Angles on Angle Grinders...

Some of you guys know that in my regular life I am a CPA (and now working for a not-for-profit also a property manager, refurb manager, landscape designer, counselor, and who knows what else!). Anyway, my experience with power tools has been pretty limited, at least until I joined this forum. Reading after some of you guys got me to visit Harbor Freight and to see that there are sure a lot better ways to restored grill fireboxes than sand paper and Easy-Off!

One of the first big helps was to see the value of an angle grinder and cup brush. I took note that a number of you use this heavily discounted "Drill Master" sometimes on sale for as little as $9.99 at HF:



I have noticed that the cheap price comes with some complaints. Mostly that it overheats. Of course, at this price you could buy 2 or 3 and swap them out. But that also could be a pain and mean having a place for duplicate tools. (My tiny shed doesn't allow for much of that, so I do see that as a downside.)

The day I shopped, they had a pretty compelling deal on the next model up. This is the "Chicago Electric Power Tools" version. (I guess there is a Chicago China I don't know about or they just shamelessly appropriated the Windy City name; definitely not from a factory in Chi-Town) Anyway, it is a little higher amperage. Who knows, maybe a little better built. I can say that it does get hot, but has never gotten unusable. It has survived a number of firebox clean-outs and still is chugging along.



Like any guy, once you start looking at tools, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have something better. One piece of experience (still very limited, I admit) that I have picked up is that the regular wire cup brush works fine in most situations and doesn't leave obvious scratches. On the other hand, as has been noted, they do throw splinters. A little of that is to be expected and a good reminder of how VERY IMPORTANT safety is in using these tools. Another issue, though, is that the regular brush can't always readily cut the most burned on stains. That is where a braided brush shines. So, I began justifying the "need" for a second grinder so that I could always have one ready with each kind of brush. No annoying change outs! OK, I am lazy!

I also admit that the Harbor Freight "high end" brand Hercules immediately caught my eye. This one has all the bells and whistles, at least to me. I like the paddle switch especially. I think it looks really sharp and feels well made, although it is also pretty heavy.



At $89 it is no bargain. You can't use the 20% or 25% off coupons on Hercules brand stuff, so you have to hope for a specific sale on this one. I decided that it was more than I needed, and I didn't like how heavy it is. I doubt I need all that amperage anyway.

The next model down, another Hercules, lacks the paddle switch but does feature a trim design, a seemingly quality feel and better power to weight ratio than the bigger Hercules.



It has a lot of appeal and at $42.99 on sale, not outrageously priced. Again, no discount coupons, however. I was tempted. Very tempted. But it bothered me to spend that much and not get a paddle switch. Bruce is definitely one of our most experienced members, and I put a lot of value on his comments about a paddle switch being a desirable upgrade.

So, then there was this one:



Back to the cheaper China - I mean Chicago - Electric brand, but also eligible for coupons. Has a paddle switch, CHECK. Higher amperage and more heat resistance, CHECK. An attractive price, CHECK. And, it even looks a little nicer! $29.99 and with 20% OFF only $23.99. SOLD!

So far, I think I made a good compromise purchase. We will see what long term use will bring. I plan to use this one with the regular brush and my older, cheaper basic one as a back-up with the braided brush attached.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Angles on Angle Grinders - PART TWO

Now, if you want name brand, high quality, here are a couple options. They have all the features, plenty of power and should have quality construction. For me, they don't make sense because I am not a professional using them every day and can't justify the price. But I am sure that they would perform admirably. They both get very good reviews:

DeWalt - supposedly made in USA


Bosch

Jon Tofte said:

Back to the cheaper China - I mean Chicago - Electric brand, but also eligible for coupons. Has a paddle switch, CHECK. Higher amperage and more heat resistance, CHECK. An attractive price, CHECK. And, it even looks a little nicer! $29.99 and with 20% OFF only $23.99. SOLD!

So far, I think I made a good compromise purchase. We will see what long term use will bring. I plan to use this one with the regular brush and my older, cheaper basic one as a back-up with the braided brush attached.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Click to expand...

Jon, that's the one I use for FB cleanouts as well. I feel that design is safer, because as soon as you let go of the grinder, it shuts off.

Great write up Jon!!!! My $9 HF grinder finally bit the dust. I thought about replacing but decided that I was tired of coming in all covered in fine black dust. Instead, I decided that I really did need an air compressor just on general principle, and since I was going to get one, I grabbed one of these as well for now.








it actually works pretty well, though since I don't have a blast cabinet yet, it does tend to make a bit of a mess with the media.




Ironically enough, while I no longer find myself covered in dust, I do have to to spend quite some time getting the sand out of my hair.

Jon, I have three HF grinders. All work well, but with me doing a lot of fire boxes and hating every minute of it, I decided to get a Dewalt. I found one shipped to me for $27. It isn't their top of the line, but I have a Hercules from HF and it beats that one easily. And for $27, I coudn't refuse. Problem is, I got the last one and they haven't gotten more in....I think it was a discontinued model. No over heating and no bogging down. I burned up one of my HF grinders and it was looking like 4 -5 grills per HF grinder while I was using them.

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?74767-Rehabbers-Great-deal-on-Dewalt-angle-grinder&highlight=dewalt

DaveW said:

Great write up Jon!!!! My $9 HF grinder finally bit the dust. I thought about replacing but decided that I was tired of coming in all covered in fine black dust. Instead, I decided that I really did need an air compressor just on general principle, and since I was going to get one, I grabbed one of these as well for now.

it actually works pretty well, though since I don't have a blast cabinet yet, it does tend to make a bit of a mess with the media.




Ironically enough, while I no longer find myself covered in dust, I do have to to spend quite some time getting the sand out of my hair.

Click to expand...

If and when you use that on a cook box, let us know the results. I am seriously interested.

Bruce said:

If and when you use that on a cook box, let us know the results. I am seriously interested.

Click to expand...

Already have used it while fixing up my 2004 Genny C for my nephew. With my setup, it wasn't the fastest thing in the world, but it did a good job. Mind you, I'm still kind of winging it trying to figure things out. For example, there's all sorts of different blast media, but some of the stuff that probably works better is somewhat expensive. As I don't have a cabinet yet, I wasn't willing to spend that kind of money. Instead, I grabbed a $4 bag of play sand. Even that has it's travails as some sand is wetter than others, some is finer grain, yada, yada, yada.

Also, this blaster is the "cheap" route and works at lower SCFM than other blasters. I didn't want a noisy compressor, so I went with a California Air Tools 10200C 2 HP quiet compressor that only puts out 5.30 CFM @ 90 PSI. If/when I find/build a blast cabinet that will allow me to recover media, I'll move to more expensive stuff that should be more effective. I'll probably upgrade the blaster itself as well.


I was in a bit of a rush on my nephew's grill, so I didn't take any pics of work in progress. I'll see if I have any of him when he first fired it up though. That or I'll just go out and start on another box and take pics this time.

I have a Skil, and 3 cheapo HF grinders. Different head on each one, so I can quickly
go about my work without having to change heads.

Like Bruce, I am HIGHLY interested in the blaster. They are ridiculously cheap to buy, and the blast cabinets are
very affordable- ALTHOUGH, I have yet to find one that would accomodate the size of a cook box.

Dave, just ask the wife if you can use the spare bedroom as your blast cabinet.

Bruce said:

Dave, just ask the wife if you can use the spare bedroom as your blast cabinet.

Click to expand...

Hahhahha, in single so I don't have to get permission to breathe. But nah, way too much mess. I'm thinking that a Genny 3 burner grill box might fit in the HD 40lb blast cabinet, if you mod the cabinet so that the slanted face of it opens as a door an dif you modify the floor/workspace rack inside the cabinet

Hazard Fraught equipment certainly has it's place. The business got started supplying economy tools for job sites that wouldn't break the bank if they got lost, broken or stolen, and hence, easily replaced.

I've got 2 HF branded grinders in the garage. I've also got a pair of Porter Cable grinders that my LWS had on sale for $20 a couple of years ago that generally run much better. I keep all of them at hand with different wheels, grinding, sanding, cut-off, that sort of thing.

I have a Ryobi cordless grinder that I used on my first rehab I am doing. If I do anymore rehabs I will be getting something diff. It is not powerful enough, rpms are low, and even with the big batts it runs out on me.
But it will get the job done for my first rehab!

Yeah my experience with Ryobi tools is they don't have the staying power that battery powered tools from more premium companies i.e. Bosch, Milwaukee, DeWalt, etc. The staying power of my Bosh tools and my Makita are nothing short of amazing

Can you do much with a Porter Cable random-orbit sander / polisher?

No, that isn't going to do much. You need the wire brush action to get into areas and to strip the gunk/paint. Rusty, if you live near a Harbor Freight, they sell decent ones for $10 - $15. The wire cup brush is another $5. They are worth it in the time and effort they will save you. Plus, they are useful tools to have for other projects.

Bruce said:

Rusty, if you live near a Harbor Freight, they sell decent ones for $10 - $15. The wire cup brush is another $5. They are worth it in the time and effort they will save you. Plus, they are useful tools to have for other projects.

Click to expand...

I've seen them here and there, so I guess I need to look about getting one.

I do have an old Sears rotary sander / grinder(?) that I inherited from my father, but there is no right-angle handle on the side of the unit. The handles look like the unit in the image below, although this is an image of a random-orbit sander...

Nope that ain't going to cut it

Rusty, it's quite possible that it might work. An 18volt hand drill can get a grill box clean. It just takes sooooooo much longer. You could even hand sand, but that takes even longer. A $10 angle grinder runs at something crazy like 10,000 rpm and cuts the time/effort down immensely.

Thought I would resurrect this thread on grinders after using one on a firebox today.

The first box I did with my neighbors DeWalt grinder. Did another today with my variable speed Bosch. Being able to dial the speed down is a wonderful thing when grinding a box-no jumping around or feeling like you're living on edge. It was still dirty and nasty, but didn't feel dangerous and was somewhat enjoyable.

I guess the variable speed models are much more expensive and I don't know if HF carries one, but I highly recommend it.

Yah, I can see where that option might be a benefit. However, I am sure there is a premium to pay for that option. Anyway, I have cease to grind out my fire boxes. Using the Sams Club grill and oven cleaner does a very good job. The biggest drawback is that it doesn't make the inside shiny but it does clean it up good.