I just ordered some discs off of McMaster Carr. They had aluminum oxide, zirconium alumina(similar to the Z-tech I’m assuming) and then ceramic alumina. Their website says that zirconium lasts up to 50% long than aluminum oxide, and that ceramic alumina lasts longer and cuts faster than both, so I ordered some ceramic. They were about the same price as the zirconiums. I’ll try to remember to come back and tell you how they preform. Nice comparison.
Tim Wilborne I would recommend trying them. Their website is confusing as first if you haven’t used it because there’s like 50 categories and then 100 subcategories for each one, but it isn’t too bad. I ordered all 7inch wheels for an old 9” Milwaukee grinder, so they aren’t 4.5”, but they do have the same options and actually more for the 4.5”. (I’m also pretty sure I would get better performance if I was using a newer 7/9” grinder, because mine only is rated at 5,000 rpm, and the wheels are rated for 8600) When you order stuff from them you don’t really know the brand or where it’s made, but everything I’ve ever ordered from them has been made in the USA. The 7” ceramic cut off wheels I received are American Abrasive SAITECH and use 3m ceramic abrasives according to the disc and their website. I used them to cut railroad spike 10 times, then cut an old file twice (I was cutting pieces of steel to make Damascus). The wheels appeared to have a break in period. There is about a 1/32nd of an inch of material on the edge that doesn’t have the fiberglass reinforcement that basically comes off the first cut you do, so I was kind of worried they were garbage after the first cut, but I did the other 9 cuts and then the hard file steel twice(about 1/4” thick x 1.25” wide) and the wheel lost maybe 1/8” of an inch. They also seemed to cut way faster and cooler. I could grab the small pieces of railroad spike and not get burned instantly as I would if I used an aluminum oxide wheel. The 7” cutoff wheels were 5$ a pieces, so I’d imagine the 4.5” wheels would be 3$ or so. I think you should get a few and see how they compare on the 4.5” scale. Hope this helps, didn’t do a lot of testing because I bought them to make an anvil out of a 55lb piece of railroad track, not cut tiny things lol. Edit: The 4.5” type 27 wheels (McMaster Carr part # 4535A18, are $3.73 each. Pretty pricey, but might be worth a try. It appears they don’t have the ceramic in the type 1 wheel.
my problem is getting the right size disc for my angle grinder and i kinda knew i was gonna end up getting the wrong one, seems like mine might take up to 4.5" dia and has a 7/8" bore hole to fit the disc, the one i got was 5/8" bore and it was 4" disc ,i really need 4.5"x1/16"x7/8" but i dont think they had it at home depot ,have to go back and look but are there vids explaining these things? and yes they had the masonry discs and the metal ,you need to read what you get
Hi Farahnaz. I'm probably not the best person to ask. Stainless will chew up cut off wheels fast but I wouldn't consider myself an "expert" at metal cutting. I'd reach out to a cut off wheel manufacturer and ask.
As far as abrasive wheels like we used in this video, no, you can mount them either way. Some of your wheels that have cutting tips on them are made to only to rotate one direction. These will have an arrow on them telling you which direction they need to rotate. Thanks for watching!
ok wait there seems to be either some discrepancies in what you measured or how the performance went, for the metal test the z tek did the best as it only shrunk by 0.21875 followed by dewalt which shrunk 0.4375 and last nort gem by 0.5 now for the stainless it made no sense because you would think it would be harder to cut and eats away more but according to you z tek shrunk by 0.40625 and nort gem beat it because it only shrunk 0.1875??? so idk what is going on but seems like norton done better on the ss test than z tek even though it got shrunk 1/2" on the metal test?? yeah so something does not add up here
Thanks for putting this together. It was very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Very useful video. I especially appreciate the spreadsheet at the end.
Glad it was helpful Paul!
😂l was just on Google and ended up here...for a project that l am working on---this was very helpful thanks
Glad it was helpful and good luck with your project!
When we use grinder wheels to cut 45 degree for a ss u channel ,there are black spots over the cut area
Is it a solution for that?
Good to know, thanks. I ordered a bulk pack of "metal cut off wheels" and they sent me a pack of concrete wheels. Just wondered what they'd do.
I wouldn't think concrete wheels would work well but I have never tried.
@@TimWilborne Tim, it's the first cut off wheel you tried in the video.
I misread your first email :) It isn't a bad wheel but the others last much longer.
would the wheels cut better with a water lubricant sprayed on and maybe last longer?
Probably so but the mess would be very difficult to clean up.
Thanks, your video was really helpful!
Glad to hear that Jerome!
I just ordered some discs off of McMaster Carr. They had aluminum oxide, zirconium alumina(similar to the Z-tech I’m assuming) and then ceramic alumina. Their website says that zirconium lasts up to 50% long than aluminum oxide, and that ceramic alumina lasts longer and cuts faster than both, so I ordered some ceramic. They were about the same price as the zirconiums. I’ll try to remember to come back and tell you how they preform. Nice comparison.
Yes please do Bryce. Thanks for watching!
Tim Wilborne I would recommend trying them. Their website is confusing as first if you haven’t used it because there’s like 50 categories and then 100 subcategories for each one, but it isn’t too bad. I ordered all 7inch wheels for an old 9” Milwaukee grinder, so they aren’t 4.5”, but they do have the same options and actually more for the 4.5”. (I’m also pretty sure I would get better performance if I was using a newer 7/9” grinder, because mine only is rated at 5,000 rpm, and the wheels are rated for 8600) When you order stuff from them you don’t really know the brand or where it’s made, but everything I’ve ever ordered from them has been made in the USA. The 7” ceramic cut off wheels I received are American Abrasive SAITECH and use 3m ceramic abrasives according to the disc and their website. I used them to cut railroad spike 10 times, then cut an old file twice (I was cutting pieces of steel to make Damascus). The wheels appeared to have a break in period. There is about a 1/32nd of an inch of material on the edge that doesn’t have the fiberglass reinforcement that basically comes off the first cut you do, so I was kind of worried they were garbage after the first cut, but I did the other 9 cuts and then the hard file steel twice(about 1/4” thick x 1.25” wide) and the wheel lost maybe 1/8” of an inch. They also seemed to cut way faster and cooler. I could grab the small pieces of railroad spike and not get burned instantly as I would if I used an aluminum oxide wheel. The 7” cutoff wheels were 5$ a pieces, so I’d imagine the 4.5” wheels would be 3$ or so. I think you should get a few and see how they compare on the 4.5” scale. Hope this helps, didn’t do a lot of testing because I bought them to make an anvil out of a 55lb piece of railroad track, not cut tiny things lol. Edit: The 4.5” type 27 wheels (McMaster Carr part # 4535A18, are $3.73 each. Pretty pricey, but might be worth a try. It appears they don’t have the ceramic in the type 1 wheel.
Great info! Thanks for the feedback.
PFERD SG, 3M Cubitron 2, HILTI ZIRCONIA.
What is the thing that is holding the stainless steel at 45 degrees at 6 minutes
It is a scrap enclosure console. The box is angled that way
my problem is getting the right size disc for my angle grinder and i kinda knew i was gonna end up getting the wrong one, seems like mine might take up to 4.5" dia and has a 7/8" bore hole to fit the disc, the one i got was 5/8" bore and it was 4" disc ,i really need 4.5"x1/16"x7/8" but i dont think they had it at home depot ,have to go back and look but are there vids explaining these things? and yes they had the masonry discs and the metal ,you need to read what you get
Hi Tim. For cutting Stainless Steel 201 Tube OD: 25 cM WT: 0.28mm What kind of Cut off blade you recommend ? thanks
Hi Farahnaz. I'm probably not the best person to ask. Stainless will chew up cut off wheels fast but I wouldn't consider myself an "expert" at metal cutting. I'd reach out to a cut off wheel manufacturer and ask.
Weiler zirc wheel is your best bet
Thank You for the video. How did the finished quality of the cut compare? Which one left you with the nicest edge?
They all left similar finishes Michele.
Tim, that was awesome video, can you do one with blades on a circular saw, regardless of brand ?
i cut with a tile cutting wheel diamond works great
Interesting, I wouldn't have thought a tile saw blade would have cut through steel, I'll have to give it a try Isaac, thanks for watching!
You should really try the KLINGSPOR Z960 or K960.
G'day, Great video. Are there any benefit of having the disc's pointing letters/colour side down?
As far as abrasive wheels like we used in this video, no, you can mount them either way. Some of your wheels that have cutting tips on them are made to only to rotate one direction. These will have an arrow on them telling you which direction they need to rotate. Thanks for watching!
some are directional
i had no idea they had grit too what does this have to do with cutting? does a finer grit give cleaner edge cuts?
yes cuts faster & cleaner normally just does not last as long the finer the grit
@@eaglesales6058 hmm ok im not sure they tell you the grit on the disc though from what i remember
Norton Gemini are the best.
3M Cubitron 2 blades are by far the best. Expensive but the best.
Good tip, I'll give them a try Melissa.
ok wait there seems to be either some discrepancies in what you measured or how the performance went, for the metal test the z tek did the best as it only shrunk by 0.21875 followed by dewalt which shrunk 0.4375 and last nort gem by 0.5
now for the stainless it made no sense because you would think it would be harder to cut and eats away more but according to you z tek shrunk by 0.40625 and nort gem beat it because it only shrunk 0.1875??? so idk what is going on but seems like norton done better on the ss test than z tek even though it got shrunk 1/2" on the metal test?? yeah so something does not add up here
You must tell more about specification of wheel use for cutting the SS...
See links in description.
Wheels last a lot longer if you score the metal back and forth instead of plunging right in.
I agree but it is harder for me to keep control if I don't plunge
4:29 you said " it is still at 3-3/4" " you made it sound like thats what it started with when in fact you said it started at 3-31/32
silicon carbide, NOT siliconE carbide. fix the title! Silicon is not silicone.
Fixed, thanks for the catch Dave.
Yes sir, right away sir, it won't happen again sir.
you must be a teacher ,as they say "those who cant, teach"
If you do more videos please wear gloves.