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spinoff: grinding wheels/flap discs

If I’m getting the good shit, SAIT imo has the bonding of the abrasive down to a way better science than their competitors. If I need something right now the Diablo stuff isn’t bad. I use a lot of zip discs and flap wheels. I had a Dewalt zip disc come apart and stick a shard 2” inches deep into a pine 2x4 behind my head. I always wear a face shield when using zips but I’ve never had a SAIT disc come apart like that.

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Only zip wheel I've had come a part and hurt me was a HF 4.5" that jumped out of the tube then tried to cut the tip of my index finger off.

I have Metabo(sp?) dished zips 4.5s right now and love them.

I despise flap disks pith a passion no matter the brand they do not work as well as a sanding disk and DA. Using some no name ceramic and zerc that I got on sale off Amazon. If money is no option the 3M green 36 grit will sand smooth anything in a second.

I use 80 grit 2" 3M rolocs for any fine work, weld prep. If it needs to be smoother then 80g I use 2" Scotchbrit rolocs
 
I've been ordering from Benchmark for a long time and go through a lot of cutoff and flap discs. I accidentally ordered a bunch of flap discs from them last time around that are about half as thick as the regular ones - will never order them again. Only got one package left to go through, can't wait to order the regular ones again.

I've been thinking about ordering some stuff from Jag10 Tools: Abrasives and Metal Cutting Supplies to see how they are - anyone ordered from them before? I think at least some of their stuff is made in America and seen them on social media or youtube quite a bit

Pferd cutoff discs are the shit - or at least used to be back when they carried them at one of the local weld shops here, before it closed down a while back

The only spinning parts I'll buy from Harbor Freight are their black step bits, which I use almost daily:grinpimp:
 
All my grinding/cutoff wheels come from Benchmark Abrasives. If it goes on a 4.5" grinder I've bought it from them and been satisfied. I bought a couple bags of 2" wheels from them on my last order, and while they don't last quite as long as 3m disks they also don't cost like a 3m disk.
 
Working on a box of 3m zip wheels and im not happy.

Seems half of them so far. Will chip if you put much pressure on the grinder, when cutting. Then you get that bouncy spinny wheel of death thing.
 
Wades_76_cj7 said:
What brand grinding wheels does everyone like? I have had pretty decent luck with the Dewalt brand ,Norton some, and Diablo from HD are pretty good too. The HF shit is cheap but it's a no go for me. They wear out way faster than the DW and Diablo stuff and if I am spending 60% of the price of name brand I expect to last 60% as long. My experience with the HF stuff is it lasts about 30%.

Edited: to include flap discs. what brand?
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Roark Supply. He had a thanksgiving sale. They’re awesome.
 
I like the Benchmark flap disks because the labels seem to fly off of every single one while you're using them - keeps me awake:flipoff2:
 
Been buying from Roark for a few years. Stock up when on sale. I go through a lot. These ultra strip ones straight eat the paint, rust, etc..
I also bought a set of drill bits from him that are surprisingly good quality and were only like $100.
 

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Anybody used Roarks cable ties? I'm getting low on supply and see they are made in USA.
 
Grinding wheels have their place. I use 1 for about every 250 flappers though. Dont even know the last time I bought some more.
 
I have 1 grinding wheel that has lasted me many years. It's not often I really need to gouge into something like that. Flap disks are my goto. I pretty much have all Dewalt of various grits, mostly because they last a long time for me and they're readily available locally. Other "off-brands" available locally seem to be hot garbage and wear out super quick.

I've never had a dewalt zip disk fragment, but I have ripped the hub out of a couple while doing stupid things with deep cuts. Since these things are a hobby and aren't making me money, I've long ago learned that slow and steady wins the race with those things.
 
used a flap disk to clean up some log cutoffs to prep for end tables after scraping the bark off, worked great :emb:
 
I was buying H&M abrasives off of e-bay in bulk. Last order I went to Lincoln abrasives off of e-bay in bulk cause H&M went up.

www.ebay.com

100 PACK Grinding Wheels 4-1/2" x 1/4" x 7/8" Metal Steel 4.5 Disc Angle Grinder | eBay

Wheels are fiberglass reinforced for added safety. -Abrasive: Aluminum oxide. -Type: 27 (depressed center). -Max speed: 13,300 RPM. We will always respond within 24 hours and usually respond within a couple hours.
www.ebay.com
www.ebay.com

400 Pack 5" x .040" x 7/8 Cut-off-Wheels Cutting Discs Steel & Metal | eBay

A proprietary aluminum oxide grain combination yields fast, burr free cutting with long life. Suitable for cutting stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, copper, and more. Reinforced with 2 full fiberglass sheets for safety.
www.ebay.com

I use way more cutoff wheels than I do grinding wheels. Probably have to re-order every year or so on the cutoff wheels and every couple of years for the grinding wheels.
 
Dont know if these have been mentioned or not but I have always hated grinding discs and never used them. I do a ton of autobody and have cut down about 15 Long box bed trucks and made them short boxes. I have always favored a skinny wheel to knock down the welds and then dress with a flapper disc.

A buddy of mine gave me a ton of skinny wheels that he had laying around and some odd looking grinder discs. I ended up giving one a try and it is pretty much my go-to now. If you havent tried these then do yourself a favor and try at least one of them. Sigma brand is what I use but it looks like there are several similar brands. These cut pretty aggressive and fast.

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JR4X said:
This.

A flap disk is far superior to a grinding wheel.
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It all depends on what you are doing and what you are trying to accomplish.
It is very difficult to mow down steel faster than you can do with a 3M Cubitron grinding wheel.
Flap discs have a place, it isn't where you need speed and high levels of stock removal.
When we plasma brackets off of a frame, the Cubitron mows through the dross like it isn't even there, and we take it down to almost to surface level. Then we come back with a Cubitron 36 grit resin fiber on a pad. There isn't much faster or cleaner we've found so far.
 
CarterKraft said:
R

But a great comparison video


I think I am using the Roark supply flapper and cutting combo
The cutters are excellent the flappers great for the price but not as good as a premium $5 each brand.

ode​
Description​
Qty​
Price​
Total​
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25COW_25FD_Combo1
25 Cut Off Wheels and 25 Flap Discs Combo​
1
$35.00​
$35.00​
​
​
Subtotal:​
$35.00​
Tax:​
$0.00​
Shipping & Handling:​
$9.85​
Grand Total:​
$44.85​
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That seems like a good price. Im about out of my hazard freight stuff. Time to re-up soon. Liking this thread.
 
Cgw or Camel GrindingWheels from my weld supply place in 10 pack boxes. Fixed arbor so no nut to fuck with. Thick AF and last forever. I was at $4.24 ea, now almost $6 cost. Worth it, last 10x the thin garbage from the farm stores or Chinese junk.
Cutoffs, metabo or cgw 6” wheels. When it’s at 4”, throw it away. If you ever have to use a slicer wheel, do yourself a favor and buy a Metabo 15-150 quick and only use for slicing.
Wade I bought 15 of the 10 pack boxes of flaps if you want to try some.
 
Diablo since I can get them anywhere for $6 and they last a reasonably long time.

I'll try roark next time I think about it. I should grab a few dozen for the rusted out jeep tub, since it needs body work and I'm a better grinder than welder when it comes to sheet metal.
 
If you want to remove a weld and sand it flush without removing any of the parent material on either side of the weld, a grinding disc is superior to a flap disc because it does not deflect, and you can remove material without the disk conforming around the weld and removing parent material on the leading edge. Basically remove as much of the weld as you can with the grinding disk, then finish smooth with a flapper or da sander. Obviously not as big of a deal on thicker material, like a frame rail, but especially a big deal on thin metal like grinding a weld off of sheet metal.

Everything has its place...
 
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