What Is the Best Grinder ?

[renbluefish]

I am removing a teak deck and replacing rotted core than removing bottom paint and repairing the steel keel.

Would like to know the best universal grinder that could do the above work.

I'm guessing an angle grinder of sorts that can interchange heads from sanding to cutting to buffing.

Would appreciate any ideas on makes and models. Thanks

[brutb]

Renbluefish
If you are cutting a lot of glass on the deck a small cheap 4" angle grinder is light and easy to control. There are many types of grinding discs and pads as well as SS wire brush attachments you can get at Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Lowes, ect that will fit. If you access to a hi volume air supply I have used a 3" die grinder with a thin cutting blade to cut fiberglas, aluminum, steel, plexiglas, well you get the idea.he air grinder is even lighter and more controlable than the electric 4" angle grinder. Be careful when trying to take paint or glass off the hull bottom or you are going to have a real hard time fairing it in. You will probably burn up an electric angle grind after 20 or 30 hours of hard use due to the glass particles.

Good luck on your project,
Bill B

[foamcore]

I use a cheapo Harbor freight 4" angle grinder for glass, a bosch 4" for fine stuff and a Milwakee sander/polisher that takes 7" and 9" disks. There are few sanding/grinding/polishing tasks beyond the capicity of these tools.

[joey69]

Metabo makes one that you can adjust the speed so you can either grind,cut,or buff with different attachments.Also if you drop it,it will automatically shut off.

http://www.google.com/products/catal...=0CIcBEPMCMAM#

[joey69]

I used one of those for years in the steel mills and for home projects too.They are very dependable.

[roverhi]

For finish work you want a low speed buffer/polisher with a 7" foam pad and 80-100 grit sandpaper. Keep the RPM under around 2,000 but definitely not more than 3,000 or the glass melts rather than sands. This Makita is supposed to be the best there is Makita PV7001C 7" Vertical Polisher. This one will get you by but is not as easy to control and probably won't last beyond the job you're trying to do: 7" Electronic Polisher

For grinding metal and rough glass work any old 4" grinder will do. They are available really cheaply from Harbor Freight or more expensively from the usual big name suppliers. The more expensive last longer and the bearings don't sound like they are trying to grind the ball bearings to shards from the minute you turn them on.

Fiberglass is very hard on the electric motors in tools. The dust gets into them and eats them up. The more expensive will last longer but most seeme to succumb eventually. Having said that, still have my Milwaukee 7" sander/polisher that I bought to build our Westsail more than 30 years ago. Still runs like a champ three boats and a couple of houses later.

[delmarrey]

I vote for the Milwaukee, what ever size you get. I use to repair power tools, and the Milwaukee's always lasted longer. The Black & Decker's went first and the bad parts were always the expensive ones.

You can keep dust/FG out of the motors by wrapping a fine scotch pad (gray color) around the vent slots and tape'n off the edges. Or cut up a dust mask and use it. (cheap filters)

[barnakiel]

Use any as long as it is safe. They should be as they are on the market.

Makita tools are fine and I like DeWalt too. Expensive perhaps but last and work as advertised.

I do not like B&D and Bosch too much - expensive and often the quality of just a K-mart grade tool.

b.

[otherthan]

use any tool but tape scrubbing pads over vents to filter...scrubing pads are almost free and make exelent filters.

[renbluefish]

thanks I like the idea for a filter of sorts, gonna make the investment on a tool and would like it around for a bit.

[hellosailor]

"thanks I like the idea for a filter of sorts,"
ANY filter you add will obstruct the airflow and cause the tool to run too hot, especially on a large job like yours.
That's the reason you want air tools, or at least, a penumatic grinder. The air which powers the tool also cools it AND cleans any dust out of it. Electric tools are just the wrong tool for that job, that's why shops that have to deal with large amounts of abrasive dust ONLY USE AIR TOOLS.
And once you've got the compressor for the grinder, an air powered buffer/polisher makes sense too as it will be cheaper than an electric one.

[motion30]

I like the dewalt It is light and powerful

[bangkaboat]

In the local shipyards/drydocks we use Walker grinders, exclusively. they take one heck of a beating & take quite some time to wear out. Makitas are great, but extremely expensive. In my own shop, I tried using the cheapo brands, but usually burnt them out within a week, at best. A standard 5" angle grinder, which runs at around 10,000rpm is good for most stuff, but you'll want a variable that, preferably, can be slowed to nil, for buffing/polishing.

[boden36]

If you are doing a lot for work, consider a 9" grinder and also a 5" grinder. If you get the same spindle diameter ,then the worn out disk ofr the big one will be like a new disk for the little one.
Regards,
Richard.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"thanks I like the idea for a filter of sorts,"
ANY filter you add will obstruct the airflow and cause the tool to run too hot, especially on a large job like yours.
That's the reason you want air tools, or at least, a penumatic grinder. The air which powers the tool also cools it AND cleans any dust out of it. Electric tools are just the wrong tool for that job, that's why shops that have to deal with large amounts of abrasive dust ONLY USE AIR TOOLS.
And once you've got the compressor for the grinder, an air powered buffer/polisher makes sense too as it will be cheaper than an electric one.

My grinds are all over 10 YO and has yet to over heat.

And it takes at least 15 cfm @ 100 psi of constant air to run an air tool, which is a compressor that I would not want to try and haul around. As well as being 15+ amps on 110V.

Plus, air tools blow dust everywhere. Electric grinders, one can purchase guards where a vacuum can be attached.