Tried using a cheap 4-inch grinder with a flap disc to clean up weld spatter on a tight flange job last Thursday

That little grinder got me into a spot my big 7-inch couldn't reach and saved me 20 minutes of chipping by hand, but the disc wore out faster than I expected and I ended up burning through 3 of em for one section, anyone else run into this with small grinders on stainless?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_butler1d ago

Used to think a 4-inch grinder was just a backup tool for tight spots, but this changed my mind after burning through a flap disc in minutes like you described. The smaller discs definitely wear out way faster on stainless, especially if you're leaning into it hard like I did. Guess there's a trade-off, speed for reach and disc life, but I'll take it over chipping by hand any day lol.

samthompson1d ago

James_Butler brought up that "trade-off, speed for reach and disc life" thing and I gotta say I think people are overthinking this. You spent what, like 15 bucks on discs to save 20 minutes? That's a win in my book. I mean yeah the small discs wear out fast on stainless but that's just physics, you can't expect a 4-inch disc to last as long as a 7-inch one. People act like burning through a few flap discs is some kind of crisis but it's really not that deep. You either pay with time chipping by hand or pay with discs getting the job done faster. Seems like a simple choice to me.