Grinder disc for wood – pros and cons

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The grinder, or angle grinder (angle grinder), is a very popular tool that is distinguished by its versatility. It is used in most construction work. Many people are interested in the question of whether it is possible to saw a tree with its help. To process this material, you need to choose the right wood disc for the grinder. There are many types of nozzles, differing in characteristics and purpose.

To process wood with an angle grinder, you need to choose the right attachment.

Is the angle grinder designed for working with wood?

The “grinder” was not originally intended for sawing wood, especially for workpieces of considerable thickness and hardwood. This is due to the design features of this type of tool and the associated dangers of use:

• when the saw blade jams, it is difficult to hold the angle grinder in your hands, which can lead to injury;

Important! Jamming of the saw blade when using an angle grinder to cut wooden workpieces is the most common problem with this type of work, which is due to the softness and viscosity of the wood.

• Inhomogeneity of the wood structure due to the presence of knots can lead to damage to the saw blade being used and injury to the user.

Using special circles and following safety rules, the likelihood of injury can be reduced to zero, even when sawing lumber products

Despite the potential danger of using an angle grinder as a tool for sawing wooden products, manufacturers of consumables, which include grinder discs, produce similar products.

Expert's point of view

Victor Isakin

Tool selection specialist for the 220 Volt retail chain

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“For processing workpieces of considerable thickness and for professional use, it is most correct to use a tool originally intended for sawing wood, such as a circular saw and a circular saw.”

The main and most common uses of grinders when working with wood are: stripping, grinding and polishing, for which manufacturers produce special types of discs.

Types of cutting wheels

When purchasing a cutting disc, be responsible in choosing the “right” model and pay attention to a number of design indicators. Among them:

1. circle diameter.
2. wood cut depth.
3. features of teeth (shape, number, frequency).

If you want to use a cutting disc, consider the following recommendations:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

In order not to be mistaken in choosing the appropriate solution, pay attention to the following features of the selection of saw consumable tools

1. It is necessary to choose rounded cutouts that are made strictly towards the shaft.
2. The optimal disc thickness is two millimeters.
3. The depth of the cutouts sometimes reaches 20 millimeters.
4. The cutout may be empty, but in some cases it is filled with a copper compound.

General characteristics of discs for grinders, depending on the type

Discs designed for different types of use vary in their design and the materials used in their manufacture. In this regard, different types of similar products have different general characteristics, which requires their separate consideration.

Circular disc for angle grinders for wood, 125 mm

Cut-off models

There are several types in this product category:

• circular saw blades – considered “dangerous” saw blades;
• chain - made using links intended for chain saws;
• with a small number of teeth - they are the safest compared to compass analogues;
• made of tungsten carbide - the safest type of such equipment.

The chain disk can be used for both sawing and roughing

For your information! Circular discs come in two modifications: a “dangerous” and a “less dangerous” option. A distinctive feature of models of the “less dangerous” type is the presence of protection against jamming, provided by the spread of the teeth.

Chain modifications are less dangerous when used, because Their design provides for a non-fixed fit of the saw chain on the surface of the disc.

Expert's point of view

Victor Isakin

Tool selection specialist for the 220 Volt retail chain

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“If the saw chain jams during use, the disk mounted on the angle grinder continues to rotate, the tool does not break out of the hands, allowing it to be stopped in an emergency.”

A disc with a small number of teeth cuts wood well both along and across the grain

Discs with a small number of teeth come in two types:

• with 3 teeth – used with small “grinders” with a diameter of up to 150 mm;
• with 4 teeth - used on large grinders with a diameter of 230 mm.

A distinctive feature of models made from tungsten carbide is the absence of teeth on the cutting surface of the product. The cutting element is the segments located around the circumference of the disk.

Important! Tungsten carbide models are capable of sawing various metal products (nails, screws, etc.) that may end up in the workpiece without damaging the cutting elements or their integrity.

Appearance of a tungsten carbide disc mounted on an angle grinder

Discs for roughing work

For stripping wooden products, manufacturers produce several types of attachments that differ in design and types of materials used in their manufacture.

A grinding disc with crumbs applied to its surface

By design, such nozzles can be made in the form of:

• a disk with spikes or crumbs applied to its surface;
• glasses with cutting elements made of twisted wire inserted around its circumference;
• disk with wire turns mounted on its surface.

Expert's point of view

Dmitry Kholodok

Technical director of repair and construction

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“Sanding attachments are used to remove paint and other coatings applied to a wood surface, as well as to rough the wood surface being leveled.”

Attachments for the “grinder”, which have twisted wire elements in their design

Grinding and polishing models

To perform grinding and polishing, there are special attachments used for both wood and other materials (metal, plastic, glass, etc.).

Set of polishing attachments for angle grinders (125mm) Bison model “3591-125-H7”

Nozzles used for such purposes are of two types:

• the basis of the design is a metal base fixed to the angle grinder shaft, and circles made from sandpaper of different grain sizes or polishing materials (felt, fabric, etc.), which, in turn, are attached to the base using Velcro;
• flap sanding wheel.

Flap sanding wheels are available in different grits, which allows you to choose the one you need for a specific type of processing.

Cutting discs

Cutting discs are most often used when working with an angle grinder. The following nozzles are distinguished by purpose:

For metal. Such cutting wheels are made from electrocorundum or crystalline corundum. In this case, a bakelite bond is often used inside the product. Depending on the thickness and size, the disc can cut metal profiles, stainless steel, heating pipes, etc. GRAFF GADM 115 10 is one of the representatives of inexpensive metal discs.

For stone and concrete. Circles for cutting stone and concrete are made of silicon carbide

Please note that the disc is intended for relatively “soft” materials, such as white brick and slate (harder ones will require a diamond wheel)

For ceramic tiles and concrete. This attachment is designed for cutting paving stones, ceramic tiles, red bricks, cutting strips for gating, etc. The disc itself is made of metal with diamond chips applied to the cutting edge. There are solid all-metal and segmented discs. The first ones are intended for wet cutting (cooling with water), as they become very hot during the process. Segmented ones are convenient for dry cutting, and they are the most popular among diamond blades. Here, for example, is a high-quality, durable segmented disk Makita B-28086 for cutting concrete and stone products.

For the tree. Discs for processing wooden structures are made of tungsten carbide or metal with abrasive coating. The first ones are designed for cutting hard and soft wood, plasterboard, gas silicate and MDF. The second one can also cut metal and even wood with nails (but this needs to be checked experimentally). Bison Professional 36859-125 is just such a representative of the “nail saw”.

Universal. These attachments can cut almost all types of materials (for wood, it is better to take a direct-use attachment). In particular, they are convenient to use when you have to cut different materials in one working day, and you don’t want to waste time changing the nozzle. Universal models even cut reinforced concrete. However, they are often quite expensive, and sometimes it is more profitable to buy two disks for different types of materials being processed. Of the good universal circles, we can recommend Wolverine 100125, which is suitable for both wet and dry cutting.

Standard wheel sizes for grinders

When producing discs for angle grinders, the company's manufacturers operating in our country produce their products in accordance with the following regulatory documents:

• GOST 21963-2002 (ISO 603-15-99, ISO 603-16-99) “Cutting wheels. Technical conditions".
• GOST R 53410-2009 (ISO 603-12:1999-ISO 603-14:1999, ISO 15635:2001, ISO 13942:2000) “Grinding wheels for hand-held grinding machines. Technical conditions".

In accordance with these documents, the standard sizes of disks used on angle grinders are: 115, 125, 150, 180 and 230 mm.

For your information! The seat size for all standard sizes is 22.2 mm.

The use of angle grinders for grinding wooden products is quite widespread among users of different categories.

Sawing with a grinder

If there is no other way out, that is, there is no special saw for wood (it’s broken) or urgent small work is required, of course, a grinder can help out. However, we must remember that the main purpose of this machine is not to cut wood. To use an angle grinder as a hand-held circular saw, you will need to stock up on one or more specialized attachments.

To avoid distortions and jamming, you need to saw in a comfortable position and fix the tool with both hands. The best results can be obtained if you do not remove the special guide handle; with its help it is much easier to control the angle grinder. Correctly sawing off a workpiece using a grinder is not at all easy; due to the heterogeneity of the wood, the operating mode will constantly change. Therefore, while working, it is better not to be distracted and monitor how the cut is progressing.

woodworking

On the domestic market of hand-held electric tools, discs for angle grinders from Russian and foreign companies are presented. Among them, the most popular are:

• "GRAFF" (Belarus);
• "GREATFLEX" (China);
• "Bosch" and "Klingspor" (Germany);
• “Ziflex”, “PRACTIKA”, “LUGA” and “ZUBR” (Russia);
• "Makita" and "Hitachi" (Japan);
• "FIT" (Canada).

In addition to the brands listed above, other manufacturing companies are also popular in different regions of our country, which is due to the location of the region and the presence of dealers of these companies in a particular territory.

Saw blade brand “Zubr” with outer diameter 235 mm

Features of saw blades

Characteristics of the Graff Termit wood disc:

Wood saw blade Graff Termit

Disc cutting edge

1. Diameter 125 mm.
2. Coating: tungsten carbide chips.
3. Designed for cutting wood at high speeds, laminate and plastic. Works well on small nails in wood.
4. The cut is clean and thin, the cutting width is 2 mm.
5. The geometry of the segments prevents overheating and deformation of the discs.

Characteristics of the Graff Speedcutter wood blade:

Saw blade for wood and plastic Graff Speedcutter

Disc cutting tooth

1. Diameter 125 mm.
2. Three tungsten carbide cutting teeth.
3. Designed for wood, gas silicate, plasterboard and plastic.
4. The cutting depth is small, but it cuts easily. You can make cuts in the form of grooves.

Wood cutter disc for grinder 125mm Yato YT-59172:

Yato disc cutter

Back side of the disc

The Yato disc has good cutting properties. Firstly, there are 28 carbide teeth located around the circumference, leaving a clean cut and fine chips. Secondly, there are notches on the side of the disk, which during cutting work like cutters and grind the side surfaces. Therefore, such a disk is sometimes called a wood cutter.

Characteristics of Yato YT-59172:

1. The outer diameter of the disk is 125 mm.
2. The diameter of the mounting hole is 22.2 mm.
3. Rotation speed - 13000 rpm.
4. Number of teeth: 28 pieces.
5. Case thickness: 3 mm.
6. Width of the resulting cut: 5 mm.
7. Processed materials: wood, chipboard, plywood, plasterboard, lightweight porous aerated concrete, plastic.
8. It is considered the safest when installed on an angle grinder.

Proline disc characteristics:

Such cutting discs can be used for cutting boards with a thickness of no more than 40 mm, in compliance with all safety measures.

The saw blade has a metal base and a chainsaw chain attached around the perimeter

1. It is strictly forbidden to remove the protective cover if the diameter of the disc exceeds the dimensions of the casing - your angle grinder cannot be used.
2. The angle grinder should operate at the speed indicated on the disc. Otherwise, the chain may jump off and its components may fly apart.
3. Safety glasses and thick gloves are required. It also doesn’t hurt to wear thick canvas clothing.

IMPORTANT! Using regular circular saw blades on an angle grinder is strictly prohibited.

The same applies to diamond cutting discs for concrete. They are not suitable for sawing wood products and are dangerous. Firstly, the operating efficiency is extremely low, especially considering the cost of the disk. Secondly, you can simply burn the workpiece.

And finally, such a disk can jam in the cut at any moment, and you will receive a blow from the body of the angle grinder

Here is an example of a grinder blade that can be used to cut wood with extreme care

The design of the circle provides protection against jamming with the help of side teeth that expand the width of the cut. The disk has a diameter of 115 mm, and its dimensions allow you to work without removing the protective casing.

The wood blade fits completely under the protective cover

At the same time, the construction markets are full of offers for grinder saws for wood. Sellers will assure you that in the hands of a professional, using such a tool is completely safe. This statement is true as long as these very hands are intact and unharmed.

No self-respecting store will sell you a cutting blade for a circular saw that is supposedly suitable for an angle grinder, since if the buyer is injured, the seller may face criminal penalties.

Reasons why you should not use a circular disc when working with an angle grinder:

• The disc is designed for low speeds; the metal of the circle is hard, but fragile. During operation, it may fly into pieces or soldered teeth may fall off the disk and fly away at the speed of a bullet;
• Wood has a viscous structure, so the teeth bite unevenly. Due to this, the instrument bounces and vibrates. You can easily lose control of the tool and cause serious injury to yourself;
• If the disk jams (and when working with wood, this situation will certainly arise), the angle grinder will simply be torn out of your hands. The further behavior of the switched-on tool with a rotating toothed disk is unpredictable;
• During woodworking, due to uneven loads, the angle grinder overheats and may fail.

The only way out is to make a stationary sawing machine with a securely fastened grinder, as the master did in the video tutorial.

It makes no sense to consider the option of cutting wooden blanks using abrasive wheels, since it will still not be possible to use such a disc effectively. This is equivalent to trying to cut a log with a file. True, security will be at a high level.

Safety precautions when working with a grinder on wood

When performing work on wood processing using an angle grinder, the safety measures are the same as when using metal and other materials. However, in connection with the physical properties of wood, which have already been written about above (softness and viscosity), it is necessary to take them into account, and in this regard:

1. You cannot fix the “Start” button, because in this case, it will not be possible to quickly turn off the tool.
2. Sawing workpieces must be performed at a strictly specified angle, without creating distortions that can cause the saw blade to jam.
3. All work must be carried out with the protective cover installed and the use of personal protective equipment (gloves).

   When performing grinding work, the use of respiratory protection is also necessary.

4. It is better not to use “dangerous” saw blades equipped with large teeth on large-sized “grinders”, because In the event of an emergency, it will be impossible to hold the tool in your hands.
5. The presence of a speed controller on the tool is not a prerequisite for its use for such work, but it is desirable, because This will reduce the likelihood of injury if the saw blade jams.

Diamond cutting wheels for grinders

According to their purpose, the entire variety of diamond blades can be classified into several main groups:

• Construction Materials. Consumables of this type are designed for cutting bricks and ceramics.
• Asphalt. These wheels are best suited for processing asphalt and concrete.
• Granite. The main purpose of this type of disc is to process particularly hard stones.
• Concrete. Such consumables can be successfully used for cutting and grinding monolithic, including reinforced and concrete structures.

Additionally, diamond cutting wheels from a number of manufacturers may differ in color markings:

• Gray - ceramics.
• Green - granite.
• Yellow - tiles, plaster.
• Blue - marble and concrete.

Segmented diamond cutting wheels are mainly used for processing materials using the dry method. But solid discs perform “wet” cuts in the material being processed. This difference is primarily due to the very large heating of the continuous surface of the cutting wheel.

A special group is formed by disks that have partial segmentation. They are usually called turbo discs, the main difference of which is the presence of a circle of slots in the body. Their advantage is that they can rotate at a higher speed than fully segmented ones.

Review of prices for popular models

The cost of products depends on the place of their sale, technical characteristics and brand of the manufacturer. This section of the article presents several models, on the basis of which one can get an idea of ​​the order of the numbers that determine the cost of one or another type of similar product.

"GRAFF Speedcutter"

The GRAFF Speedcutter disc is a model with a small number of teeth

The disc is designed for sawing wood and plywood, laminate and board materials (fibreboard, chipboard). The model is equipped with three teeth.

Review of the “GRAFF Speedcutter” model:

More details on Otzovik: https://otzovik.com/review_6165824.html

GRAFF Speedcutter

"GREATFLEX 71-125120"

This petal-type model is made on a fabric basis using abrasive materials

GREATFLEX 71-125120 consists of 72 petals located at an angle of 10˚ to the working plane of the disk, which increases the efficiency of use of the product.

Review of the GREATFLEX 71-125120 model:

More details on Otzovik: https://otzovik.com/review_4655934.html

GREATFLEX 71-125120

"Bosch 2608623013"

"Bosch 2608623013" can cut wood and nails, plastic and drywall

This model is coated with hard metal alloys and is universal in its use.

Review of the Bosch 2608623013 model:

More details on Otzovik: https://otzovik.com/review_3959218.html

Bosch 2608623013

"PRACTICE 773-606"

Appearance of “PRACTICA 773-606”

PRACTICE 773-606

"FITIT 39556"

The FITIT 39556 model is successfully used for grinding materials of varying degrees of hardness

The cost of “FIT IT 39556” ranges from 95 to 130 rubles, depending on the company selling the product.

FIT IT 39556

"Luga 3656-125-25"

Appearance "Luga 3656-125-25"

One of the most widespread models among ordinary users. It is characterized by low cost and good performance characteristics.

Review of the Luga 3656-125-25 model:

More details on Otzovik: https://otzovik.com/review_3749759.html

Luga 3656-125-25

Purpose and types of disks

Cut-off

• For metal: Steel wheels for various metals and their alloys with abrasive surfaces made of crystalline alumina or synthetic corundum (electrocorundum). The main color of the marking is blue. Cut profiles, pipes, fittings, etc.
• For stone: The abrasive cutting part made of silicon carbide can be of several types:
• continuous - for dolomites, limestones and other soft rocks;

segmented or turbo - for basalts, labradorites and other hard stones, as well as tiles.

The color of the marking is usually green.

The safest for use are universal saw blades with a cutting edge in the form of a chainsaw chain. When the cutting element jams, the circle continues to rotate, which makes it possible to quickly turn off the angle grinder with minimal risk of injury.

Depending on the characteristics of the cutting edge, the following types of diamond wheels are distinguished:

• segmented - rough cutting of concrete, stone and other high-strength materials using dry or wet methods;
• solid - high-precision cutting, including metals and stone with water cooling;
• oblique notches (turbo) - fast and precise processing of various materials using the dry method.

Depending on the type used, varieties of artificial diamonds can be monocrystalline or polycrystalline. The former are used for processing metal or stone, the latter for relatively soft materials.

Grinding and polishing

• cord brushes - roughing for leveling or cleaning the surface;
• end abrasive attachments - specially designed for grinding the ends of parts;
• petals - special discs in the form of abrasive cloths of various grain sizes, its degree determines the quality of grinding;
• felt (fabric) wheels - ideally suited for mirror polishing, including using a special liquid or fine abrasive paste;
• fiber nozzles are a good option for processing metal surfaces;
• chain and solid-type planer wheels should be used exclusively with grinders equipped with additional handles, which allow for rough processing of logs, timber and other types of wood.

Necessary equipment

In many cases, working with materials involves polishing, grinding, and roughing procedures.

It's no secret that cutting wood is a very dangerous task, but even an inexperienced worker can sand solid wood. The main thing is that he has the required equipment at his disposal. It is enough to understand the basic principles of the work ahead, and everything will be successful.

In most cases, flap discs are used for stripping. After carefully studying the specifics of the product, you can be convinced of its functionality and effectiveness.

From the name you can understand what the features and operating principle of the consumable tool are. His working area may have a small number of sandpaper petals. This structure may resemble fish scales. As for papers with low roughness, they provide soft sanding of elite wood species.

Quality indicators and the degree of processing are determined by the grain size of the material, so polishing and grinding are carried out taking into account the established requirements.

Despite the great popularity of petal models, you can use other consumables. For example, a universal sticky disk could be a very good solution. Most modern attachments have the ability to quickly change Velcro. The cost of the adhesive discs used is much lower than the cost of solid flap discs, but the low price characterizes a short service life. In any case, universal sticky models are effective in both processing and sanding a wide variety of materials, which explains their great popularity.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6HqSS8Wk9Bo

Choosing the right device

First you need to decide on the tool (grinder - the correct name is a chain angle grinder) with which you plan to cut the wood. It is known that discs are made to standard grinder sizes. The smallest diameter is 115 mm, but this tool is used in rare cases. A wide range of power tools on the market are designed to facilitate various types of manual labor. If specialized equipment is simply necessary when working in the professional sphere, then in everyday life it is not always rational to spend money on expensive hand tools.

To operate the machine with wood, you need a special drive . Abrasive, diamond, and carbide wheels are absolutely contraindicated for cutting. This will not help cope with the task, but rather will lead to destruction or overheating of the device.

When choosing woodworking universal accessories, you should know that there are not only cutting discs, but also grinding wheels. To clean the wood, use a circular saw blade. The working surface of such a device consists of several layers of sandpaper, which has varying degrees of roughness. The lower the roughness, the softer the grinding. Flap wheels allow for polishing that varies depending on the level of detail.

Grinding wheels and a milling cutter for an angle grinder must be of high quality, which affects not only the quality of the work performed, but also the safety of the technician. Processing wet wood is prohibited, as the result of such manipulations can be unpredictable.

For roughing operations, which are often used as initial processing, special cleaning agents are used. They are necessary in order to remove a layer of paint from a painted surface.

Grinding discs

Grinding wheels for grinders have a working plane of different types. This is determined by the characteristics of the material to be processed and the required quality of the resulting workpieces. Such equipment is divided into types:

• sponge-type discs or fabric version - used in conjunction with special pastes or liquid substances for grinding and polishing;
• solid circles of felt origin or with a plastic base - they have transversely located petals, used in conjunction with pastes for polishing work;
• discs with replaceable sandpaper - differ in thickness, are finely abrasive, and can be used in the process of grinding or pre-cleaning.

To sand a large work area, sand logs or rounded areas, use cone-shaped equipment.