It's hard to find a more versatile tool than an angle grinder. The Bulgarian, as it is popularly called, allegedly for the first samples that arrived in the USSR from Bulgaria in the 70s, has found application both in professional construction and repair, and in everyday life and household farming.
Along with a drilling tool, it is a necessary tool for any person who works with his hands. A big plus is that the equipment for angle grinders is constantly being improved, allowing you to perform a wide range of actions with a variety of materials. For example, cutting and processing wood.
Types of nozzles
Several types of attachments are used for processing wood, which are divided according to the class of wood processing.
Rough processing
For this type of processing, special discs are used - a planer disc and a roughing disc.
The plane disk is used for rough processing of logs and other large-sized lumber in the manufacture of log houses and building structure elements (support beams, pillars, etc.).
The peeling disc is used to remove bark from the surface of logs and trim large workpieces. This attachment can be used to make a selection of elements of the assembled structure (bowl or claw of a log house, overcuts and joints).
Milling
For milling wooden blanks, special milling discs and cutters are used.
Discs vary in the type and size of abrasives used, and cutters vary in thickness, type and pitch of teeth.
Disks can replace needle files (files) or other similar tools, and cutters are used for making grooves, aligning edges, cutting out bowls, etc.
Grinding
This segment of attachments for angle grinders includes cord brushes, end discs, flap-type attachments and grinding wheels.
Cord brushes are used for rough grinding of wood, to give the workpiece the required dimensions and to remove irregularities.
End discs are used for processing the ends (cuts) of lumber.
Petal nozzles come in various types and differ from each other in the number of abrasive material applied to their surface (on the petals). This is the most commonly used consumable. Grinding wheels are a universal type of attachments that can be used to perform grinding of varying degrees of precision, which is achieved by their design. The design consists of a metal base, which is installed on the grinder, and on it, in turn, grinding wheels of varying degrees of grain are attached.
Polishing
To polish wooden products, brushes, discs and wheels made of fine-grain sandpaper, felt or sponge are used. These elements are mounted on a metal base, similar to that for grinding wheels, which is also mounted on an angle grinder.
What you need to know when working with an angle grinder
Grinder
Grinder is a traumatic hand tool. In order to prevent injury, it is necessary to follow safety rules both before starting work and during the process.
Before starting work
Before you start working with a hand-held electric tool, including an angle grinder, you must:
- A person working with a potentially dangerous tool must be healthy, sober and adequate.
- The employee must be provided with personal protective equipment (overall clothing, gloves, goggles, etc.).
- Check the serviceability of the angle grinder and the attachments used.
During work
A person working with an angle grinder must know the rules for working with this tool, namely:
- The grinder must be held firmly with both hands, while using the special handles that this type of tool is equipped with.
- The electric wire of the angle grinder should be located as far as possible from the rotating part of the angle grinder (from the attachment).
- The person working with the angle grinder should not be in the plane of operation of the attachment.
- It is forbidden to put the tool down until the rotation of the grinder shaft has completely stopped.
- If it is necessary to move the angle grinder, it must be disconnected from the electrical network.
- The attachments may become hot during operation, so do not touch them before they have cooled down.
- When working with an angle grinder, you must be extremely careful in order to prevent a backlash, which can lead to negative consequences.
Backlash
Reverse impact is the most dangerous mode, which is characterized by a sharp throw of the angle grinder towards the working person. The reasons for this situation may be the use of faulty attachments or their jamming in the material being processed.
To avoid kickback, you must:
- Use serviceable attachments designed specifically for this tool.
- Work on complex elements of the structures being processed should be carried out carefully, carefully monitoring the processing process (rough processing, milling, grinding).
- If the attachment is jammed, you need to turn off the grinder and then remove the cutting element.
The main rule, in order to prevent a kickback, will be the first point from the list of safety rules when performing work, this is - you must firmly hold the tool you are using and stand firmly with your feet on a hard and level surface.
Cost of attachments for woodworking
Disc plane
The cost of attachments used in processing various lumber depends on the material used in their manufacture, the brand of the manufacturer and the place of purchase.
According to Internet resources, the cost of various types of attachments used for processing wood using an angle grinder is for:
- disk - plane - from 8500.00 rubles;
- peeling disc – from 500.00 rubles;
- milling disk – from 800.00 rubles;
- wood cutter – 2500.00 rubles;
- cord brushes, cup type – from 1500.00 rubles;
- cord brushes, disk type – from 1000.00 rubles;
- end discs – from 80.00 rubles;
- petal attachments – from 80.00 rubles;
- grinding wheels – from 150.00 rubles;
- polishing discs – from 70.00 rubles;
- polishing wheels – from 150.00 rubles;
- polishing brushes – from 300.00 rubles.
These types of attachments are sold both individually and in sets that determine their purpose and type of use (individual, professional).
Choosing a suitable grinder for cutting and processing wood
If you have to cut wood material, then you can do it with a grinder, but taking into account the correct choice of tool. Grinders are produced in different sizes and power, which determines the possibility of using attachments with a diameter of 115, 125, 150, 180 and 230 mm. An angle grinder for 115 mm cutting discs for wood is not the best solution. This is due to the following disadvantages:
- A small disk is installed on the tool, which is practically impossible to saw or process anything
- Inconvenience of working with a small grinder when processing large surfaces
The best solution for cutting wood with a grinder is a tool for circles with a diameter of 125 mm. It not only allows for efficient cutting of material, but is also considered to be as safe as possible. However, they are not so safe that they can be used even by beginners. It is better not to use tools with 150, 180 and 230 circles for cutting wood, since the high power of such grinders requires a lot of effort.
This is interesting!
An angle grinder is not a chainsaw or an electric saw, so it should not be used for cutting wood without proper skills.
The safest option is considered to be an angle grinder for wheels with a diameter of 125 mm. This is the type of machine that should be used when you need to use a tool for sawing woodworking materials. Before you buy an attachment with teeth for cutting wood, you need to take into account not only its outer diameter, but also its inner diameter - the mounting hole. For modern standard tools, discs with a diameter of 22.2 mm are available.
Features of some attachments used for grinding
As already written above, when performing sanding work on wooden surfaces using a grinder, one of the types of attachments is grinding wheels.
Grinding wheels can be made of solid material, or can be made in the form of a special disc-type design.
This type of device is a plate, on one side of which (at its center) there is a threaded connection with which the plate is attached to the angle grinder shaft.
On the other side there is Velcro, an adhesive layer with which sandpaper or replaceable discs (circles) are attached to the plate.
Petal nozzles also differ in their design; they are flat, disk-shaped and round, plate-shaped.
Cord brushes come in cup and disk types, which determines the possibility of their use for processing a particular surface.
Types of cutting wheels
When purchasing a cutting disc , be responsible when choosing the “right” model and pay attention to a number of design indicators. Among them:
- circle diameter.
- wood cut depth.
- features of teeth (shape, number, frequency).
If you want to use a cutting disc, consider the following recommendations:
- If you do not intend to use the equipment too often, and the type of material may be the most unpredictable, give priority to a model with variable beveled teeth.
- When it comes to cutting softwood and softwood, use models with straight teeth. They can easily handle even the softest wood, ensuring high quality of the final result.
- Trapezoidal teeth are distinguished by their universal use. When choosing such a tool, it is better to start cutting wood chips with medium density. If you wish, you can use other products.
To avoid making a mistake in choosing the right solution, pay attention to the following features when choosing saw consumable tools .
- It is necessary to choose rounded cutouts that are made strictly towards the shaft.
- The optimal disc thickness is two millimeters.
- The depth of the cutouts sometimes reaches 20 millimeters.
- The cutout may be empty, but in some cases it is filled with a copper compound.
What is better angle grinder or grinder?
In order to determine which is better, a grinder or an angle grinder with grinding attachments, you need to determine which type of tool is more convenient to use in a given situation.
Of course, if it is necessary to perform a large volume of grinding work, it is better to use a tool specially created for these purposes, which is a grinding machine. Using such a tool you can achieve the highest productivity with the least labor costs.
When used individually, an angle grinder with replaceable attachments is an undisputed competitor to a grinding machine, because in this case we are not talking about a large volume of processed wood, but the variety of attachments allows you to carry out the entire range of necessary work.
In addition, the grinder is a universal tool that is used for processing wood, various types of metal, stone and plastic.
A grinder with attachments is an indispensable tool for a thrifty owner who knows how to work with hand-held electric tools and values his free time.
Which tool to choose
The grinder is a very extensive range of tools of one class, called an angle grinder (angle grinder). The device can have enormous power and work with a disk of 230 millimeters or more. Or be distinguished by its compact size and modest abrasives of 115 mm.
The disadvantages of large and heavy tools are obvious: they are difficult to work for a long time. In addition, precise wood processing requires serious skills and experience. It is simply difficult for a novice master to control a massive and powerful angle grinder. However, if there is a large processing area or the need to remove a significant amount of material, such an angle grinder is very good.
A small angle grinder also has disadvantages. The ratio of the diameter of its disk to the dimensions of the body does not allow processing hard-to-reach places. In addition, it is difficult to select a large volume of material with such a tool due to low power and overheating.
Many craftsmen prefer angle grinders with a disc diameter of 125 mm when working with wood. This is explained quite simply:
- In this class, grinders are presented in a wide range of operating capacities;
- it’s easy to choose a tool with comfortable dimensions and weight;
- There are many attachments and devices on the market designed for a standard 125 mm disc mounting hole.
In addition, a medium-power angle grinder provides relative safety for beginners. It will not make you get tired quickly, will allow you to more accurately control your movement, and will reduce the likelihood of defects on valuable parts.
