I got around to repairing the hell-hole on my #1 project (gonna be a Subi conv) the other day, and got the welds up in the tightest area kind of lumpy (impossible to get absolutely shiny metal before the welds - despite my best efforts) .. my grinder can't get to them and I don't want to leave them if I don't have too, as they could impede the flow of water and debris through the exit hole.

What are my options (tools) for getting to this and working it down? I was hoping that there may be something that'd fit on a drill - but that may not have enough speed. Suggestions? Thanks.


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In all seriousness it depends on exactly where your're referring to and what tools you have available to you.

Air tools will be your best bet. A carbide burr in a 1/2 size die grinder gets in a lot of tight spaces.

When you say "grinder" are we talking about 4" grinder / AC powerted tool? Likewise AC drill will be pretty clunky too.

Electric die grinder still pretty clunky. Only guessing without pics.

https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Die-Grinder...s_id=9022406011

Cheap harbor freight air belt sander. It's a small air tool, belts are like 3/8" wide,
and can be adjusted to different angles with an allen wrench.

If used a dremel tool to grind down welds in some pretty tight spaces.

How about a small pneumatic belt sander (3/8”x18” or something like that)? I have one and love it for those tight spots that are tough to get a die grinder or other tool in.

OK guys, I'm liking the air belt sander.. https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-belt-ai...nder-60627.html
Think this compressor will run it ok?

It says - Average air consumption
7 CFM @ 90 PSI

Even if your compressor won’t run that tool continuously, you should be fine.

Good, now I'm seeing that HF only offers an assortment of 3/8"x13" belts and the course-est being 60 grit.... I doubt that's gonna work very well. It's a cheap enough solution though, so I'll probably give it a try. Or, amazon might have a courser belt - I'll look in to it.


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Yup, not the fastest, but works.

HF also have an electric version of that belt sander - I used one with the 60 grit belts to knock down the welds on the inside of my flares. The whole head on it rotates so you can contort it to get into tighter spots.

https://www.harborfreight.com/53-amp-12-in-...nder-62863.html

The 60 is actually good - it takes the welds down no problem (both mig and tig) but isn't so aggressive that you can thin the metal way too much if you're not paying attention.

Also agreed, the little Dremel is a great tool for fine (lightweight) work. Let the tool do the work, you can burn them out easy if you lean into them

60 grit is pretty rough.

For all kinds of tight places, I used this. Like a grown-up Dremel, and much stronger. A pneumatic die grinder does the same thing, with a box of high-speed carbide bits.

I'm not buying anymore air tools, going all electric & even battery. Favorite right now is Milwaukee M12 lil die grinder - sort of a bigger Dremel. Those mini belt grinders are very popular with the Classic Mini crowd as spot welded panels are always being replaced. Try the HF one - but better to get quality belts & wear gloves as they beat up your hands when a belt starts coming apart. 40grit is aggressive but once you know how the tool works, it'll do really well. I recently learned a ton of sheetmetal work & grinding from Bad Chad on Discovery Channel & Facebook (now)

Not for welds, but great for tight area rust and undercoating. Also HFClick to view attachment

Wear a face shield when using one of these. Little pieces of wire in your face, or worse yet, in your eyes will ruin your whole day.

Clay

Absolutely love the Milwaukee M12 die grinder - I don't have a compressor so grabbed one to grind the welds when I was doing my flares.

The only downside is, now I can't stop myself from buying all the other M12 tools

Those damn things fly everywhere. I've had them hide inside a pair of sneakers for months before deciding today's the day they're going to stab me in the toe.

When I worked at Kinkisharyo Int'l. building trains for LA Metro, we used Taylor Pneumatic. They have a good selection of small belt sanders. See pages 28 - 31
http://www.taylorpneumatic.com/#/page/29

Andys

Stopped into HF today to pick up the recommended 3/8" air sander and saw the following (that I didn't necessarily see all of on the website - maybe I didn't look hard enough):

..Next to it, was this one - basically the same as the more expensive unit (above):

..And then this one that look really interesting:

IIf I where you I would get the electric die grinder as your air compressor will not give you what you need for a number of air tools.

I have the small air belt sander and it is hard to track and the belts even if top brands rip very east.

I have found that a small 2-inch abrasive disk on a special holder does a great job of just what you need it to do.

I also found that an assortment of tools and abrasives help a lot. The little disk on the bottom picture top right worked really well. You can put that on an electric or air die grinder. There or different grits for these and they work really to grind

Bob B
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

The 1/8" die grinder with a carbide burr will definitely move metal, though the noise and vibration gets tiresome in a hurry. For steel, a fine tooth burr cuts with minimal bouncing and vibration. For aluminum, use a coarse tooth burr regularly lubed with WD-40 (or better yet Justice Brothers JB-80) to help keep the teeth clear and cutting effective. If the teeth pack up and stop cutting, you can try grinding some steel to help clear the aluminum chips from between the teeth.

The little micro grinder would be more like a Dremel, good for tiny stuff and plastic or wood.

[quote name='john77' date='Jun 17 2021, 08:49 AM' post='2924227']
Absolutely love the Milwaukee M12 die grinder - I don't have a compressor so grabbed one to grind the welds when I was doing my flares.

The only downside is, now I can't stop myself from buying all the other M12 tools


[/quote]
[/quote]
Me too. I have one straight and one angle. These tools are really high quality. Especially for those of us went through all of the lesser tools as they evolved. Wish I could replace all of my air tools with battery.

With that size I had a bristle go through the tip of my nose, through quite a bit of septum and out the other side. Replace nose with eye for that mental picture. I use dremmel brushes to clean gear and engine cases. They not only send metal into bare skin, they load up your clothes so as to get you later too. They both work magic, but it is silly to skimp on protective gear. Just stupid. I hate feeling stupid after the fact, or before for that matter. Be safe so you can count to ten if pressed.

One of these and a die grinder. https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/4281...wgaAr0SEALw_wcB

Honestly, I'd probably take the air sander back (that I picked up today, and get one of these (HF Electric die grinder w/ extended neck) https://www.harborfreight.com/43-amp-14-in-...nder-60656.html , but damn they're proud of those carbide bits - of which HF doesn't even carry


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You can get a set on Amazon that are cheaper but they dull faster. That being said you can get a 6 or 8 piece set for $39 on Amazon and that would be enough for your grinding needs. The trick on any of them is to not let them get too hot.

A small jeweler's flathead screwdriver works great for scraping the aluminum chips out of the carbide teeth channels.