Welding Tips and Tricks

lets have some grinder and abrasive tips you have learned from your line of work

thanks,
jody
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End grinder with flappers! I do pipe work and it's just as important as a flapper on an angle grinder.

Oh and a 6 inch metabo is great for confined space work.

Poland308 wrote:Oh and a 6 inch metabo is great for confined space work.

They make a slim design to fit in tight areas and tight angles I'd like to try.

Haven't tried the Metabos yet, but the Walter flap disc's I've tried are great. I plan on trying as many different brands as I can. Then I can make a fait judgement.

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The Flapper Adapter looks interesting, just may buy or see if I can DIY this.

Funny that grinders seem to bring out responses, I guess because it's such an important tool for fabricators/welders.

HERE is a link to a past thread that a member posted YT videos on this subject

It's a topic that gets overlooked, but does pop up. I use my grinders mainly for hobby welding. But there are times when I need one for plumbing, such as when I deal with old cast iron pipe. It's a handy tool. I've recently started using a thin cut wheel for sheet metal work. Wow.

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LtBadd wrote:The Flapper Adapter looks interesting, just may buy or see if I can DIY this.

Funny that grinders seem to bring out responses, I guess because it's such an important tool for fabricators/welders.

HERE is a link to a past thread that a member posted YT videos on this subject

Could you just take some pipe and tap it on one end to math the grinder and then weld a smaller pipe on to the other end and tap that to put a nut/ bolt into it to hold a flapper wheel or scotch brite pad.

The only tip/trick i can offer is to wear your PPE. For the longest time i've had a fear of one of those 3/64ths slitting disks turning to shrapnel. That fear came true while using a disk and it pretty much exploded, i took two to the face shield i was wearing.

Don't buy cheap cup wire brushes. They fall apart very quickly and the power of the grinder will shove those wires half way into your skin and they hurt. I find the smaller like 2 1/4" cups of a good brand hold up nicer and vibrate a lot less.

Farmwelding wrote: Could you just take some pipe and tap it on one end to math the grinder and then weld a smaller pipe on to the other end and tap that to put a nut/ bolt into it to hold a flapper wheel or scotch brite pad.

Nick, the way to do this would be to use round bar, drill and tap one end to accept the grinder, the other for the attachments, this would need to be done in a lathe. If you look close at their flapper I believe they're using the same setup (with a collet) as you'd find on a die grinder, this way you can use any tool with a 1/4" shaft.

Trying to weld something together as suggested it wouldn't be concentric and would vibrate if you tried to use it

We used to used metabo 4.5" at work. They were tough as a steel wool sheep. Couldn't slow em down if you tried. In the last few years we had a few of the new ones die, on in particular seized up. The supplier refused to warranty it. Said it wasn't an industrial tool. $350+ for a non industrial tool....pull the other one. Anyway guess who's company doesn't spend a crap load of money on matabo anymore. We now buy Bosch Professional. I don't like them, I reckon they blow brushes really quickly. But I don;t sign the cheques. On a side note, I do't believe we can get 6" grinders in Aus. 4",4.5",5",7" and 9".

The 6 inch here is probably the same as your 7 inch.

weldin mike 27 wrote:We used to used metabo 4.5" at work. They were tough as a steel wool sheep. Couldn't slow em down if you tried. In the last few years we had a few of the new ones die, on in particular seized up. The supplier refused to warranty it. Said it wasn't an industrial tool. $350+ for a non industrial tool....pull the other one. Anyway guess who's company doesn't spend a crap load of money on matabo anymore. We now buy Bosch Professional. I don't like them, I reckon they blow brushes really quickly. But I don;t sign the cheques. On a side note, I do't believe we can get 6" grinders in Aus. 4",4.5",5",7" and 9".

I think there was 3 guys at my tech school who had 4.5" metabos burn up. I'd still go with a 6 in. just because I see it so much in the videos.

I should clarify, No 150mm discs or machines. 175mm discs we used go on air grinders. Only ever seen 1 electric seven inch at work, it looked like a smaller 9". I haven't looked in shops.

That's right. Our 7" is basically a 9" with a smaller disc to comply with safety practices. Most construction and industrial sites won't let you on site with a 9


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Things are starting to go that way here as well. I noticed on the box the new ones are starting to advertise that you can use smaller wheels on the bigger grinders. But some places are not allowing bigger cut off wheels.

I bought one of the Flapper Adapter's, will have it on Friday.

The guy said because of Jody's video he sold out his (normal) July inventory in 2 days, now he's running 16 hour days trying to catch up, nice problem to have.

LtBadd wrote:I bought one of the Flapper Adapter's, will have it on Friday.

The guy said because of Jody's video he sold out his (normal) July inventory in 2 days, now he's running 16 hour days trying to catch up, nice problem to have.

Nice problem for a little while. 16 hours a day burns a guy out and his family. I think I'll wait to buy one to give him a little break

Mmm....grinders. My 2 cents:

1) Own several, one for cup brush, one for slice wheel, one flap disc, one grind wheel, etc. So much faster to just pick up another grinder than to always be changing wheels.

2) When you buy it, tear it apart and grease it. You'd be surprised how many have either very little grease or just terrible grease as standard.

3) Get a good face shield. I use a Bolle shield and wouldn't be without it. An exploding wheel in the face is even worse than a piece of twist wire in the eye. Both are nasty.

4) Respect them. You get bitten when you get complacent. (Ask me how I know!)



Moz

MosquitoMoto wrote:Mmm....grinders. My 2 cents:

1) Own several, one for cup brush, one for slice wheel, one flap disc, one grind wheel, etc. So much faster to just pick up another grinder than to always be changing wheels.

2) When you buy it, tear it apart and grease it. You'd be surprised how many have either very little grease or just terrible grease as standard.

3) Get a good face shield. I use a Bolle shield and wouldn't be without it. An exploding wheel in the face is even worse than a piece of twist wire in the eye. Both are nasty.

4) Respect them. You get bitten when you get complacent. (Ask me how I know!)



Moz

Also, run a new grinder a full minute with no load. This will seat the brushes to the commutator and will add lifespan. Many manuals actually tell you this, but most of us just throw a wheel on and go to work.

Steve

Otto Nobedder wrote: Also, run a new grinder a full minute with no load.

...and run them 30s without load after being used hard.
Cools the motor and add lifespan too