electric die grinders

[NBC]

hi all

i've got an air powered die grinder atm, and apart from trying to deafen me all the time i just dont like it

does anyone have any suggestions for electric powered die grinders instead ? anything fairly compact would be a bonus :)

i have a proxxon dremel type thing, but it's really a little puny for bikes!

thanks

NBC

[Clockwork]

I have a B&D "dremel" tool that I love. It has and 1/8" collet and three speeds and it's on the lowest 97% of the time. I mostly use sanding drums to rough-in some tricky fillets, shape stay ends after they're filled with brass, and sand inside tubes before brazing.

Small wire wheels are great for finishing hard to reach areas before paint.

-Joel

[abbeyQ]

Ear plugs. Electric die grinders typically suck.

[Wordbiker]

I have a Makita die grinder. It's an awesome tool with carbide bits for shaping wood, but no idea how it works for metal.

[Dave Anderson]

I am with Joel on this one. I have a Makita electric and a couple of air die grinders, but I use my Black & Decker RTX's 95% of the time. I use them with 1/2", 1/4", and cone shaped shop rolls, for everything from prepping tubes and lugs to shaping fillets. They are good tools and even though they are not too expensive, they are better and last longer than any other rotary tool that I've had. They fit the hand well also.

Otherwise, with respect to the OP's question, I have a Makita electric die grinder. Its older and I don't recall the model number, but the current GD0601 looks to be pretty much the same thing. Its also a good tool and I use it when I need to lean into something, especially when away from an air supply.

Dave

[Andrew R Stewart]

I have two 1/4" die grinders. My 1st is a Makita the second is a knock off (including the blue color). The knock off is not as smooth or quiet (but not bad on both counts) as the Makita even though the M gets the brunt of the work and is at least 15 years older.

One trick that i do is to hose clamp the grinder to a pair of 2x4 blocks, which have had a concave nesting cut into them, and then clamp the 2x4s into a bench vice. This way I can use both hands to hold a lug, shell, crown to work them. Andy.

[steve garro]

IMG_2671.JPGThis tool kicks ass - you would have to pry it from my dead hands, 1/4" shaft - I also have a Makita plug in "dyna-file" which is also a super high quality tool - I'll get the model # for y'all later.

I also have the usual cheapo "dremel" 1/8" one for tight spots.
- Garro.

[Craig Ryan]

The little stone bits are nice in 1/8". Don't get them too big or the 1/8" won't handle it. I like variable speed so usually buy the dremel version. Once you're set in your process you realize you don't have to stress it too much and they last longer. One of these, an electric dynafile, a bench grinder/sander, and a cordless hand drill are you need to get a lot done.

[Mark Kelly]

I also have a Makita plug in "dyna-file" which is also a super high quality tool - I'll get the model # for y'all later.

If it's the same one I use it's a Makita 9032.

I modified mine to take Norton SG Blaze belts; these are the best abrasive I've found for stainless and Ti. They're a slightly different length than the standard Makita belts so I altered the length adjustment mechanism to make them fit.

[Alistair]

Years ago I bought a Harbor Freight die grinder, a big orange thing. It was cheap, noisy, and vibrated pretty badly. The noise and the vibration got worse over time.

I bought the cheapo HF tool just to see how much I was actually going to use the thing. If it turned out to be useful then I figured I'd spring for something nicer.

It turned out that I used it all the time and actually, some 6-7 years later, I still haven't killed it, but I have since bought a much nicer Makita GD600, the one with the dead mans/paddle switch.

The Makita is so much nicer to use than the HF, very smooth and quiet, a real pleasure to use.

Alistair.

[steve garro]

If it's the same one I use it's a Makita 9032.

Yep - that's the one.
Damn handy.
- Garro.

[dbohemian]

Personally, I like air tools over electric most of the time. I have a couple of dynabrade die grinders of different types and they are smooth and relatively quiet. A good set of muffs fixes any problems with that. they are lighter and more maneuverable. They are also generally more reliable. I had been through a number of electric tools from cheap to uber before then.

[afwalker]

I've had pretty good luck with a Skil grinder SKIL 4-1/2" Angle Grinder 9295-01
but the best part is when I got a nice abrasive disc, the 3M Cubitron II is way better than anything else I've tried. Hogs through metal in no time MSC Industrial Supply Co. | Cubitron Cut-off Wheels/Depressed Center Grinding Wheels
I bought the cheapo Harbor Freight electric belt sander as a hope to not spend the money for a real dyna-file or thanks for the idea Steve, the Makita 9032. And it's worked better than I would have expected. Got a second one, and it was DOA!lol :) 1/2" Bandfile Belt Sander I can use it for parts I guess.
I have several Milwaukee M12 cordless tools including the dremel like one, I also use the HF sanding cones that work ok for the money, 3m makes better ones probably:
52 Piece Sanding Cone Set Harbor Freight

Products - Industrial Abrasives - 3M United States: 3M™ Full Tapered Cartridge Roll 747D, 3/4 in x 1-1/2 in x 1/8 in 80X-weight, 100 per case
cheers
andy walker

[EnginCycles]

Air tools are killer when you have the correct CFM for the job. I will never go back to electric anything if an air tool is available.

[abbeyQ]

Pretty surprised at how many of you are using electric die grinders. If a tool makes metal dust pneumatic is the way to go.

[Alistair]

Pretty surprised at how many of you are using electric die grinders. If a tool makes metal dust pneumatic is the way to go.

For myself, the decision was simple. Until I have the space and funds to purchase a compressor of decent quality and output I'm staying electric.

Alistair.

[NBC]

i'm pretty much the same as alistair, the compressor i can use isn't mine, and it's a pretty cheap one at that

thanks for the advice, may shoot for that bosch one like garro has :)

NBC

[Wordbiker]

Here's my Makita:



And one of the carbide bits I use for woodworking:



It was really handy and more controllable than the angle grinder I use for scribing work on projects like this:

[jclay]

K.2230 Jewelers Kit, 115 Volt

Don't remember which model I have but it's an industrial quality tool and I very much like mine. Very good speed control, small, high quality hand pieces are a pleasure to use. I suspend the motor from a bar clamp, clamped vertically to my bench. The flex driveshaft is more restrictive than a corded or air hose tool but I don't find that to be a problem. I also, as a hobbiest, don't keep my compressor on 24/7 so having to do little more than grab the tool and hit the pedal is nice. For my situation I prefer it to pneumatic die grinders and the one piece construction grinders.

I have (and recommend) the metal pedal, two sizes of collet chucks and one Jacobs 3 -jaw chuck which is handy for drill bits. You can see it on the left side of this photo:

DSCF4365 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Come to think of it I ought to shorten the pipe.