HF die grinder and Finger Sander?

[mercifiknow]

I have a brand new Dewalt angle grinder and will be using it in the new place once it’s finished.

The foundation has been poured for the small shop and am currently waiting on the framing…can’t wait to get out of the rental-been almost a year and we still have about 4-5 months.

one of the things I will be doing is putting in rocker panels and some other rust maintenance. Anyway, was wondering if a couple air tools might work better. I have a SpeedAire portable electric compressor so cycling may be frequent. Not going to upgrade the compressor anytime soon and have to get a good welder (Hobart Mig).

Is it worth it to get the air tools or should I just use my Dewalt?

 

[GeoBruin]

A die grinder is a different tool than an angle grinder. If you dont have a die grinder, and you need one, thdre really is no substitute.

I have 4 of the HF dir grinders (2 straight and 2 RA. Why? Because they regularly go on sale for 10 bucks and at that price, it's worth it to me to keep a different burr in each one just so I dont have to change burrs.

For running burrs, they're fine. For a cut-off wheel or abrasive disc, theyre way underpowered. My milwaukee m12 is better but i have my sights on a 3/4 horse air cat.

As for your compressor, that's a whole can of worms. You'll hear you'll need an 80 gallon 2 stage compressor to run a die grinder. If you want to run a big one, constantly, thats probably true. But for a little grinding here and there, you'll get by.

 

[mercifiknow]

Thanks that’s what I thought as well. I’m not a HF fan after several failures of equipment and problems with their jack stands I buy very little there now (was never really a lot to begin with anyway) and couldn’t see spending money on good ones since it would see sporadic useage.

what is the maintenance on them?

 

[Steve from Socal]

I have a HF electric die grinder with the extended spindle, it works well but the body gets hot. If you don't have a big air compressor or don't like spending 2X to run small grinders use electric. All the guys I know that port heads use electric die grinders. For body work a slitting saw and sawsall are very useful tools.

Steve

 

[joe_padavano]

I'm doing rockers on my Squarebody right now. The Dewalt is too large to get where you need it. You won't use a die grinder. You need an angle grinder with sanding and scotchbrite discs, a mini belt sander (mainly to grind through spot welds), and a 3" cutoff tool. An air saw is also VERY handy. I'm carefully fitting **** welds and using TIG, so fitup of the patches is critical, which is why you need small tools with the ability to precisely control what you're doing.

And I'll start with the compressor bashing. You'll want at least 11 SCFM for those air tools, and more is preferred. FYI, the lower quality the tool, typically the more air it uses. If you can only use the cutoff tool for a couple of inches before you have to wait for the compressor to pump back up, you'll be hating life in a hurry. You'll also want to media blast the rust on the inner rockers before you weld new metal to them, so more air is better. And expect to find a lot more pinholes than you think are there now.

 

[MAD]

An electric angle grinder with cutting wheels and flap discs will do most of what you need to fit rocker panels. The other tools mentioned will often help do a better job by allowing you to grind welds without hitting your good metal though. Grinders and sanders are air hogs, so with your compressor I would only recommend electric tools. My compressor is much bigger but I still have to pause often and allow it to build up pressure when using a die grinder and rolock sanding/flap discs for body work. The Harbor Freight electric bandfile belt sander is on clearance right now for $35.https://www.harborfreight.com/53-amp-12-in-bandfile-belt-sander-62863.html I would buy one of those and some some good quality sanding belts. 3M and SAIT are good, but almost anything on amazon with good reviews will be much better than the H.F. belts.

 

[dnschmidt]

You compressor is way underpowered but if you insist buy Astro air tools. Their mini belt sanders are industry standards and their die grinders have withstood the abuse of the infamous Eric O. best of all their price is reasonable. Personally I go with battery (Milwaukee for my die grinders and angle die grinders. Die M18 and angle M12. and I-R for their finger sander which is the balls for removing spot welds with ceramic 60 grit belts even though I do have an 80 gallon, two stage, 5HP Quincy compressor that puts out 17SCFM. Reason, air hoses are a pain in the ***.

 

[mercifiknow]

I'm doing rockers on my Squarebody right now. The Dewalt is too large to get where you need it. You won't use a die grinder. You need an angle grinder with sanding and scotchbrite discs, a mini belt sander (mainly to grind through spot welds), and a 3" cutoff tool. An air saw is also VERY handy. I'm carefully fitting **** welds and using TIG, so fitup of the patches is critical, which is why you need small tools with the ability to precisely control what you're doing.

And I'll start with the compressor bashing. You'll want at least 11 SCFM for those air tools, and more is preferred. FYI, the lower quality the tool, typically the more air it uses. If you can only use the cutoff tool for a couple of inches before you have to wait for the compressor to pump back up, you'll be hating life in a hurry. You'll also want to media blast the rust on the inner rockers before you weld new metal to them, so more air is better. And expect to find a lot more pinholes than you think are there now.

Would’ve like to use a LED behind them to show the pin holes but that won’t happen! Lol

 

[mercifiknow]

Electric sounds like the way to go.

what do y’all think about Hobart 140?

 

[mercifiknow]

I have a HF electric die grinder with the extended spindle, it works well but the body gets hot. If you don't have a big air compressor or don't like spending 2X to run small grinders use electric. All the guys I know that port heads use electric die grinders. For body work a slitting saw and sawsall are very useful tools.

Steve

Have to ask-what’s a “slitting saw”? Appreciate the comments. I know a few here are saying electric. Does that mean cord or cordless?

 

[GeoBruin]

Have to ask-what’s a “slitting saw”? Appreciate the comments. I know a few here are saying electric. Does that mean cord or cordless?

I'll refer you to this week's corded vs cordless debate currently raging on the front page.

 

[mercifiknow]

I'll refer you to this week's corded vs cordless debate currently raging on the front page.

Well… I had to look. Lol