Folks Of Interest What's everyone using for precision grinding??

I believe that you you have the innate ability to weld and develop the skill or you don’t. I also believe that if you have the ability, you have pride in the work you do and if you have the passion it all shows up in your work. Personally, I love welding (all types) and could weld 10 hours straight and be a happy camper.

 

I just read on another thread, that there was a guy that could weld a Hershey bar to a snowball! Beat that!






Bones

 

you NEED a compressor for lots of reasons.

 

A pretty weld is not necessarily a good weld often a pretty weld is a cold non penetrating weld ...

 

It’s been know for years that I can weld a cats ass to a telephone pole

 

My welding just never seems to get any better, but I have become one hell of a grinder

 

You should put the picture back up.
I saw it briefly and when I hit reply it was gone.
If you want constructive criticism to help improve your situation you’re going to have to deal with the idiots who have these “private axioms” and obviously no clue.
Some guys probably do have 400 hrs experience and others maybe 40 mins but some guys have well over 2000 a year for 20 years or more - that’s 40,000 hours of welding experience. Pretty easy to spot.

I might consider re doing that patch with a better approach Because I’d find spending a few hrs redoing it more productive that a few hours with mini belt sanders and pencil grinding. Part of the problem will be you’re inevitably going to come off the weld and onto the Sheetmetal. Do that enough and you’ll have holed the metal before the weld is gone. Would you care to guess how I know this ?

 

The picture was from somebody else and I don't want to step in people's toes by using it.
It was just an example of the nooks and crannies, corners and hard to reach places..
This thread always veers towards improper vs proper welding.
I was looking at the bigger picture..
"Detail grinding,hard to reach places,odd shapes,making square holes etc"

I have used a dremmel tool and I find it very bulky on the hand...
A compressor is not in the cards right now so I was hoping someone was using a compact shaping tool with a remote flex Chuck or something.
This is something that comes to mind...
Below is a 1950 GMC door mod I did and cleaning that small bead made me wish I had some compact tool.
My patch below

 

If your welding sheet metal with a mig, you’re going to have to grind the spot weld down. Not all are a skilled with tig or can afford to have one
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A dremmel tool on a whip isn’t a bad too to have. But it’s really small, slow and great for doing tedious things like model work. Not first choice for weld dressing.

Some electric tools that do the job. They don’t get used much but do work pretty well so HF stuff it is.

 

Since the question was about grinding, I would say that the OP is going to need several different kinds of tools to fit different situations. The small belt pictured above is very handy for some things. Flap wheels and the round donut slip on type drums are great in other situations. One of the best I have found for smoothing something flat is a cut off wheel. I don't recommend the ones from Harbor Frieght that break easily. They are not meant for side loads, so if you put pressure on the side, expect to change your wheel ......and maybe your underwear. You need to wear leather gloves as the wheels will hurt your hand. Broke one last week and left a small nick on my finger and stung. Definitely need a face shield. Anyway, the thin wheel coupled with a finer abrasive will allow a nice feel when smoothing the last of the weld on sheetmetal........or anything else. Grind close with the hard thick wheel and when you get down to the nitty gritty of trying to blend it to the parent metal, switch to the thin wheel and use it lightly. You will find that you can really finish the weld nicely with the thin wheel, but for safety's sake.......faceshield and leather gloves.

I like the deerskin gloves you get at the weld supply store for about $12. Soft with good feel yet will protect your hand.Once I tried those gloves I never use anything else.

 

Amen to Boneyard51.

 

That would not be a “ pertty” weld to me. To me, a good looking weld has to “ blend” into the parent metal and be smooth and even. I have seen welds that look like a caterpillar on steel, while maybe symmetrical, they are butt ugly to me. I have been welding for well over fifty years. I’m not a “ professional” welder and have problems with some positions, such as overhead, but I can made a good, pertty weld on most others. Including up hill and down hill. My bother in law, a professional welder, one of the best, laughs at me for repositioning an item I’m welding to get a better weld, instead of “ just welding it”. I’m old school and still prefer my old DC stick welder for anything critical. Just my experiences.






Bones

 

Now we're cooking with gas,
Do you find those easy to handle?
Could they be smaller?
Maybe a flex tip shaped as a pencil?

This is what I tried to make...
But I failed.
I welded cable steel(steel wire) put the steel inside a flexible steel conduit a couple of bearings on the ends but the cable steel expanded inside the conduit,caught and made a mess of itself.

 

I really wish I was a lot closer to you, I would be over there lending a helping hand , tools etc .

 

Me too...I need lots of mentoring, tips etc....

 

That would be a lot of fun and I work for free .

 

The electric stuff is bigger, can’t help that but it works. The orange straight grinder spins at 25,000 rpms, holds anything with a 1/4” shank and cuts like hell. It’s fucking scary because it won’t stall like an air took. The cutters are available in all sorts of shapes. Be carful because some/most stones aren’t rated for that speed.
The dremmels just don’t have what it takes. Maybe grinding down the area if a dime or like a tooth cavity. The dremmel is more towards dentistry type work. Like welding carberator linkage.

 

You're on the right track. A lot of people think they must do something a certain way.....like a "pro" would do it, and they never just look for a way to solve a problem. It really doesn't matter how you accomplish a task as long as you adapt to the situation. You have the start of a good idea......if it doesn't work ok, then modify it or try another idea.
Failure is a good teacher.......thats why I know so much ! I'm not afraid to fail, I just want to learn something in the process.
I think the roll is too far from the holder unless maybe a really light touch is used. My suggestion is to get a long lag screw and cut the head off. I also used a tap to hold a roll and it worked well. You just need something that can get further into the roll and has a little less taper.

Working on something the other day where I need a tube to fit closely inside another tube. Well they fit a little too closely. My lathe is broke currently, so I couldn't polish the inner tube. Took it back to my horizontal belt sander and laid it longways. Rotated it slowly by hand and it smoothed down nicely. Then I took my die grinder with 1" dia drum on it and polished the inside of the outer tube. It kept doing that thing where it grabs and starts dancing eccentrically inside the tube. Then it dawned on me, that was a good thing. I simply let it do its dance as I moved it in and out inside the tube. It was much more consistant than my attempts to grind it inside. Soon, the two tubes slipped together perfectly.

Perfect welds aren't required and you can always grind them off and redo them if they are unacceptable. If your weld doesn't suit you, check the chart on your Mig welder and reset/adjust your setting. Most people (myself) often just use whatever the machine is set at and don't change their settings. Then if I get a unsuitable weld, I look at the chart ! DUH (on me)............

 

Im with ya' after 55+ years , stick DC RP with 6010 or 7018 , 6013 or 7014...for sheet metal , my old airco . torch with a 00 tip , last place is the mig...

 

Thats just showing off ...LOL...

 

Same here! I love to gas weld! I guess we are just old school. I do mig some light work. Have never had a chance to Tig! Might get around to trying it before the old dirt nap!




Bones

 

From 75-82 I worked on construction at a NUC station , friend of mine was a fitter/welder, let me mess with tig on lunch breaks , very similar to gas welding except way faster and you have to use your foot !!

 

HA HA,
A grinder and some filler, make my welds look killer!

 

For the less talented welders

Or sometimes even the pros on a bad day

 

Don’t kid yourself, they can type too

 

You my friend are a sick puppy!!
I was a welder (in my previous life) I got pretty good at it (money/awards & crap) but........................talk about a boring job!!!!!
Once you learn how to weld-in-the-mirror...weld with either hand....overhead/vertical/horizonal/flat...open root...insert...socket...back gouged...and on & on and get good at it! Jeez-Lou ezz does it ever get old!!
Miles and miles of weld beads (ohhhhhhhh...the flash-backs)
A grinder/burr motor was my closet friend!!
IF your welds are strong butt-ugly...smear some RTV on 'em and paint it!
6sally6

 

Kind of a variation of what's been posted above but I remember seeing some one post in a thread here a long time ago: "There are welders and there are grinders. I am a grinder".
Lol, Probably holds true for more of us than any would like to admit.