Angle Grinder & cutting roundbar

Don't plug it in and it will be safe!!!
No really they are much safer than a wood saw. They take little gashes out of you when you mess up. Wood saw..!!!don't mess up.
I must have 6 or more of those around here. They are so cheap I thought they wouldn't last long. When they hit $9.99 a few years
back I bought 4 at once.
I have yet to wear one out. But it will happen. They have no bearing in the top of the angle drive gear. So sooner or later!!

You have to flip the retainer nut that you tighten down so it will tighten up on those cut off wheels.
All mine have cut off wheel on them. Usually not a long process when cutting off. So I figure less run time on them the better.
I have the grinding wheels on my higher quality grinders.
 
I had a piece of wood come off my wood lathe at about 1800 RPM. It flew straight for my face. I instinctively closed my eyes and braced for impact, but it bounced right off my cheap big box store face shield. I'm still using the face shield, as it was no worse for wear. Face shields work surprisingly well!

I've been really mean to the fiber-reinforced cut-off wheels, and I've never had one disintegrate to a point where it could remotely stand a chance of penetrating that face shield. The ones that aren't reinforced explode the instant you deviate from your angle, and I would not recommend using them in anything bigger than a Dremel tool.
 
I may have been the one who suggested it. I use cut off disks all the time and have never had one explode BUT I buy mid range quality disks. TSC regularly puts Dewalt disks on sale. They seam to cut fast and wear reasonably well. Canadian Tires disks cut well but wear away as fast as the steel. They are as low end as I'd buy. Walter are great but the price corresponds.
Personally I wouldn't use the cheap ones, think about a 3/32 thick disk spinning at 10,000 rpm or a rim speed of 134 mph flexing as you wiggle a bit while cutting. Would you drive a car at that speed with the cheapest tires you could find.

Greg
 
us real old-timers never cared much about safety.

I've noticed from the high % of missing fingers from the old-guard I run into now and then. But hey, that's why we have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs right? God gave all machinists's spares! :)

That said, I got my extinguisher out (just in case), and parted off the 0.5" SS. Took a while, but it worked. Much easier than using hack-saw (never again). But DAMN that roundbar got HOT! I should keep a bottle of water around to dunk parts into. Used to think that was only needed for sharpening tool-bits.

There were a hell of a lot of sparks flying toward the wall and up my ceiling. I checked the ceiling after, and noticed that on the OTHER side of the vice I used, were a lot of old scorch marks in different places along the top floor beams. I'm going to assume I know what side of the vice the previous owner was using for similar jobs.

In any case, we have a success for now... Thanks for the input on this to everyone.
 
I've noticed from the high % of missing fingers from the old-guard I run into now and then. But hey, that's why we have 8 fingers and 2 thumbs right? God gave all machinists's spares! :)

You're thinking of woodworkers :D
Good machinists can still count to ten without taking their socks off ;-)
 
i think you should be asking someone else 'cause us real old-timers never cared much about safety. we just gotter done :)
I agree and to add why---is we learned that common sense takes care of the safety issue---when using a cutoff disc use common sense ----in other words if you drop it ---before using it just put a new disc on before reusing ---a cracked disc definitely is not safe and they are not that expensive---I have used the harbor freight models for over 45 years and they still run good and I have never had a cutoff disc break while using-even the super thin ones that cut quickest----the worst thing is to overuse them and get them hot---have several and switch so they never heat up past warm-----even the $100 models will burn up if overused-----You will find out how valuable these are after you use them---I have the flap discs on at least 6 in service and once you use these you will never use the hard grinder wheels again-36 grit -they work super on wood and the fine grits will polish metals nice.---I like the paddle switch models the best for one hand use but they cost a little more---Dave
 
Now I'm really confused....

That's because you're reading the manual.;)

I kid, but there is a sliver of truth. As @Dave Smith said it's up to the "common sense" of the user.
No one can look out for you like you can!
Be smart and there's no reason to be afraid.

That said, I got my extinguisher out (just in case)

....and there you are being smart.

An angle grinder is probably one of the most dangerous tools in the shop.

For grinding and cutting I don't think it's too bad, but put on a knotted wire cup brush and I rank it up there as almost as dangerous as the chain saw.
The chain saw will wind you in and cut you terribly, the rotary wire brush will wind you in and give you an extremly nasty "road rash".

-brino
 
That said said:
You don't need to cut too fast---just use little pressure and it won't get as hot--the air from the rotating disc will have some cooling as you cut---if you rotate your part so you only have to cut half way helps also-you don't need water--they do make some super thin discs for ss cutting that I like best---Dave
 
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