I'm grinding mild steel welds on my bike to get it ready for plating.
I used this bit this evening. It only lasted an hour or hour and a half.


Is there a better bit?

I've got some abrasive tips for the air powered die grinder, but I don't think the compressor will keep up with hours of grinding.

Probably the best would be a diamond impregnated burr. But if you keep going with the steel burrs use plenty of coolant . dip the bit in an emulsion of tranny fluid and water then grind, then dip, then grind

Hmm. I've never had much luck w/Dremel for grinding welds. Of course, I'm a amateur welder and I need lots of cleanup to make my work look presentable.

Anyway, I like to use a pneumatic die grinder with a cutoff disk to slice through the welds to set my depth. Then I use a 4" angel grinder w/abrasive grinding disk and grind down the ridges.

Strangely what I've had the most success with is a plain pneumatic single action sander with 8" 25 grit disk. But it eats the metal you're trying to save as well. It's not good at localizing your grinding area.

Good luck!
Rick

yeah, I'm trying to make it pretty. I want to be able to remove material where I want to only.

This is what I've found at the Dremel Webpage. Would these be better than Aluminum Oxide?

Carbide cutters for a die grinder are the best I've used.. they really hog out the material, you can litterally carve out the bead from an inside corner (like inside the front trunk weatherstripping groove for instance). Unfortunately they're pretty expensive. They also spray you with little metal shavings that are VERY sharp, and get under your skin quite nicely.

Sean,

if you have the room, I think the small cutoff wheels are better and easier to control for removing material.

the problem with the carbide cutters is that it is very easy for the tool to "ran away" from you, or at least that is my experiance (too much coffee???)

I have more trouble with that using dremel tools than with die grinders.. not sure why.

My experience with the Dremel cutoff wheels is they don't last very long. The medium brown colored ones that look like something pressed together last only a few seconds cutting steel, and break very easily. The fabric-looking ones last longer, but still rarely more than a few minutes. You can actually watch the things shrink. You seem to remove about as much material off the wheel as you do steel from the weld...

There's a speed control you can get for a Dremel that will allow you to slow it down a good bit, which might help. I have a variable speed Ryobi with a flex shaft, and slower speeds seem to extend the life of cutters and grinders a bit, but only a bit. I think the slowest speed on this thing is still way too fast. My air grinder is quite a bit slower.

I had to use a dremel cutoff wheel last week to remove the head of a stripped CV joint bolt

I used the carbide tip to remove the jack post support on the passenger side of the teener. Worked great. You know, how you can hardly get to the top part of it, unless you remove the fender. Actually, part of it is still up there. I used a RotoZip to cut most of the sheetmetal, but they wear out quick just like the Dremels.

Dremel is a good tool, but it's a hobby tool. If you use it for grinding welds it won't last very long. It's ok for small jobs, but it won't take much pressure.

I use the cut-off tool, a die grinder with carbide burrs, a 4" angle grinder, and a angle die grinder with roloc abrasive discs. Oh, and with eye protection, leather gloves, ear plugs, etc. Don't ask why...

PK

Alright, I'll give the air tools a shot. I hope it can keep up.

Don't you want the justification to buy a new compressor?

I agree with the dremel assessment. They're great for close quarters work but for big jobs you'll go broke buying bits.

No personal experience on these but I saw a guy using them (or something like them) on Horsepower TV to remove trunk welds on an old Nova. The holes allow you to see where you're grinding.



Available at Eastwood

I have had this experience also. They tend to bite in and gouge at exactly the wrong time. I always end up making a bigger cut than I intended.

I found these and other bits at: American Carbide

What is meant by Standard Cut and Double Cut?

That cone radius ruby is one of those I use.....and that's a very good price. Dunno the difference...but at those prices, get one of each in the 1/4 or 5/16 size & see which you like. I get em' at a tool supply outfit up the street for about 12 bucks each.

I ended up buying these carbide bits from the vendor listed above. 8 bits delivered for $45. Seems like a deal to me

One more question, cutting oil or no cutting oil?

hows your lowrider bike coming?

still gathering parts, almost done. Just need to order a crankset, rims & a chain. Everything else is either here or on it's way. Well, maybe fenders, haven't decided yet on those.

dude...what spawned the creation of this bike? its kinda cool. dude. go with a springer front end. and fenders.


then...., spinners, air bag suspension... gold chain handle bars.... an aztec woman mural on it...
jk. looks cool

Here's what I've got for the bike:
Electra Bike Springer Fork
26x2.125 Electra Hotster Red Stripe w/Flame Tread Front Tire
24x3.00 Electra Fatti-O Rear Tire (It's friggen HUGE FAT!)
SRAM Spectro P5 5 Speed Internal Rear Hub with Coaster Brake (shifter will get mounted on seat tube and cables hidden)
Brooks B-66 Honey Colored Leather Saddle (Old School Style)
Tioga 1" Threaded Headset
68x113 Truvativ Giga SL Bottom Bracket
Truvativ BMX to Euro BB Conversion Kit
Electra Cruiser Bars
Cinelli Quill Stem Adapter
Cinelli Groove Stem
3T Stem (don't know which of these I'll like best)
Shimano Deore LX 570 32 Hole Front Hub

I still have left to get:
Truvativ Stylo SS or FireX SS Crankset
AlexRims DX32 24" x 39.1mm Rear Rim
AlexRims DM18 26" x 24.2mm Front Rim
Some flavor of pedal - I'm leaning towards Crank Brothers Egg Beaters Ti

The whole frame will get Copper Plated - as thick as they will allow - without any clear so it can age and tarnish
Handlebars & springer will get Blackened - I've gotta find someone to do this, it seems like a cool process
I'm not sure what I'll do with the rims and hubs. The rims come black and one hub is black the other is clear aluminum-probably Nickel Plated
Cranks will either get Blackened or Nickel Plated

that's it for now. I hope the burrs come in soon, I've got a loooooooot of work to get the frame ready.

copper plated? jesse james style