Lets talk Flap Disks

[William McCormick]

I went over this whole thing with a flap wheel a thirty-six grit from these guys.

https://www.empireabrasives.com/flap...and-polishing/

I had a lot of weld-spatter inside that thing, the #29 style 36 grit 4 1/2" Zironcium flap discs not only tore it off, but one disc did all the grinding, and then I went over everything and the flap is still good. Worn but still cutting like new. The metal feels as soft as butter now.

Attachment 1723265




Sincerely,

William McCormick

If you ever have to take off the spring-loaded mud flaps just make sure to bend them down and then put something that will not fall out behind the mounting flange that attaches to the spring, or else the spring shoots into the stainless steel tube that houses the spring and it takes off like bullet after you take off the last nut inside the frame. You need serious power heavy equipment to re-tension the spring and a lot of ingenuity to get it done.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[William McCormick]

I think THAT would be one of my first suggestions. I wish I had caught on earlier!!!


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I hit my discs with beeswax when I put one on and every now and then while using it and they just keep cutting.


Sincerely,

William McCormick

[William McCormick]

I have been buying T-29 style flap discs from the same company for years. 60 grit high density is what I prefer to use on the projects I do. I use medium pressure for wasting metal, and light circular swirls to give a nice even finish look.

I sometimes heat the metal on purpose when I want to grind and blend, the beeswax works best when the part gets some heat in it. That is how I polish metal as well, it makes sandpaper last ten times as long. If you rub a little beeswax on a hot spot you just welded it instantly cools it down as well, it equalizes all things. It is so amazing for drilling and hole sawing, it works best when the bit gets warm.

Sincerely,


William McCormick

[John T]

I hit my discs with beeswax when I put one on and every now and then while using it and they just keep cutting.


Sincerely,

William McCormick

I would think beeswax would make a mess or leave a coating .... to give you a pain in the azz later... especially if you wanted to paint the item.

what is used to quickly strip beeswax??

[William McCormick]

I would think beeswax would make a mess or leave a coating .... to give you a pain in the azz later... especially if you wanted to paint the item.

what is used to quickly strip beeswax??

Any solvent does it. It also contains the airborne particles of dust created.

If you have a weld that is suffering from porosity just rub some on the area to weld, it cleanses the metal.

You can also clean it with a steam cleaner for sure. But we have never had a problem getting it off because almost none sticks.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[Lis2323]

I am so very fortunate to have a friend who has SEEN my welds and helps me out in the flap and hard wheel abrasive department..






Until he buys either a strip bar or distillery, this will have to do. LOL


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[N2 Welding]

His father was Jack Meoff.

We used to send one of the guys we would take on our company skiing trip to the reception desk at the ski lodge and have him page "Mr. Meoff, Jack" to the main lounge. The whole place would roll and the girl would turn red at the desk. Most did not get it the first time but by the second time, everyone was listening to see if they heard it correctly. To hear her say Jack me off to the main lounge was too funny.

Once in the sixth grade, there was an older woman a handwriting expert who asked us to write our name on a piece of paper, it was a rain day auditorium event. I signed Dick Hertz. She analyzed it and started saying "Who's Dick Hertz?" again and again, only interrupted by "what is so funny" finally a person from the school suggested it was a joke, haha, she turned red and reprimanded everyone.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

OMG that’s some funny $hit right there.

[BD1]

OMG that’s some funny $hit right there.

Tony, you probably seen this before. They have a few of them.




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[N2 Welding]

Tony, you probably seen this before. They have a few of them.




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That sub reminded me of this $hit from way back in the day LOL... Now regarding ever seeing that. NOPE! Definitely not my cup of tee.

[farmersammm]

Where's the ignorant Red Neck videos?????????????

I'm sure there's a few out there. God Knows, they're about 85% of the population.

[N2 Welding]

Where's the ignorant Red Neck videos?????????????

I'm sure there's a few out there. God Knows, they're about 85% of the population.

ok here ya go.







https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ja0SuN4bn1w

[William McCormick]

This is the beeswax I use, it comes in a pellet form. I melt it down in an aluminum chafing dish in the oven at 325 degrees. It has almost no smell at all. Just support the chafing dish it gets flimsy. When I see that most of the pellets have melted about 10 minutes I shut off the oven and let it stay in there, the rest melt in about 20 minutes.

If you break it apart instead of cutting it, just be careful it can actually cut your skin, with sharp broken edges just like glass, despite the fact it is a rather soft wax, weirdest thing.



Sincerely,

William McCormick

[VaughnT]

Just got done watching a vid from Ron Covell and he mentions using bars of soap to lubricate the aluminum when he's sanding it. Weirdest thing I ever heard of, but if there's anyone who knows about getting a nice finish on metal.... it'd be him!

Started using one of those diamond-edge all-steel cutting disks and love how they perform. The only downside is that you need to have another grinder with a flap disk mounted so you can knock off the very large burr they leave behind. Razor edge and just aching to find some flesh to sink into!

Anyone pulled the trigger on one of those fancy all-steel versions with the diamonds on the face as well as the edge? I can see them being decent for carving in bevels when you're welding, but not much else. If they last a good while, they might be worth it... but I have a hard time imagining they'd last long enough to justify the cost.

[ronsii]

Just got done watching a vid from Ron Covell and he mentions using bars of soap to lubricate the aluminum when he's sanding it. Weirdest thing I ever heard of, but if there's anyone who knows about getting a nice finish on metal.... it'd be him!

Started using one of those diamond-edge all-steel cutting disks and love how they perform. The only downside is that you need to have another grinder with a flap disk mounted so you can knock off the very large burr they leave behind. Razor edge and just aching to find some flesh to sink into!

Anyone pulled the trigger on one of those fancy all-steel versions with the diamonds on the face as well as the edge? I can see them being decent for carving in bevels when you're welding, but not much else. If they last a good while, they might be worth it... but I have a hard time imagining they'd last long enough to justify the cost.

They have sold similar wheels in the larger 14 and 16 inch sizes for pipe work at the supply houses we use... never bought one because of the price... but they are supposed to work great for beveling DI pipe... don't know if they do or not??? however as I have not even seen one on a job site yet... and they been on the market for at least 10 years I suppose they have to work or they wouldn't offer em' for sale but I have my doubts on just how good for how long they actually work 'good' after going through a dozen of the smaller 5 inch ones last year....

[Pipeliner]

Blue 60 grit. I like flat if I'm blending outside corner / tees. Conical for the everything else. Where I see a lot of folks waste a good disc is using it as a grinding wheel. I keep a griding disc on one and flap on the other grinder and wire brush on another. Grind it down pretty close with the wheel, then grab the flap and finish it. Use the wire wheel to get the smoke and dingleberries off.

[William McCormick]

Just got done watching a vid from Ron Covell and he mentions using bars of soap to lubricate the aluminum when he's sanding it. Weirdest thing I ever heard of, but if there's anyone who knows about getting a nice finish on metal.... it'd be him!

Started using one of those diamond-edge all-steel cutting disks and love how they perform. The only downside is that you need to have another grinder with a flap disk mounted so you can knock off the very large burr they leave behind. Razor edge and just aching to find some flesh to sink into!

Anyone pulled the trigger on one of those fancy all-steel versions with the diamonds on the face as well as the edge? I can see them being decent for carving in bevels when you're welding, but not much else. If they last a good while, they might be worth it... but I have a hard time imagining they'd last long enough to justify the cost.

Soap has been used for years on screws that break or strip the heads when going into wood. A couple of times when helping friends and family I have used soap and it is rather amazing to them that it works so well. Not as good as beeswax and today probably more expensive than beeswax.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[William McCormick]

Blue 60 grit. I like flat if I'm blending outside corner / tees. Conical for the everything else. Where I see a lot of folks waste a good disc is using it as a grinding wheel. I keep a griding disc on one and flap on the other grinder and wire brush on another. Grind it down pretty close with the wheel, then grab the flap and finish it. Use the wire wheel to get the smoke and dingleberries off.

I use 24 grit 4 1/2" zirconium sanding discs to grind down welds it is much faster than grinding wheels if you use beeswax and I do. Then I use the flaps sanders. The smoke from grinding with carborundum is a problem where I am.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[Broccoli1]

I switched to a rubber back and sanding discs awhile ago.
https://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.co...2604-r-rfbp45r

https://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.co...es-fiber-discs

[Lis2323]

I use 24 grit 4 1/2" zirconium sanding discs to grind down welds it is much faster than grinding wheels if you use beeswax and I do. Then I use the flaps sanders. The smoke from grinding with carborundum is a problem where I am.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

Thank you! I will need to try that tip now that you’ve pounded it into my brain.

You will need to change your signature line to:

Sincerely,

W. Beeswax McCormick


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[whtbaron]

I went over this whole thing with a flap wheel a thirty-six grit from these guys.

https://www.empireabrasives.com/flap...and-polishing/

I had a lot of weld-spatter inside that thing, the #29 style 36 grit 4 1/2" Zironcium flap discs not only tore it off, but one disc did all the grinding, and then I went over everything and the flap is still good. Worn but still cutting like new. The metal feels as soft as butter now.




Sincerely,

William McCormick

Is this the one you are referring to in a 36 grit?

https://www.empireabrasives.com/4-1-...flap-disc-t29/

[whtbaron]

I switched to a rubber back and sanding discs awhile ago.
https://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.co...2604-r-rfbp45r

https://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.co...es-fiber-discs

We used to use those on the 7/9" grinders for automotive sheet metal to prep for Bondo all the time. They work good but you don't want to catch a sharp edge. I've seen a couple stuck in cinder block walls.

[William McCormick]

Is this the one you are referring to in a 36 grit?

https://www.empireabrasives.com/4-1-...flap-disc-t29/

No actually upon checking I am using these.

https://www.empireabrasives.com/4.5-...rinder-wheels/

I had asked for a ten pack of the most aggressive thing they had and he gave me these. I assumed they were 36 grit because I had seen them before, however, I made a note to check after I posted because I could not find a ten pack of #36 grit on the Empire Abrasive site, the discs I am using are the 40 grit. I apologize for any misunderstanding. I do a lot of different things and I am on the phone with so many suppliers during a day that sometimes things slip past me, again sorry for the error.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[William McCormick]

No actually upon checking I am using these.

https://www.empireabrasives.com/4.5-...rinder-wheels/

I had asked for a ten pack of the most aggressive thing they had and he gave me these. I assumed they were 36 grit because I had seen them before, however, I made a note to check after I posted because I could not find a ten pack of #36 grit on the Empire Abrasive site, the discs I am using are the 40 grit. I apologize for any misunderstanding. I do a lot of different things and I am on the phone with so many suppliers during a day that sometimes things slip past me, again sorry for the error.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

What a nice job the 40 grit flaps did on the surface of this thing.



I actually go out and pick up the supplies from these guys. So sometimes it is word of mouth rather than through the website, that is why I go so I can ask them about things they have or might put into stock. They are just regular good old boys.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[Stick-man]

What a nice job the 40 grit flaps did on the surface of this thing.

Out of curiosity, how is that plate attached? and what is the thickness?

[ronsii]

Out of curiosity, how is that plate attached? and what is the thickness?

I believe it's all 1/2 inch plate.... https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthrea...le#post8793235

I thought he had a build thread on it... but I guess it's just sprinkled here and there some in the what you welded today.. some in moto's tank build, some in the flap disc thread. etc...