher " I meant just that - as in large static machine with a good work table & solid flat support for the belt ( preferably all cast iron )- or the hand held air powered " Dyna file " ( or cheap Ebay clone ! ) - the sort a wood guy uses is really not good - mostly too slow a belt speed - not designed to cope with hot metal sparks & mostly too awkward to hold with any accuracy - maybe use if push comes to shove on aluminum but less than ideal - only compromise for very light duty work is the sort with a 4" belt & 6 or 8" disc sander as sold by most of the cheap box stores - these can get you by short term but usually have very low powered motors & leak pixy smoke real easily ! ( ask me how I know )

For squaring tube, etc, it's hard to go past a pedestal mounted disc sander ( 16" and up ) of this style ;

https://www.baileigh.com/heavy-duty-dis ... r-dg-500hd

The earlier ( 20th century ) US made models are the ultimate if you could find one.

kiwi2wheels wrote:For squaring tube, etc, it's hard to go past a pedestal mounted disc sander ( 16" and up ) of this style ;

https://www.baileigh.com/heavy-duty-dis ... r-dg-500hd

The earlier ( 20th century ) US made models are the ultimate if you could find one.

Agreed, but interesting that one, for the price, has minimized on the important part, the table.

gnabgib wrote:

kiwi2wheels wrote:For squaring tube, etc, it's hard to go past a pedestal mounted disc sander ( 16" and up ) of this style ;

https://www.baileigh.com/heavy-duty-dis ... r-dg-500hd

The earlier ( 20th century ) US made models are the ultimate if you could find one.

Agreed, but interesting that one, for the price, has minimized on the important part, the table.

Very true ; the current crop of import offerings all appear to have very narrow tables.

I tend to lean on the buy the cheap stuff and make my own table upgrades.