Belt and disc finisher

[Improvise]

Hi everyone, just wondering what the best way to clean up the metal is ?
I'm mainly cutting 1.2mm cold rolled and 1.6mm hot rolled signs, artwork and decorative stuff at this stage. Hoping to start doing larger decorative screens among other things as I get better at it.
I'm only new to this but have managed to start getting some decent cuts with minimal dross. I have been using the 120 grit flap discs with angle grinder to get the very small amount of dross off and then go over the whole piece with the same disc. This seems to be quite an aggressive way of doing it though and leaves obvious grind marks. I have also bough a Dewalt cordless random orbital sander but yet to find a disc that does a decent job.

I was wondering if a belt and disc linisher would be a good option for smaller pieces at least? and then not sure what to use to clean up larger pieces? I see the EZ sanders are great but are wayyy over my budget at this stage.

Any advice would be a great help.

Sorry I should mention not interested in acid baths or anything like that. Too dangerous with kids and pets around as I have this setup in my back yard!

I have attached a couple photos of my first few pieces. You can see from the German shepherd one that using the 120 grit flap disc leaves quite a rough finish.

Cheers!

[acourtjester]

Very nice looking work, understand you concern acid bath, that is what I use but no kids (grown on their own ) and 2 housebound cats. You do run into problems with the size to, I bought a 100 Gal. livestock water bin, but sometime that's not big enough, but for the small stuff its great. I do store it as soon as I am done. I use a mud mixing tub from home depot (2 sizes one fits over the other so it's not open)for much of what I cut.
I'm sure other member will have a solution that is more to your liking.

mud tub.JPG

[adbuch]

Tom - what is your acid solution mixture that you use, and how long do you leave the parts in?
Thanks,
David

[adbuch]

And yes I agree - those are some great looking parts! Another thought would be to use a portable belt sander, but of course that will leave marks as well.
David

[Improvise]

Portable belt sander sounds like a great idea!

[Improvise]

Portable belt sander sounds like a great idea!

[SRdesign]

Some people use white vinegar instead of acid baths, works the same way except takes much longer to remove the mill scale. I just bought a craftsman restorer and the paint removal drum to go with it. I saw a video on YouTube where they guy removed mill scale very easily with it. I ordered it and it’s not here yet so I haven’t tried it. I will report back when I do though.

[SRdesign]

As far as the dross on the back, I use a knotted cup wire brush, it removes it very quickly. You just have to make sure that your wire cup is turning towards the edge of the material.

[abmetal]

Just bought the Craftsman Restorer. Going to give it a workout.

Allen

[Improvise]

Just bought the Craftsman Restorer. Going to give it a workout.

Allen

Can you let me know how you go with it Allen

[adbuch]

My feeling is that the Craftsman Restorer is mainly intended for wood, but it does say it works on concrete, metal, etc. I think it is very similar in function to the Eastwood Contour SCT Surface Conditioning Tool. Both myself and Tom have the budget version, the SPTA 1200W 110V Burnishing Polishing Machine shown below.

I find that this tool is not that great at removing cutting dross, but does well for producing a "brushed" finish on steel and is also great at removing surface rust and oxidation.

David

https://www.amazon.com/SPTA-Burnishing- ... NrPXRydWU=

spta.jpg

[abmetal]

I bought the Craftsman mainly to see how it cleans galvanized 16g. I have a Metabo burnisher but it doesn't have a vacuum port so I thought I'd try the Craftsman. I have access to a ton of scrap galvanized steel and have, in the past, been dipping it but I thought I'd try this. It's a cheapie but what the heck. I'll post my results later.

Allen

[abmetal]

Well,it cleans pretty good but I'm not sure how much galvanizing it removed. I thought I'd be able to see a difference in color between galvanizing and bare steel but nope. I cleaned an area on the corner of the welding table with the stripper drum, the stainless wire drum, and the sanding drum and honestly couldn't see a whole lot of difference. I didn't try removing dross thinking that wouldn't go well. In all honesty, I think my 4 1/2" flat flap wheels will clean about as fast. Would I buy it again? Probably, but I really haven't used it enough to give a really good evaluation. I did use all three drums on wood and the stainless steel wire drum flat cleaned it fast!

[adbuch]

Well,it cleans pretty good but I'm not sure how much galvanizing it removed. I thought I'd be able to see a difference in color between galvanizing and bare steel but nope. I cleaned an area on the corner of the welding table with the stripper drum, the stainless wire drum, and the sanding drum and honestly couldn't see a whole lot of difference. I didn't try removing dross thinking that wouldn't go well. In all honesty, I think my 4 1/2" flat flap wheels will clean about as fast. Would I buy it again? Probably, but I really haven't used it enough to give a really good evaluation. I did use all three drums on wood and the stainless steel wire drum flat cleaned it fast!

My experience with mine is that these are more for burnishing or graining, but not so good for actual grinding. I use my flap disks for dross removal and most work on my plasma cut pieces.
David

[Scratch]

I just use the same wire wheel that srdesign posted. I use it both sides of every piece. It removes the dross on the back completely "almost" 100%. The front is always perfect and leaves no scratches.

I call it the "wheel of pain" since one time, it grabbed my shirt and gave me major road rash on my belly! Be careful with it!

[SRdesign]

I used the restorer today on a powder coated finish and on mill scale. I was mainly mentioning the restorer for removing mill scale. It does a decent job and takes a little longer than I’d like, but it does leave a nice brushed finish as adbuch says. On smaller pieces that you were trying to get done with quick I think it would be an easier option than the acid or vinegar. On larger pieces I think the acid or vinegar method would be better

[adbuch]

I used the restorer today on a powder coated finish and on mill scale. I was mainly mentioning the restorer for removing mill scale. It does a decent job and takes a little longer than I’d like, but it does leave a nice brushed finish as adbuch says. On smaller pieces that you were trying to get done with quick I think it would be an easier option than the acid or vinegar. On larger pieces I think the acid or vinegar method would be better

[adbuch]

Here is the wire wheel (cup) that I use sometimes for removing dross. It does a pretty good job, but not as aggressive as a flap disc/grinder.
David

20220324_180453_resized.jpg

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20220324_180528_resized.jpg

[Improvise]

Wow, An army of grinders!! Beats changing discs all the time

[adbuch]

Wow, An army of grinders!! Beats changing discs all the time

I bought a bunch of them about 5 years ago when they were on sale. I bought the "tool only" and get the generic batteries on Amazon for about 1/2 the price of the OEM Milwaukee batteries. I've also got "an army" of the drills and drivers. Same for belt sanders, band saws, and so on. In a working shop - time is money and the cost of the additional tools is more than offset by the savings in time by not having to continually change grinding discs, drill bits, sanding belts, band saw blades, etc.
David

[abmetal]

So how do the generic batteries compare to Milwaukee batteries?

Allen

[adbuch]

So how do the generic batteries compare to Milwaukee batteries?

Allen

Allen - it depends on which brand of the generic batteries you buy. I have had some that made poor contact and sent them back. The ones I have now work great - maybe don't hold a charge quite as long as the OEM Milwaukee batteries do. But back when I was buying them the OEM Milwaukee 5.0 Ah costs over $100 each, and I could get two of the generics for $79 for the pair.

I do have 6 of the OEM Milwaukee 18V 5.0 Ah batteries that came with the 3 drill/driver sets I bought on sale. I generally keep them in the hammer drills and drivers they came with. In general, If I didn't look at the battery I wouldn't know which one is in the tool. They seem to perform the same.

David

[abmetal]

I've been slowly transitioning over to Milwaukee cordless products and I scour the internet for good deals on OEM batteries. So far I've found really good deals but I'm afraid that's going to run out. I also use Milwaukee batteries on my Dewalt tools so I use quite a few.

For anybody that might be interested....just got a tool combo yesterday that included the M18 fuel deep cut band saw (2729-20) and M18 fuel 4 1/2 grinder (2880-20) from Home Depot for $379.66 with military discount and taxes. The saw alone normally will cost that much or more.

Allen

[SRdesign]

I've been slowly transitioning over to Milwaukee cordless products and I scour the internet for good deals on OEM batteries. So far I've found really good deals but I'm afraid that's going to run out. I also use Milwaukee batteries on my Dewalt tools so I use quite a few.

For anybody that might be interested....just got a tool combo yesterday that included the M18 fuel deep cut band saw (2729-20) and M18 fuel 4 1/2 grinder (2880-20) from Home Depot for $379.66 with military discount and taxes. The saw alone normally will cost that much or more.

Allen

I too use Milwaukee batteries in older dewalt tools. I had a drawer full of older dewalt 18v tools that I was going to get rid of because I have all Milwaukee stuff now, then saw the adapter online to go from dewalt to Milwaukee. It was like getting a complete set of spare cordless tools.

[tinspark]

Well,it cleans pretty good but I'm not sure how much galvanizing it removed. I thought I'd be able to see a difference in color between galvanizing and bare steel but nope. I cleaned an area on the corner of the welding table with the stripper drum, the stainless wire drum, and the sanding drum and honestly couldn't see a whole lot of difference. I didn't try removing dross thinking that wouldn't go well. In all honesty, I think my 4 1/2" flat flap wheels will clean about as fast. Would I buy it again? Probably, but I really haven't used it enough to give a really good evaluation. I did use all three drums on wood and the stainless steel wire drum flat cleaned it fast!

We always used these types of grinders to refinish stainless steel countertops after they were welded and rough ground. Not good in corners or tight spots but are fantastic in flat areas. I don’t personally own one but have used similar ones.
Every tool has its place, but for dross removal or even galvanized removal, this wouldn’t be my first choice