Today’s world is known as the world of tools. Right now, time is money; turn your mind to doing brilliant work rather than hard work. The modern world needs modern solutions; in commercial and DIY fields, the cutting of metal or steel has been done for ages.
The old school tools like hacksaw done cutting metal from many previous decades, but if we observe today, this tool starts losing its appeal. All is to do cut hard, stubborn metal by the usage of hacksaw is no more applicable. The worker’s favorite is the angle grinder, and you can see this tool in homemade workshops, construction areas in the form of cutting and smoothing metals.
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From the variety of many tools, the angle grinder is more versatile, a time-saver comes with multiple accessories, and does thousands of daily work depends upon your need. After reading this article, you will understand the details of the angle grinder and guide the reader from its working to safety measures and tool reliability.
Brief Mechanism of an Angle Grinder:
This grinder is a standard product in any hardware store. Choose the best or appropriate size that can help the worker in different levels of work. Many people go for a 4” grinder with an electric motor that operates between 6-10 amps. This medium size grinder can broadly tackle the most type of metal cutting and grinding.
Depending upon the work and motor speed, the front-end accessories of the angle grinder can be changed at any moment. It has a protective layer along with a spindle washer and nuts. How can we use an angle grinder in many ways? The answer is simple: remove the spindle washer and nuts first, then attach the other job with this grinder by connecting these nuts and washers tightly.
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How to Use an Angle Grinder to Cut Metal? – Practical Work:
This is a complete overview for beginners and for that person who is eager to buy this versatile tool explained in a simplified way.
Step 1: Assembling of Equipment and Materials:
There is a complete process of cutting metal with an angle grinder. To do this job, you need to have essential equipment which helps the user in many ways. Primarily the equipment used are listed below
- An angle grinder.
- Stable power source.
- Good quality/long power cable.
- Soundproof Earmuffs.
- Exact size metal disc.
- The metal material is going to be cut.
- A clamp(C-clamp) that holds the metal sheet.
- Drawing sheet to obtain the result.
Before starting any work, must ensure that these listed items should have in the working place.
Step 2: Fit the Disc and Mark Lines on a metal sheet.
Start doing the work after taking all safety measures of the angle grinder with the usage of the proper cutting disc. The disc size depends upon the thickness of the metal sheet, metal is heavily dense, or thickness is more than average the disc should be diamond-edged blade type, but for regular cutting, the best option is the standard-edge blade is more than enough.
Move further, install the right choice disc blade, and start doing work by marking the sheet with a pencil or chalk to make lines for cutting purposes. Once all the process is done, just turn on the angle grinder.
Step 3: Fix Down Metal Piece
After marking the cutting line, just clamp down the metal sheet. Beginners sometimes forget to do these things and, in the result sheet, move forward and backward during grinding. As the blade is moving at high speed can cause injuries to many parts of the body. To secure the job, the usage of a C-clamp is highly recommended.
Step 4: Start doing cutting.
After understanding all the previous steps, just grab the angle grinder and turn on the button. Must ensure that the blade attains its high speed before touching the metal sheet. Move forward, apply some pressure on the grinder when it feels the metal sheet. At this moment, some sparks and small metal pieces are ready to fly.
Step 5: Stick with the direction.
Do not move the grinder carelessly by seeing it here and there. Your total attention is required here while cutting the metal. Even a slight change in direction can halt your job, and as a result, the cut is not precise, and the finishing is not up to the mark as well.
Step 6: Finishing the cut
Just hold the grinder firmly and move forward with the line that is already marked on the sheet. After some time, the result is precise and smooth. Just turn off the grinder to avoid any injury.
Angle Grinder-Various Functionality:
Wire Brush for Cleaning:
It can be to clean the rusty metal materials. Just attach the wire wheel with the help of nuts. The wire wheel is a handy tool to remove any rust, dirt, or paint from the metal.
Cutting down of bars, rods, and bolts:
Place the metal mount or disc on this grinder, then just apply it on the unusable area of bar, rods, or bolts that hard to get out from other tools.
Cutting of tile, stone, and concrete:
Concrete is as hard as metal. To cut the stone or tile cannot be done by any other tool. The angle grinder does this work more precisely and in the way users want.
Reshape the cutting edges:
Some edges are rusty or not in proper shape while applying to any place. To make these things use full, clamp the shaper blade on the angle grinder, then start doing the necessary work.
Cutting out old mortar or bricks:
The best tool to do this work is an angle grinder; by attaching the diamond blade to it, turn on the button, then apply it to the unwanted brick or mortar.
Safety Features Angle Grinder-Avoid Unwanted Injuries:
The angle grinder runs at an electrifying speed of 10,000 to 11,000 rpm. To avoid any inadequate situation, the user must follow these steps
- To avoid any skin problem, wear a working suit along with a shield and gloves.
- Stop or turn off the button while changing the disc.
- Hold the grinder with power and be attentive all the time.
- Test the new disc before using it to check the durability of the disc or wheel.
- Stay in that position so that the sparks did not affect your body.
- Sparks should not come out near flammable material.
- Clampdown the workspace.
- Do not work in the rain.
These are some handy safety measurements the user needs to follow.
Supplementary Tips or Mistakes to avoid for Various Metals:
Before moving to another job, just cool down the grinder. Another grinder is a bench grinder, and the angle grinder can do a bundle of work cutting hard steel to metal sheets, nuts, bolts, and many more.
To cut down hard steel, use a diamond blade and for a metal sheet, just stick to the standard size blade or disc.
By the use of a metal wheel, the rust can be removed without causing any problem. Common mistakes people usually make are that they won’t wear the required dress code for this work. Some people free their hands or do not hold the angle grinder more tightly. These things are hazardous and not advised to do so.
Conclusion:
After reading the above article, I am sure you can also easily cut down the heavy metal sheets. The usage of an angle grinder is highly effective and safe in the end. Just operate the grinder according to the tips we listed above. The angle grinder is versatile in cutting and smoothing the metal pieces.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are Angle grinders a dangerous tool?
Ans: No, it is not; the user just has to follow the safety rules.
2. What is the difference between an angle grinder and a standard tool?
Ans: This grinder is versatile and can do any job according to the situation, and the standard tools do not have such kind of capacity.
3. Can an angle grinder cut through steel?
Ans: Yes, it is built to do such kinds of jobs. Cut steel the way you want.
