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DiGGeR
08-02-2009, 07:32 AM
I'm going to be doing some body repair on the YJ, and my one weak area I have in fab work is grinding. I can weld, cut, hammer, but when I grind, I just end up digging holes. Is this a special art form that I suck at? Or is there less aggressive wheels that I can't seem to find. When I watch the guys on tv and some of your building post I see the grinder in the background with what appears to be just a normal wheel on it. And yet you grind the metal to look flawless. And don't tell me practice makes perfect, cause I got 17 years at doing it and I still gouge big holes the second it hits the metal. Please advise me of what I'm doing wrong, or what I'm using is wrong. Or just tell me I SUCK and give up.

MF Steve!
08-02-2009, 08:25 AM
You suck. You say "body repair." Does that mean sheetmetal? What kind of grinder/wheel/size are you using? Digging holes...sounds like you're putting way too much pressure on the tool, and not moving fast enough. 10,000 RPM's will remove material pretty quickly, so keep your grinder moving smoothly over the whole length of area you are grinding. You may want to give a flap disc a shot for dressing finish areas also...they're the ones that look like little pieces of sandpaper stacked up around the wheel. They take off less material, so that may help you as well. I don't know what else to tell you...all the fab stuff I know has pretty much come naturally to me, meaning you just get a feel for certain things.

tjblair
08-02-2009, 09:03 AM
Depending on how much material you want to remove you can also try using a DA sander insted of a grinder. Or try a combo of both.

DMG
08-02-2009, 10:20 AM
If you are digging holes you may be holding the grinder at too much of an angle to the material. And, like Steve said, keep moving. If you watch the metal you will see marks left where you have ground as you keep moving the wheel.

Cebby
08-03-2009, 06:42 PM
Regular grinding wheel for a lot of material removal, then when you start getting close, put a flap disk on.

http://img.directindustry.com/images_di/photo-g/flap-disc-37432.jpg