Angle Grinder Discs- Are You (Like Me) Going Through 100's of Them?

While at (no joke) a Mother Earth News Fair a few weeks ago, a guy was demo-ing some fancy shmancy 4-1/2" long-life diamond cut off wheels for angle grinders.  They were like a revelation- no breaking, wearing down, etc- claimed to last 1000X as long as a standard disposable type disc.  He was selling them for about $100 each- and they were China-made.

Last week I stopped at Home Depot and found these:

For $14, I figured why not?  Not only does it cut just as well, but it won't chip or break- especially when you, as I always do, set the angle grinder down and it falls or you trip over the cord and crash- cracked disc.  No worries about discs blowing up in your face.  The thing doesn't even get that hot when you use it, and seems to spark way less.  Great for cleaning up a slightly rough plasma-cut edge, too.  

Safer, better, longer-lasting, and probably cheaper in the long run.  Yup.  I'm a convert.  Go buy one for yourself.  

I just so happen to run out of discs the other day and have to pay my.bill at HD, will pick one up tonight.

Thanks

I guess im going to order some tonight! 

Just beware of getting too much heat in them. If you make a long continuous cut and heat up the wheel too much the brazing can fail and the diamond grit comes off. Other than that they work well. 

I'm sold, death wheels are always out to get me, exploding and what not. These look awesome.

Those look like they'll cut my flesh with half the effort I usually put into it.

Appleseed said:

Those look like they'll cut my flesh with half the effort I usually put into it.

Then you can show your wounds to SWMBO and say “See, diamonds really are a girl’s best friend.”

but - can I grind with them?

This actually sounds awesome. One of my biggest beefs with cutting wheels is how they get less and less useful as they wear out (they get smaller and you can reach less and less with the tool).

So even just the constand radius would be nice.

The Diablo brand saw blades are really popular (poplar, hehe) with the DIY woodworking youtuber crowd, and they seem to be a good brand.

Just burned through my last two disks the other night, I'll have to give these a try.

Guess i’ve gotta go to the derpot.  Or order one

If you want a good grinding wheel, not a cutoff wheel, I recommend the Pearl Redline model. They are what my college welding department uses. They don't contaminate the weld and last a long time

Lenox Metal Max wheels.

Cut about as well as any typical cutoff wheel. No dust. Last 30-50 times as long. 

In reply to AwesomeAuto :

Yes, I saw those at Lowes last night.  Unlike the Diablos they have little radial slots cut into them, probably to help dissipate the heat.  The Diablo's held up pretty well so far, despite some long cuts.  I avoid horsing it too much and the heat seems to stay low.  I've pulled it out of a long cut and immediately touched the metal (after it stopped spinning) and it wasn't uncomfortably warm.  

Last night I sharpened a lawn mower blade with it.  Despite being a cut-off disc and not a grinding disc, there's enough material on the edge that it still works pretty well in that capacity.  And if I really want to grind, I'll switch to a regular 1/8" grinding disc.  I don't blow through those nearly as fast as I was going through the 1/16" cutoffs.  

Pete Gossett said:

Appleseed said:

Those look like they'll cut my flesh with half the effort I usually put into it.

Then you can show your wounds to SWMBO and say “See, diamonds really are a girl’s best friend.”

Because chicks dig scars?

I bought the Lenox version and hated it. They cut much slower than the Makita wheels I use, but the deal breaker was the noise. They are much louder than a standard cutoff wheel and the ringing pitch was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I made one cut and pitched it in the trash. 

I'll have to give the Diablo version a try. 

Got a mastercraft one at menards to try, not continuous rim.  If it lasts 6x as long it’s cheaper than the fiber discs 

Just picked one up. I'll give it a try in a couple days.

berkeley the disk from Menards.  Sitting in the ER waiting to get stitches around half the circumference of my thumb.  

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Thanks for the heads up.

In reply to Patrick :

Uh what happened?

In reply to Patrick :

Well then.... cross that off the list. What happened?

Patrick said:

Got a mastercraft one at menards to try, not continuous rim.  If it lasts 6x as long it’s cheaper than the fiber discs 

I too just picked on up from Lowe's that had a non-continuous rim - hadn't had a chance to use it yet (fortunately). Thanks for the update, I hope your thumb is ok. I'm assuming it let loose? 

You know how the old school discs are smooth?  Well the steel disc was bouncy and unstable.  I didn’t feel right using it and should have stopped.  Was notching a tube and it jumped up out of the cut and the grinder rode up the piece and through my glove and thumb.  

I give it an F on steel cutting and an A+ on flesh slicing.  

If it's any consolation I can verify that the old school discs also deserve an A+ on flesh cutting