Shop Uses for an Angle Grinder

[Mark Ashmeade]

I'd value some advice. I need to buy an angle grinder to grind down some concrete and remove some tile mortar before re-tiling over it. I don't see myself doing much work of this nature in the future, but this job needs doing, and it needs a grinder.

So my choices are 1) Buy a cheap and nasty one from HF and more or less consider it a one-job tool, cost about $25. 2) Buy a better one and expect to use it in the future if a need arises. Cost up to $100. 3) Buy a good one because there's a use for it in the shop and I want it to last. Perhaps up to $150 (That would buy a Bosch Litheon to match other Bosch tools I have).

However, I can't think of a good job for the shop for one. I don't particularly like the idea of spending money on a disposable tool, but neither do I want money tied up in a rarely used tool. I do like playing with OWWM, but I can't see me needing to grind the things too much. Am I missing a shop application?

[Michael Moscicki]

Cutting metal. Other than that, I don't see much use for it.However, you can still get a top notch tool at a great price.

Factory Reconditioned Bosch 1380SLIM-RT 4-1/2-in 7.5 Amp Small Angle Grinder (http://www.reconditionedtools.com/factory-reconditioned-bosch-1380slim-rt-4-1-2-in-7-5-amp-small-angle-grinder/bshr1380slim-rt,default,pd.html?start=2&q=angle grinder) $39.99

Factory Reconditioned Makita GA4030K-R 4-in Slide Switch Angle Grinder (http://www.reconditionedtools.com/factory-reconditioned-makita-ga4030k-r-4-in-slide-switch-angle-grinder/mktrga4030k-r,default,pd.html?start=3&q=angle grinder) $39.99

Factory Reconditioned Makita 9557NB-R 4-1/2-in Slide Switch AC/DC Angle Grinder (http://www.reconditionedtools.com/factory-reconditioned-makita-9557nb-r-4-1-2-in-slide-switch-ac-dc-angle-grinder/mktr9557nb-r,default,pd.html?start=1&q=angle grinder[/URL) $39.99

[Ron Kellison]

I bought a cheap $30 angle grinder years ago and it didn't get much use on metal in my shop. I took off the grinder blade and fitted it with a Lancelot carving head (Lee Valley). It's quite handy to quickly rough out a piece and you have a surprising amount of control over how much material is removed. I found the carving head on a LV sale table and figure I've got $50 invested in the whole rig.

Regards,

Ron

[Peter Aeschliman]

For woodworking, I use mine to help me strip bark off of live edges.

I have also seen David Marks use a grinder for sculpting work (like the divots for your butt on a stool).

[Victor Robinson]

Actually I've been grappling with the same issue so your post is timely...need a grinder for a one-off job and wondering what else you can do with one. I'm looking at a fairly expensive one (Makita 5-inch) because my one-off job is cutting granite. It has a pretty wide speed range that almost dips into polisher realm, though it might still be too fast for most polishing tasks.

As far as I can tell, cutting metal and shaping wood are the only major shop uses and like you, I'm having a hard time justifying the purchase.

[Jerome Hanby]

I've seen one used with some kind of blade to carve out chair seats.

[Mikail Khan]

Consider gettin a mid priced grinder ($40)

I have a 12 year old skil I paid $20 for that is still going strong and a 3 year old makita I got on sale for $25.

Used with:

Kutzall discs for carving seats
Grinding discs for grinding welds.
Cutting discs for cutting metal and old padlocks.
Sanding disc for shaping
Diamond blades for cutting concrete or tile.

MK

[Mark Ashmeade]

Thanks guys! Come to think of it, I have a granite slab that needs the edges tidying up before becoming a big shop table, but I had my circular saw in mind for that, if I don't pay a granite guy. Perhaps I could rig up a sled of sorts so it cuts more like a circ saw. I like the idea of carving chair bases too, so perhaps the HF idea isn't such a good one.

[Jerome Hanby]

I'd be really tempted to buy one new, also. Angle grinders are a tool that gets used up over time and you have to replace them. I think that's why you see such big piles of them in pawn shops...

[Peter J Lee]

I've seen countertop guys take smaller granite pieces outside, mark with a piece of blue tape and freehand cuts with a harbor freight grinder. I've got a couple pieces of granite I was thinking of trimming for end table tops and was considering buying one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/safety-guard-for-angle-grinders-45921.html

On another forum, trim guys have said they were great for doing cope joints. I'd guess they were using the sandpaper "flap disks" but I don't know.

The HF one can be had for 15 dollars or so when on sale. I've only used it for cutting a line in a plaster wall and some other odd masonry things. I don't have any complaints.

[glenn bradley]

My dad bought the HF for about $10 and it has done everything he or I needed. My HF recip saw is something I bought for one demo job 7 years ago. They are noisy, they vibrate and sound like every job will be their last but, they keep on going. Don't get me wrong. As far as a serious tool, they are a joke but, for the times I needed them (and dozens of times beyond my expectations) they were fine. Look at it this way; spend $10 - $15 and if you find out you use it a lot, then buy a good one. Just like router bits ;-)

[Bruce Wrenn]

HF (95578) is on sale this week end for $9.99. Buy a hand full, or least two in case the first should quit.

[Dick Brown]

Interesting that you mentioned OWWM. I have a weakness for old iron and use mine a lot with a wire wheel on rusty saw tables and removing paint. Even put a flapper sanding disk on and shape things in the wood lathe that have a habit of chipping out. Have two 4-1/2" and like the cheap Skill one best.

[Jim Heffner]

Mark, I don't know what types of things you work on in your shop, but as for mine ....
I wouldn't want to be in the shop without it! I do some wood working, some metal working, some repair work on all kinds and types of things, and the more I use it the more useful it becomes. I was in HF the other day, just looking around at a newly opened store and was thinking about buying one of the circular rasp type blades they have to use on the 4" side grinder I have in the shop.It may be one of those things I wish that I had bought but didn't pick up at that time.If you are like me and do a little welding and cutting of steel...nothing like it when it's time to clean up a weld or cut line on some assembled parts, makes it look a lot better in the end! Pick one up...you won't regret it later, they are always handy to have around. Jim

[Jerome Hanby]

Interesting that you mentioned OWWM. I have a weakness for old iron and use mine a lot with a wire wheel on rusty saw tables and removing paint. Even put a flapper sanding disk on and shape things in the wood lathe that have a habit of chipping out. Have two 4-1/2" and like the cheap Skill one best.

I've got a Dewalt, mostly because the local Borg had them on the shelf and it looked like the best of the lot. I bought it specifically to use with a wire brush. I used it to clean up my CL florescent light fixtures aftr i tore them down, pulled the old ballasts and sockets, and repainted. Did a great job. I'll be using it when I get to my Unisaw refurb for the same tasks.

[HANK METZ]

I've seen countertop guys take smaller granite pieces outside, mark with a piece of blue tape and freehand cuts with a harbor freight grinder. I've got a couple pieces of granite I was thinking of trimming for end table tops and was considering buying one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/safety-guard-for-angle-grinders-45921.html



I have one of those, used it as a bridge tile saw doing a bathroom reno. Simply strap a straight edge onto the work and go, great results for so little money.

- Beachside Hank

[Peter Bell]

In my opinion for the average Joe it is on tool that fits into the category the cheaper the better. The grinder is what it is a grinder. No great accuracy is required to be built into it. The discs do the work regardless if they are on a top notch or low notch one. Do not skimp on the discs though. Most have a twelve months warranty. If they last twelve months it should go on for a few more.

It is amazing the uses you will find for it. it is possibly more useful to me because i live on acreage and have wire fences as well wooden rails. I always need it to cut rust bolts. or when I am doing some welding, As the posters have said you can get carving discs for them and it will remove material quickly.

Look on the bottom shelf, that will get you by and save the money for tools that require some quality built in. But remember, do not skimp on the cutting edge.

Pete

[Larry Edgerton]

If you are thinking of using a carving head, Ryobi makes a 4 1/2" that has a rear handle like a large 7" grinder. This is the one you want for that task, and it will do al others as well. I have several, and the only one I use with the chain saw head is that Ryobi, it just gives you better control. I have seen what one of those heads does when it gets loose on you, its not pretty.

[Jake Elkins]

I have two - a 4.5" and a 9" beast. I use them both fairly regularly. Wire brush to clean nasty boards prior to the first pass into the jointer or planer. I use a sanding disc for rough shaping and dimensioning. Another sanding disc for sharpening lawnmower blades. However, I have used them the most to cope crown. It is messy, but I can cope using an angle grinder much faster than I can with a coping saw and rasps. +1 on buying new. Makita (made in USA) and Bosch (made in Germany) both make nice ones for around $80.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Funny you should ask this question as I was just about to post an unusual use for an angle grinde/cutoff wheel.

I had to pull a couple of pieces of trim off from around a window this past week.
The trim pieces are actually door stops ~ 1.5" wide and < 3/8" thick.
They were installed ~ 55 years ago using 2.5" long finishing nails, countersunk & the heads puttied in.
If you've ever tried to get the nails out of trim like that - you know how impossible it can be.
Just about everything destroys or disturbs the trim/old putty.

I had my HF ($9.99 on sale) angle grinder onsite with me.
(I'd used it to cut off the entry lock and deadbolt. It's really obscene what one of them can do to a lockset in a very brief amount of time.)
I used it to trim off the finishing nails & it worked slicker than grease through a goose.
Using a metal cutoff wheel, I was able to slightly undercut the nails so that when the trim went back up, the nails wouldn't pop.

I'd originally bought the HF grinder to cut down some old pieces of steel bed frames so I could use them on mobile tool stands.
Worked like a champ - even though they warn you not to use one as a cut off tool.

Another place I really wish I would have had one - old toilet bolts. I used my Dremel and several cutoff wheels for that. While it worked, the Dremel cutoff disks fly apart if you look at them wrong.
Yet another place I could have really used one. To slot old stripped out carriage bolt heads for a screwdriver.

[Peter J Lee]

I use a sanding disc for rough shaping and dimensioning... I have used them the most to cope crown.

Jake, what sanding discs are you using?

[Jake Elkins]

Jake, what sanding discs are you using?

Nothing fancy - just zirconia(?) flap discs sold at the local borg. I think they come in 3 grits. The 32 grit really eats wood quick, the 80 (100?) grit works great at coping. These last a long time, as long as you don't hit metal. I keep a few separated (and labeled) for lawnmower blades, etc.

[Prashun Patel]

I own a couple of these. Both were under $40. The 2nd is a Hitachi which was like $30 from the online "bookseller". They both have worked very well. I don't think you need to pay a lot for this kind of tool for it to work reliably.

I use my angle grinder to shape chair seats and for rough shaping. Once you fit it with a backing pad and a fiber sanding disc, you'll find uses for it, believe me.

Other uses:
Wire cup to remove rust on flat surfaces.
cutoff wheel to cut and trim closet rods, galvanized pipe, etc.

You can even use it to sharpen larger-bladed garden tools if you dont have a bench grinder.

The great thing about angle grinders is the 'bits' are so darn cheap (carbide kutzall wheel notwithstanding) it's easy to fit it to do a variety of shop tasks.

[Ellen Benkin]

I was helping a friend install laminate flooring and looked for something to cut the door jambs. I was going to buy a fairly pricey saw but another friend gave me a cheap Harbor Freight grinder. It made one heck of a mess and burned the wood fairly well but the cuts were smooth and it worked for this job. I've never needed a grinder before but I'll hang on to it just in case . . .

[Ole Anderson]

I have a Skill 4.5" Pro model I use a ton, mostly with thin cut-off discs or a twisted knot cup wire wheel. But then I also have an old Jeep. Nuff said.