Skil side grinder

[newattitude]

Finally bought one of these today to open all my compressors. Throws tons of sparks so I wear safety glasses but for a $30.oo item it works great! 4 1/2 inch blade.




New toy!!!!!!!!!!

[Filthy]

nice!! love it

[Dumpster-Dee]

good goin' attitude

[newattitude]

Heeeeeee!!! I side grinded some compressors and a big air tank for water softener systems tonight! I was going to leave it at my dads buuuuuuuuuuuuut I want to play with it at home and see what else I can ''grind'' for fun! I just *wuvs* tools!!


I would like to see if I can fit a larger spark guard on it though, this one is small and spits sparks everywhere!! Some even landed on my back!!!

[IdahoScrapper]

Are you using a cutoff or grinder wheel?

[newattitude]

^^It's a thick wheel that came with it and has a rough look to it like a grinding wheel. I asked the guy if those would cut and he said yes because I thought it would come with a thin steel wheel. They didn't have any of those at the store so I'm wondering if I can fit any brand on it. Seems to me a grinding wheel is a bit much and not *exactly* what I need.

[no lead]

this is the wheel you want.

http://www1.mscdirect.com/eCommerce/...%20off%20wheel

[newattitude]

See thats what I thought! I told the guy I thought the grinding wheel was more for smoothing out welds and stuff! I figure I'll use this one and go back for the other cutoff wheel at home depot.

thank you!

[KzScrapper]

Cut off wheel's are the way to go but are more fragile and break easily if you twist them in the cut or hit it against something unexpectedly. I tend to go thru them quickly when I get in a hurry and don't be as careful as I should. As you've discovered the grinder can create a fire hazard as well. You can get some good deals if you buy the wheels 5 or 10 or more at a time.

[IdahoScrapper]

No wonder it was throwing a lot of sparks...not that a cut off won't, but it should be less.

How long did it take to get through a compressor with that wheel?

Just a little tip - when you get the cut off and go to tighten it down, if it won't tighten, then you need to flip the bushing over. (Or you have a machine that won't accept cutoffs).

I buy my cutoffs at Harbor Freight. They're around 9 bucks for a 10 pack.

[newattitude]

^^^ It took a while and I had to keep stopping the metal kept smoking and I kept thinking, ''this shouldn't take this long, that kid didn't know what he was talking about.''

Thanks for the tip, I will buy only one first to make sure it will fit, I hope it does or I'm screwed with using grinding wheels.

[IdahoScrapper]

You will be amazed when you change out that wheel.

[wayne1956]

I usually pick up packs of 10 thin metal cutoff wheels at Harbor Freight for 7.99, and use a 20% off coupon to get them for around 7 bucks with tax. They do not last as long as the better ones you can get from Lowes or Home Depot, but you sure cannot beat the price. Have not had a problem with any of them, and have gone thru probably around 50 wheels.

[KzScrapper]

I usually pick up packs of 10 thin metal cutoff wheels at Harbor Freight for 7.99, and use a 20% off coupon to get them for around 7 bucks with tax. They do not last as long as the better ones you can get from Lowes or Home Depot, but you sure cannot beat the price. Have not had a problem with any of them, and have gone thru probably around 50 wheels.

I use them too, just have to be careful with them.