Modern angle grinders, better known as "Bulgarian", are used for various technological processes in construction and repair. When choosing a disc for a grinder for wood and rubber, it is necessary to take into account the features of not only the tool itself, but also the objects being processed.
Main characteristics of cutting wheels
Depending on the material of manufacture and design features, there are three main types of circles:
- Abrasive disc for wood grinder, used to work with various surfaces. Depending on the thickness, the wheel can be cutting and grinding.
- A diamond blade designed to work with stone, concrete and other building materials. Such circles are divided into segmented and solid. The first type, due to better removal of the sludge through the slots and more efficient cooling, ensures high productivity. Such discscan be used when cutting thin metals.
- Regular circular circle. However, it is immediately worth noting that it is not recommended to use it for cutting wooden products without work experience, since there are many cases when people received quite serious injuries when they were clamped in an array of disks. If possible, when performing such work, it is better to use another tool, such as a jigsaw, chainsaw, etc.
Choice circle
When choosing discs for grinding wood with an angle grinder, pay attention to the following points:
- The size of the circles should not exceed the maximum allowable diameter for which the angle grinder is designed. A tool designed for discs with a diameter of 125 mm will not be able to work with a 230 mm cut-off wheel for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the speed of movement of the edge of the grinder is significantly exceeded (with a significant increase in it, the disk can simply scatter). Secondly, to work with such a disk, more power is needed than that for which a small tool is designed. Thirdly, to install such a consumable, you need to remove the protective cover, which makes the work more dangerous.
- When working with different types of materials, you should choose a disc that is designed specifically for them.
- Pay your attention to the wheel speed that is the maximum allowed (or line speed). These indicators are indicated on the surface of the circle. According to these values, you should also choose the mode of operation of the grinder.
Disc outer diameter
One of the important indicators of a cutting wheel is its outer diameter, which is calculated in millimeters and is unified. For domestic purposes, as a rule, a wood grinder disc 115-230 mm is used.
The diameter of the tool shaft (seat size) is now the same on almost all disks - 22.2 mm, and special intermediate rings are used to install on outdated models of angle grinders.
The most versatile disc is considered to be a grinder for wood 125 mm, 150 mm and 230 mm.
The 125 mm wheel is convenient to use when it is necessary to cut metal rebar and rod.
Disc for grinder on wood 150 mm can not only grind and cut metal, but is able to saw timber or dissolve the board.
If the diameter is more than 230 mm, then such circles have an industrial purpose.
Wood grinder blade 230 mm has a wider scope, as it can be used when processing products from metal alloys of various grades.
Abrasive discs for angle grinders
As mentioned earlier, abrasive wheels for grinders are divided into cutting (up to 3 mm thick) and grinding (thicker). Despite the fact that the classification is very conditional, there is another significant difference between the discs - the reinforcement of cutting wheels is usually carried out in 2 layers, and grinding wheels at least three.
Shapeabrasive discs
Abrasive wheels differ in their shape. Distinguish:
- Standard flat discs.
- Curved discs (in the form of a plate). They can be used when working in hard-to-reach places. With this wheel shape, the fixing nut is hidden, so grinding work is more convenient.
When purchasing a disc for a wood grinder, pay attention to the marking (for example, A 40 L), which allows you to find out the following information about the product:
- The first letter (or two) indicates the type of abrasive used. For example: A - corundum, AS - electrocorundum, C - silicon carbide, which is used when working on granite and stone.
- The numbers allow you to find out the grain size of the abrasive. And the larger it is, the faster the work will progress. However, this will worsen the cleanliness of the cut or grinding. A disc with a coarse grain is used, as a rule, for processing soft (non-ferrous) metal, and a disc with a fine grain is used for steel.
- The last letter in the marking indicates the hardness of the bond of the base of the circle (those letters that are located at the beginning of the alphabet mean that the bond is softer). It is recommended when buying to be guided by this rule - when working with soft material, use a disc with a soft bond and vice versa.
Almost all manufacturers of abrasive wheels use color marking products. Green is for stone, blue for metal work. It is also worth mentioning the inner landing ring. For circles that are intended for cutting, it is made ofhard metal, and cutting discs with softer washer are used for polishing or grinding.
Diamond cutting wheels for angle grinder
Depending on the purpose, diamond blades can be divided into several types:
- Concrete. Wheels of this type can easily cope with monolithic, including concrete and reinforced structures.
- Granite. Such discs are used when performing work with especially hard rocks.
- Asph alt. Cut-off wheels are best used in concrete and therefore asph alt.
- Building materials. This type of blade can be used for cutting ceramics, bricks.
Diamond cutting wheels of some manufacturers are also color coded:
- Green is granite.
- Blue - concrete, marble.
- Yellow - plaster, tile.
- Grey - ceramics.
Segmented diamond cutting wheels are used to cut materials using the dry method. When using solid discs, a wet cut (water cooling) is used. This is primarily due to the very high heating of the solid surface of the cutting wheel.
There are models that have partial segmentation. These are the so-called turbo disks, in which the slots are placed in the body of the circle (they do not go to the outer edge). Such products can be used at a higher speed than fully segmented ones.
So, by choosing the most suitable cutting disc for a wood grinder in all respects, you can effectively and safely perform anyjob.
Safety rules
When working with an angle grinder, no matter what type of disc is installed, it is necessary to strictly comply with safety requirements.
- The tool must be equipped with a resistant handle and a protective cover.
- All work must be done in overalls and using personal protective equipment. You also need to be very careful when choosing glasses or a mask, because eye damage (according to statistics, this is the most common injury) can be obtained even from small chips or a fragment of the circle itself.
Price
The cost of all cutting wheels for grinders depends largely on both the model and the fame of the manufacturer. For example, a diamond blade for a grinder on a tree of small diameter (125 mm) from Bosch costs at least 400 rubles. However, despite this, it is still recommended to give preference to trusted manufacturers, since this tool is with increased danger. Therefore, it is not worth saving on such consumables as a cutting disc.
