The Armour Archive

For finishing (ie. grinding and buffing) would I be better off with a 4 1/2" angle grinder or a power drill. I only plan to make armor for myself so I kinda hope to get a more multi purpose tool. I only have a cordless drill at the moment so I'm thinking I might be better off with buying a corded drill rather than the angle grinder. I used an angle grinder at Gundo's and found it to be very helpful, but could I have gotten similar results with the right attachment for a drill?

Thanks...

Yes you can. With the right attachments. I just find that drill with a sander is much slower. Not mention that you have make sure you don't burn the drill out. A black and decker can only take so much with the extra weight. I recommend a hook and eye sanding pad for the dril. If you can't find one...make one with some good sticky vecro. It makes it easier to switch out the sanding disks. No worrying about the disk getting all nasty.

Forgot one thing. YOu can pick up a cheap HF drill press on sale for about the price of a good hand drill. About $40. This will make things easier as you only have to move your work and not hold onto the drill.

Ebay has lots of sanding disks for about $16 for 100 pads. YOu can get 120, 220, 320, etc. The basics.

Or you can get 25 disks from most hardware stores for about the same price.

Remember, you want the hook and eye ones.

This is one choice I'd have a hard time making. A drill has all kinds of uses, granted, but buffing/grinding wears them out quickly. I do like the idea of a drill press, though. I need to get one of those.

I'd consider getting both, just start with the drill. However, something to consider: a low-end 4-4.5" angle grinder runs under $20 and wheels run under $2 each. How much will the drill attachments cost? It may be worth it, especially if buying from HF, to get both at the same time.

Paul

Depending on if yuo have a vice or some meens of holding the work piece I recomend the angle grinder. It won't 'burn out' so easy and you can shop around and get light buffing disks made of layered emery cloth(sp?) sand paper made for metal. I only have 1 and it's runing out so I'm not to sure how easy that type of disk is to find.
Don't even remember wheere i got it.

I use regular sandpaper backed with closed cell foam and some more layers of worn out sandpaper all backed with a 1/8" non-depressed centre cutting disk. Stuck into the 4.5" angle grinder. I got the grinder for $40 CDN at princess auto. The grinder gets stuck upside down in a vice on a work bench and then I hold the piece I'm sanding and move it. It doesn't vibrate like the grinder does.

11,000 rpm while definitly more dangerous then the drill works a LOT faster.

Also a good drill does not cost $40. Try $200+. Don't go buy one of the home handyman black and decker drills. For home handyman applications they'll last a lifetime. But they've only got about an 8 hour running lifetime. 8 hours is a long time if you're just using it to put in a screw here and there and drilling a hole now and then. Black and decker isn't a very good brand. Even their professional quality stuff isn't very good.

If you're getting a drill for armouring you need to get a variable speed drill. Drilling steel requires a slow speed and a lot of pressure. Non-variable speed drills have either stopped or fast speed.
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The budding mid 14th century German Transitional guy.
Mad Matt's Armory

[This message has been edited by Mad Matt (edited 10-29-2002).]

As much as I hate to say it, go with HF angle grinder, the flier I got yesterday says the 4" is down to $11.99 right now. I used to have a lot of these and the only difference betweeh the 4" and 4 1/2" that I have is the gaurd, which I remove anyway. I haste to endorse any cheap tool, but for $12 US they give about a hundred hours of use and are disposable. I now generally buy Makitas, 4x as expensive ($50)but run MUCH smoother and quieter and last 5x as long. The reduced wear and tear on ME is worth it.

Alail/Scott

The difference between the 4" and the 4-1/2" is that the 4-1/2" grinder has a lot wider variety of disks available for it since it's a more common grinder size.

Cheap grinders are good. Some tools work being the cheapo kind. As long as they're considered disposable.

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The budding mid 14th century German Transitional guy.
Mad Matt's Armory

I always recommend the best brands for tools, EXCEPT for when you're going to abuse them. Clamping them in a vice will crack the casing eventually, so that's abuse. Hence the $14 angle grinder.

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Ben Schenkman
Order of Selohaar
The Phoenix Forge

[This message has been edited by ToolGoon (edited 10-29-2002).]

[This message has been edited by ToolGoon (edited 10-29-2002).]

[This message has been edited by ToolGoon (edited 10-29-2002).]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I have a whole pile of dead HF angle grinders...we could conclude from this evidence that their lifespan is short. ONE Sears 4 1/2" grinder has outlasted half a dozen HF knock-offs in my shop. I like to have several of every tool so I can have one with each different wheel on it already...we've got coarse grinding, fine grinding, ventilated disc, cup wire wheel, HF 1/2" belt sander attachment (pretty good)and one is even set up on a long handle with a weedeater head (WAY TOO POWERFUL!! I can dig ditches with this monster)

I would really prefer to buy a 4 1/2 angle grinder,I use this tool a lot for cuting and sanding

mine did cost a bit over 100$ canadian....i did not have time to wait until i find a spetial,but i hardly suggest to find a deal,they often go at 50% of normal price

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Ted Banning:
I have a whole pile of dead HF angle grinders...</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I guess I have just been lucky with mine, 3 years running and still going strong. Of course it is loud as hell and will probably crap at any moment now.