Mini Disc Cutter

[Bards]

I’m a (very) part-time fiddler with no compressor... Have been struggling clowning around under my van with an unbranded 115mm angle grinder - feel I need something for a bit more finesse for car repairs.
Needs to be inexpensive and ideally useful for other purposes.
Is the 75mm Katsui grinder any good? Any others I should look at? Can’t really justify a nibbler...
TIA, and let me know if question better put elsewhere...

 

[Brad93]

Avoid the Bosch 12v mini angle grinder. Dads killed one and then the new grinder is damaging the batteries on inserting them into the body

 

[Shedendman]

No,i had one and its to under powered,had one got rid of it,in fact sold it on here
Right,when you say finesse what do you actually mean?

 

[MattF]

Avoid the Bosch 12v mini angle grinder. Dads killed one and then the new grinder is damaging the batteries on inserting them into the body

You do know you seem to be the only unlucky one on here with them? Mine's not been a problem.

 

[eddie49]

I have one of those cordless Parkside 12v grinders, fitted with an ultra-thin cutting disc. I use it for chopping bits off rusty cars. I like the fact that the motor and cutter are at 90 degrees to the handle. I thought it was a brilliant of Lidl to come up with this idea, but in fact it is a copy of the Bosch GWS12V-76. The Bosch version is available as a bare tool for about a hundred quid, whereas the Lidl one is £29.99 inc. charger and one 2AH battery. You can also get an adapter to allow use with 50mm Roloc sanding discs:

Parkside 12v Grinder conversion to 50m Roloc

Bought a Parkside 75mm disc grinder a while back to convert to using Roloc 50mm discs. Pretty ****e at a cutter as the thing stalls, shutting down at the slightest of pressure. Wasn't much bothered as I wanted it for light dressing and cleaning of Thin wall tube. Besides at can soon go...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

When not in stock in the shops, the grinder is often available from eBay resellers, at higher prices.

 

[a111r]

Nibblers are only 'any use' on flat metal, certainly not under a car.
Plus they aren't an accurate cutting tool.

 

[bricol]

More practice maybe? You can be quite finessable with a grinder.

What does make it easier is having the vehicle high enough to get in properly, and see what you are doing - good eye protection, and decent lighting too.

With the small grinders, I rarely have the side handle fitted, which makes it easier to get in underneath something. Always guard on though - when the disc snags, or you didn't notice you put a kink in a thin one when you put it down and the next time you spin it up . . .

 

[nickk]

I have a Proxon,was planning on doing a review here,it’s a quality tool,much better than the £20 jobs,never tried cutting with it just grind and sand,discs aren’t easily found though.

 

[Bards]

No,i had one and its to under powered,had one got rid of it,in fact sold it on here
Right,when you say finesse what do you actually mean?

I guess I really mean ‘easier to get in to awkward bits’. I’m tool (and competence!) deficient so anything that reduces need to drop any ‘car bits’ gets a big thumbs up from me :-)
I bought a Clarke rotary tool but (predictably) that’s burned out.

 

[Bards]

I have one of those cordless Parkside 12v grinders, fitted with an ultra-thin cutting disc. I use it for chopping bits off rusty cars. I like the fact that the motor and cutter are at 90 degrees to the handle. I thought it was a brilliant of Lidl to come up with this idea, but in fact it is a copy of the Bosch GWS12V-76. The Bosch version is available as a bare tool for about a hundred quid, whereas the Lidl one is £29.99 inc. charger and one 2AH battery. You can also get an adapter to allow use with 50mm Roloc sanding discs:

Parkside 12v Grinder conversion to 50m Roloc

Bought a Parkside 75mm disc grinder a while back to convert to using Roloc 50mm discs. Pretty ****e at a cutter as the thing stalls, shutting down at the slightest of pressure. Wasn't much bothered as I wanted it for light dressing and cleaning of Thin wall tube. Besides at can soon go...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

When not in stock in the shops, the grinder is often available from eBay resellers, at higher prices.

Thanks - will definitely keep an eye on it. The eBay touts do look to hike the prices!

 

[Bards]

More practice maybe? You can be quite finessable with a grinder.

What does make it easier is having the vehicle high enough to get in properly, and see what you are doing - good eye protection, and decent lighting too.

With the small grinders, I rarely have the side handle fitted, which makes it easier to get in underneath something. Always guard on though - when the disc snags, or you didn't notice you put a kink in a thin one when you put it down and the next time you spin it up . . .

Thanks for safety tips. Not solved decent lighting solution yet, but the penny has dropped ref importance.

 

[atomant48]

I guess I really mean ‘easier to get in to awkward bits’. I’m tool (and competence!) deficient so anything that reduces need to drop any ‘car bits’ gets a big thumbs up from me :-)
I bought a Clarke rotary tool but (predictably) that’s burned out.

I was going to recommend the clarke tool as I’ve got one and the things I’ve used it for it’s been fine. ... probably not 2mm chassis sections though guess it all depends on what you need it for. I use the dremel discs that go on the little quick fit adapter.

 

[Wildefalcon]

Would a finger sander be better? It's a narrow sanding belt device, useful for accessing awkward spaces, not as aggressive as a grinder, but, with the right belt, fast enough.

 

[pedrobedro]

Would a finger sander be better? It's a narrow sanding belt device, useful for accessing awkward spaces, not as aggressive as a grinder, but, with the right belt, fast enough.

I've used my B&D Powerfile for this job for years and a friend borrowed it to dress welds on his Land Rover chassis. Zirconia Blue 80 grit belts will take weld down and last well.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Thanks for safety tips. Not solved decent lighting solution yet, but the penny has dropped ref importance.

Consider looking for one of these Nebo brand torches with a magnetic base. It takes three AA batteries and the magnet is strong. I was given one of these " Big Larry " torches as a gift about fifteen years ago, and was impressed enough to buy a second one; that one is still new in the box.

 

[Bards]

Looks well worth the current £11.99 at Go Outdoors! My budget one with the Mickey Mouse magnet needs to ‘go somewhere else’ ;-) In fact I.might hang on to it - 2 light sources from different angles to reduce shadowing might be worth a go.
Thanks in advance - this purchase may be a cheap Eureka! moment.

 

[Arc Tourist]

Looks well worth the current £11.99 at Go Outdoors! My budget one with the Mickey Mouse magnet needs to ‘go somewhere else’ ;-) In fact I.might hang on to it - 2 light sources from different angles to reduce shadowing might be worth a go.
Thanks in advance - this purchase may be a cheap Eureka! moment.

The first light I got as a gift, the second one cost me about $15.oo years ago; so £11.99 seems about right. Mine is quite rugged, and I've used on my mill and lathe when I needed some extra illumination.

 

[8ob]

I have a Proxon,was planning on doing a review here,it’s a quality tool,much better than the £20 jobs,never tried cutting with it just grind and sand,discs aren’t easily found though.

Another tool I now want and dont need

320 × 213

 

[slim_boy_fat]

discs aren’t easily found though.

Seek and ye shall find https://www.google.com/search?q=Pro...d=0ahUKEwj3p7n6lobvAhXJX8AKHfU0Du4Quw0IyAMoAg

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Is the 75mm Katsui grinder any good?

They are kind of OK I'd say...useful when you really need them but in 2 years I'd say I've used mine 2 or 3 times at most.

Generally I use a 115mm dewalt cordless which is blooming excellent...if it's a tighter job then I'll go with a power file...if it's tighter still then I'll go with a Dewalt cordless die grinder.

One thing I would say about the Katsui....it many look like a toy but if you take the guard off it's perfectly capable of removing large amounts of skin from your fingers