Right angle die grinder

[Ron in Indiana]

I've been meaning to purchase a right angle die grinder for some time so yesterday I bought one. I have a cheap Harbor Freight inline grinder but I wanted a right angle to be able to use 3M Roloc discs. I bought a Sioux 5055A from my tool supply house and tried it out today. Like a lot of things I should have gotten one of these a long time ago. For it's little palm size it's a great tool. I used it to clean up a fender first in those spots where a larger grinder can't get into. I then ground some welds I had layed down and again it went right after the job. I used 36 and 50 grit discs which lasted longer than I expected. I could have gone back to HF for the cheap one at $19 but I'm glad I spent the $68 for this one. It has a grease port on the angled head which the cheap ones don't have to keep the gears lubed. This grinder will save a lot of time and do a much better job than what I've had in the past. The 3M Roloc discs are great to work with also, I'm using 2" with this new Sioux tool. Work smarter, not harder.

[pieter]

And that's why you get paid the Big Bucks :o)

[JimmieD]

A worthy investment, Ron!

No investment potential in ANY of the Harbor Freight junk.

There's right, and there's wrong: ya done right! Good on ya!

[Kevin in Ohio]

Ron,
I'll let you in on a little item that I love with my die grinders that I smooth out stuff with. They are made by 3M and are part # 85287. They call them :3M Roloc PSA Disc Pad 85287, 2 in. I'll warn you they are hard to find as several dealers I showed them to never saw them before. I got a few from a polishing shop and lucked out and bought a bunch off Ebay. I still have the guys number but I can't guarentee they still have them(They were a 3m dealer too.)

Anyway the are a roloc foam backed pad (2 inch) that will accept stick on sandpaper. I got tired of paying for precuts londg ago so now I get all my paper for free now. How? I've got a couple of guys at body shops that save there 6 inch DA throwaways for me. You know how it is, the center really never gets used so it's basically new and works for me! Just takes a second to cut them out and you can grind the pads down to 1/2" if you need a tight reach.

I'll attach a couple pics so you can see what I'm talking about. Kevin

[Ron in Indiana]

Thanks Kevin, I have plenty of used discs for somethig like that. I'll see if my supply house can dig up one of those pads. I really like the way this grinder gets in the tough spots and can't wait to try your pad on the tough spots for sanding filler. Any chance you can make your way up here in May for my rally on the 16-17th. I'm trying to get the Rehoboth boy out here too.

[Kevin in Ohio]

Ron,
I'd recommend getting about 5 of them as you'll want different sizes. I start with the biggest size and as I wear it out just hit it on a belt sander to make it smaller and give a good edge again. Little ones are great for getting in a tighter radius or bowl.

MVC-004S.JPG

I finally got a Dynabrade Dynafile.

MVC-005S.JPG


A family friend had a new one in the box as he closed his fab shop down and like every nice tool, I should have gotten one earlier. The problem is, stuff you wouldn't have considered doing you "think" you can! Raising the bar on yourself I guess. You can get all kind of heads for it with various widths and wheel size. These are what they use to grind welds in corners smooth.

MVC-006S.JPG

This was done with the dynafile and the foam backed pads from above.

Hopefully I'll make it up but can't commit yet. When is your deadline? We've been working no overtime but if the economy starts to recover we'll be buried for a LONG time as everyone is using up their inventory.

Let me know if you have problems finding the pads and I'll do some checking for you. Kevin

[Bruce]

Thanks Kevin, Hey Ron

That is some little pad. I wouldn't mind find a few as well? My discards always get folded in quarters and used for hand sanding. This looks more efficient. I also would like the Dynafile.

[Ron in Indiana]

Kevin, I've seen those Dynafiles and have wondered how well they worked. Looks like they do the job very well along with the mini Rolocs. I'll keep that in mind about sizing them down.

Hey if you can make it to the rally fine if not I understand. I'll be getting the registration forms posted soon but we cut it off two weeks before so my wife can plan food. We can take a walk on the day of if you don't know about work. Right now everyone has to do what they can these days. We're going to have a working Bell Telephone PW coming and we're going to bore some holes with it. We'll try out the boom too just for kicks. How's that for a teaser?

Bruce how are you doing out there in the east? Hope everything is sunshine and roses. ha ha

[Bruce]

Doin' OK

I guess it could be worse?

[Ron in Indiana]

I called my supply house and yes those pads are available but I'd have to buy a bag of 50 at $4.25 a piece = $212.50 + tax. So I went to the 3M website and can buy 5 at a time for $5.25 ea. plus shipping. I'm still looking for a local source but will go the 3M route if I can't find any as eaches.