die grinder replacement bits question... oh, and dremels too

[mowgli]

where do people get their replacement die grinder bits from???

when i've been playing with my inlet manifold with an air die grinder (with a 6mm shaft dia.) i've had some right bother with the metal cutting tip getting clogged up with ally really quickly & the, admittedly cheap abrasive wheels either bounced off or wore out in a very short space of time..

what do the professionals use & where do you get them from

i also got myself a dremel type thing for xmas & very quickly wore out the grinding & sanding bits in that..

where do you get decent replacements from??

[Royston]

www.cromwell.co.uk (http://www.cromwell.co.uk) maybe, if your grinding aluminium you need use suitable stones

Carbide burrs are an alternative, but would be aggressive, the swarf is nasty sharp too

[16v Nova Kev]

Try Wurth mike.

[chrisd1986]

Your local machine mart should do them, ebay, toolstation or even somwere that dose engineering supplyers lime lloyd n jones or bestco. I have i diamond tipped burr remover that is probably about 20+ years old my grandad bought from b&q

[Stuart]

J & l engineering

[Mike]

I get most of mine through work (6mm arbor for air tools that is). Ive found the grey grinding stones are faaaar better then the pink ones, last longer also.

Dont know if you can get carbide burrs for a 6mm colet (not that Ive looked, as I only use 3mm burrs. But you can get 3mm colet inserts to reduce size anyway) but generally on soft metals they will clog up all the time. Any engineering merchants will be able to sort you out though, I get a lot from James Lister & Sons, dont think there a chain store type affair though.

Also, pencil die grinders are awesome for head work :thumb: 3mm colet, ideal for minature grinding stones, engraving etc. Theres loads of cheap ones on eBay, get one with a decent RPM, 54k or more Id recommend.

What type of grinding disc you using? Composite type disc or the Roloc Quick Change type discs?

[mowgli]

just normal little fibre thingys, moike... no quick change stuff...

my dremel type thing cost £20 with 100 tools & a box (silverline)... i wasn't expecting greatness from it. some of the stuff did quite well though, the lower inlet manifold on my 1600 xe has these bumps in it & it took them out really quick just with the little sanding wheels.

its the ally bottom part of my 'powerbox' that is causing the most woe. i got a frontera 2.4 cih plenum, & got the bottom chopped off it. then acquired an offcut piece of ally plate from my local truck body builders, paid someone to weld it on. its this bit of extruded ally that is putting up the fight, i've got it pretty close to what i need, but had to resort to half round files.

[meritlover]

You probably know this already, but use the coarsest burr you can find and run it s slow as you can. This helps prevent clogging and melting of the alloy.

[mowgli]

yes, but speed control on an air grinder is not so easy as on an electric one

[meritlover]

Adjust the regulator or gag in the valve a bit?
You will loose torque but this encourages you to take lighter cuts.

[Asa-James]

Snap on do a decent carbide burr set, but comes with snap on tax (£90 odd+vat)

Worth the cash tho, I've had mine seven years now, I use them for taking the lip off brake drums, grinding out damaged locking wheel bolts, taking the heads off rounded bolts etc

[MK999]

You want a burr with large flutes, the smaller fluted ones are for steel/harder materials. I never had a problem doing headwork at full tilt... would take bloody ages if you did it at half speed tbh, takes long enough as it is.

This is what I used to use: http://www.cromwell.co.uk/KEN2105300K Not exactly cheap though, depending what you're doing you might get away with: http://www.cromwell.co.uk/KEN2100140K but the oval/flame shapes are much more useful

As for stones the different colours are actually different grades but I can't remember which way round it is now. Sanding band wise, yeah you get through loads of them, probably around 30 for porting a head and tidying it up well because you only ever use the 'ends' of it.

[jeremy fisher]

I use one of these
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y337/4539nick/P1000637_zps7f0a3c33.jpg
Not mine so I couldn't tell you where it came from though. Eats through ally, you have to be careful. Dip it in oil every now and then and it stops any clogging.

[meritlover]

ye thats what you need. the smaller serrated ones are to close for this.

[mowgli]

ML I took the regulator apart cos it wasn't slowing the grinder much to find that someone else had been playing in it before me. There was a diaphragm not seating as it should. The speed control is a lot better now.

[mowgli]

I use one of these
http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y337/4539nick/P1000637_zps7f0a3c33.jpg
Not mine so I couldn't tell you where it came from though. Eats through ally, you have to be careful. Dip it in oil every now and then and it stops any clogging.

that looks like i could find an old drill bit & modify it to see if it works..

i'm trying to get a decent trumpet shape for the separate intakes inside the plenum, so the angle i can cut at without taking metal from elsewhere is an issue

would decent router bits be any use?