Favorite Roloc disc pad holder?

[jarhead]

Looking for a 3" Roloc disc pad holder for my die grinder. I've been using Hammerfab for a while now but they are expensive and break if you drop them.

What do you use?

 

[dnschmidt]

Aren't they basically all the same? The ones I use look like their made like a rubber tire. They're black with cords going through them. I don't see how they could break, other than the 1/4 X 20 shaft that screws into the back of them bending if you ran over them with a car.

 

[jarhead]

Aren't they basically all the same? The ones I use look like their made like a rubber tire. They're black with cords going through them. I don't see how they could break, other than the 1/4 X 20 shaft that screws into the back of them bending if you ran over them with a car.

The Hammerfab produced ones are 3D printed and work well on sheetmetal, except they will break if you drop them.

I've been working on floor pans and transmission tunnel in an old Ford and the stiff pads seem to work better.

Thanks

 

[rlitman]

Aren't they basically all the same? The ones I use look like their made like a rubber tire. They're black with cords going through them. I don't see how they could break, other than the 1/4 X 20 shaft that screws into the back of them bending if you ran over them with a car.

Well, I don't have much experience with sizes other than 2" (I have 1" and 3" pads, but don't really use them). However, from what I've seen in the 2" range, there is a big difference between genuine 3M and everything else.

 

[dnschmidt]

Check out abrasives4sale. They have two versions of the Roloc pads. One, as I mentioned made of rubber that is flexible, and the second made of plastic which isn't. https://www.abrasives4sale.com/holders.htm

The plastic one is great for use with a normal angle grinder as it attaches directly to a 5/8" X 11 thread. It also comes with a 1/4" shank adapter for use with a die grinder. If space is not a problem it sure makes more sense to use an electric angle grinder to get the job done than run a 7 1/2 HP air compressor to power a die grinder that has less torque.

 

[jarhead]

Check out abrasives4sale. They have two versions of the Roloc pads. One, as I mentioned made of rubber that is flexible, and the second made of plastic which isn't. https://www.abrasives4sale.com/holders.htm

The plastic one is great for use with a normal angle grinder as it attaches directly to a 5/8" X 11 thread. It also comes with a 1/4" shank adapter for use with a die grinder. If space is not a problem it sure makes more sense to use an electric angle grinder to get the job done than run a 7 1/2 HP air compressor to power a die grinder that has less torque.

Thanks, I'll take a look

 

[Ign]

The 3M ones are $$. Enough so that it pushed me to imports from Amazon, which seem fine in 3". However full disclosure I use them on the Milwaukee 2438 sander and/or M12 die grinders, so maybe slightly less abusive than a pneumatic die grinder

 

[Ign]

Posts #26 and #41 in this thread I have pics of a White Dog and Neiko branded imports
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=257382

 

[jarhead]

The 3M ones are $$. Enough so that it pushed me to imports from Amazon, which seem fine in 3". However full disclosure I use them on the Milwaukee 2438 sander and/or M12 die grinders, so maybe slightly less abusive than a pneumatic die grinder

Thanks

 

[jarhead]

Posts #26 and #41 in this thread I have pics of a White Dog and Neiko branded imports
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=257382

Thanks

 

[XJSuperman]

My favorite are the $2 ones from the flea market or swapmeets.

 

[txvwnut]

I’ve been using the same 3M Roloc holder since 1988.

 

[Hammer1963]

3M period if you are using them with any frequency. Cheap ones are often warped or have bent shafts which can cause severe vibration and bearing wear on you die grinder

 

[jarhead]

forgot to mention I bought the original 3m version. Thanks for all the replies

 

[darkzero]

I use the HF ones, inexpensive, don't have crazy runout, made in Taiwan. I have a couple that are 20 yrs old & still going strong. I bought an expensive 3M one once, I didn't like how long it was & for the price it wasn't worth it to me so I returned it.

With that said, I don't use the locking nut for the shank of the HF ones. I shorten the threads by the height of the locking nut, then I threadlock the shank in place. I like them shorter this way. Not much but sometimes it makes a difference in tight spaces.

The cheap ones may all look the same but they're not. With some of them the threaded insert portion is not machined flat/straight. I have a couple that came free with sanding disc packs I bought on Amazon, those things wobble like crazy. They'll still probably work fine but I won't use em.

Edit: Oops, didn't realize this thread was from last year.