The disk on the grinder is jammed, how to unscrew it | The disc on the grinder won’t unscrew, what should I do (it’s jammed)

Metabo clamping nut. Photo VseInstruments.ru

Consumables for angle grinders (cutting discs, grinding wheels, etc.) must be securely fastened when performing their functional tasks. In the designs of angle grinders, high-quality fastening is ensured by special clamping nuts.

What causes the disc to jam and why is it impossible to unscrew the disc?

Most often, a malfunction occurs upon contact with the material. In idle mode, such problems are not observed, since the number of tool revolutions remains stable. But, when we start grinding or cutting metal, then the number of revolutions begins to increase, which is reflected in the operation of the disk and the angle grinder.

You can recognize a jammed disk by the following signs:

the number of revolutions of the tool circle sharply decreases and braking and jamming can even be observed;
the disc may be deformed due to even stronger clamping of the nut;
increasing the diameter and depth of cutting.

In this case, you need to react to the current situation in time and take action. In this case, you definitely need to remove the jammed disk from the grinder and try to solve the problem with the least amount of time and effort.

One of the most common reasons for a jammed nut is that you have not used the angle grinder for a long time, and the nut, bolt or washer is rusty. Consequently, this causes the tool to malfunction. If you encounter this situation, you need to perform a number of actions:

To begin, unplug your angle grinder.
Spray the structural parts of the angle grinder with an anti-corrosion agent or a special solvent liquid. The product must get on the washer, nut, and bolts.
After this, you can proceed to removing the protective casing and individual parts that can be unscrewed.

If special means do not help to cope with the problem, then you need to move on to the second method. Its essence is to preheat it with wax, after which you can use a wrench to unscrew the nut. Control the force so as not to break the sanding disc.

Sometimes the wheel cannot be unscrewed due to the wrong direction of unscrewing the nut. Make sure you are unscrewing in the correct direction. If the nut cannot be unscrewed with a simple wrench, then you can apply force with a hammer. But, in this case, it is important to carefully adjust the force so as not to damage the parts of the angle grinder.

The method by which you can unscrew the nut and fix the problem largely depends on the type of grinder. The method of fixing the disc on the grinder also plays a role. Most often, in order to remove a disc from an angle grinder, you will need a wrench or a screwdriver.

If you decide to remove the disc from the angle grinder yourself or replace it, be sure to think about the security system. Grinding machines and their cutting parts are very sharp, so you need to be extremely careful and do not forget about protective equipment. In addition to overalls, safety glasses will be required. If a wheel breaks, particles can fly off and hit your face. If the wheel is stuck and you cannot solve the problem, you will have to resort to more labor-intensive methods.

Failure of fixation with a puncher or drill

If the fixing nut is strongly “bitten”, it can be torn off using a hammer drill or an electric drill in chiseling mode. The advantage of this method is that the angle grinder does not suffer in any way, and modification of any tools is not required. For tearing, a 6 mm drill is inserted into the tool. It should be rested against the edge of the clamp, and the connection should be broken by short-term activation. In this case, the grinder spindle must be fixed. This is perhaps the best way if the clamp cannot be removed.

How to remove the sanding disc: important points

Without a tool, removing the grinding disc on an angle grinder is almost impossible. To remove the circle, you need to loosen a large number of screws and nuts, which is very difficult to do manually. Nuts, washers, screws are very tight and cannot be unscrewed by hand.

To remove a circle from an angle grinder, you need:

disconnect the grinder from the network;
wait until the grinding disc stops completely;
use a wrench to turn the nut on the angle grinder counterclockwise;
remove the protective cover;
Install the new wheel and tighten the nut.

When machining the wrong material on the wrong grinding wheel, you can face two potential risks - the disc can crack or break, creating a huge number of pieces of the grinding wheel. Please pay attention to the compliance of the materials from which the discs are made and their scope of application:

Aluminum oxide disc is designed for steel, carbide steel, iron. Alloy steel, high-speed steel and similar metals in composition;
The grinder disc made of silicon carbide works with brass, cast iron, bronze and other soft metals. It is also designed for processing stone and non-ferrous metals;
Ceramic aluminum oxide is very abrasive and is used on steel, hard metals. The main task of the discs is precision grinding;
Zirconia alumina is another type of grinding wheel designed for steel and most hard metals.

Reasons for snacking

Typically, such a problem occurs on angle grinders with a working surface diameter in the range of 150-180 mm. When a strong torque appears, the disk bites. This leads to the fact that it is impossible to remove the attachment using an ordinary key, even with severe physical effort.

The second most common reason is the introduction of a disc for an angle grinder that does not correspond to the factory characteristics of the tool. This leads to disruption of the entire mechanism and jamming. In rare cases, the nut

cannot be unscrewed if rust occurs on its threads. In most cases, this occurs when the tool is used for a long time or stored without changing the attachment.

How to remove a grinding wheel from an angle grinder: expert advice

To understand how to quickly and without damage remove the grinding wheel, read the advice of experts. Take note of the following important knowledge that will help you cope with the task:

place a rag or cloth in the hole of the grinding wheel so that it does not rotate when loosening the nut on the grinder;
Don't overtighten the nut and control the amount of effort you apply to achieve the goal. The rotating wheel should hold the nut well and firmly;
use oils to lubricate the shaft to simplify the process of replacing the wheel;
if the nut is too tight, use a hammer, with which you can apply a little force and unscrew the nut;
Check the condition of the grinding wheel. Experts advise simply tapping it with a metal tool. If there is a dull sound, this indicates a breakdown. A loud sound is an indicator of a working disk;
After replacing the grinding discs, be sure to check the functionality of the grinder while standing at the side of the tool. Rule out possible injuries;
Read the operating instructions carefully. It contains a lot of useful information to help you use your bench grinder correctly, including changing the wheel;
The method of unscrewing the nut largely depends on the type of angle grinder and its design features.

Using an adjustable wrench

Using an adjustable wrench of the “toad” type in order to unscrew a clamped disk on an angle grinder has its advantage due to the increased leverage. However, be aware that applying too much force may damage the spindle stop and clamp flange.

How to prevent a disk from jamming?

Since the problem is quite relevant and many craftsmen have encountered it, it is important to understand how to prevent jamming and prevent such a turn of events. Precautions include:

It is best to use cardboard or plastic washers to install between the disc itself and the spindle head. Due to this, the tool will not jam. If this happens, it will be easy to unscrew the stuck nut and replace the disk.
Follow the instructions for installing the abrasive wheel. The bright side with the picture should be close to the gearbox. There should be no contact with the clamping nut. The center ring will prevent jamming.
You can weld a nut onto the flange. Even if an emergency situation occurs, it can be solved with a regular wrench without much effort.
Always adjust the tightening force. Do not use too much force when installing the grinder wheel. If you overtighten the nut, jamming will be observed under increased loads. When idling, it will not be possible to determine the malfunction.

Reasons for snacking

As a rule, this problem occurs on angle grinders with a working surface diameter in the range of 150-180 mm. When a strong torque occurs, the disc bites. This leads to the fact that the nozzle cannot be removed using a regular wrench, even with serious physical effort.

The second common reason is the use of a grinder disc that does not correspond to the factory parameters of the tool. This leads to disruption of the entire mechanism and jamming. In rare cases, the nut

cannot be unscrewed if rust appears on its thread. This most often occurs when the tool is used for a long time or stored without changing the attachment.

Conclusion: difficulties when replacing the grinding wheel

Before removing the grinding wheel, it is better to try to unscrew all the parts and remove unnecessary objects that could be an obstacle. This makes it easier to replace the grinding wheel.

How often you need to change the grinder wheel depends on how often you use your grinder. If you use it frequently, your wheel will wear out faster and you will have to change the grinding wheel more often.

Try to avoid malfunctions and change the grinding wheel on time. To protect yourself and not endanger your health, before any manipulation, make sure that there is no power source connected to your grinder.

Difficulties in replacing a wheel occur when the nuts, washers, and screws become seized or rusty. In this case, you will have to try several ways to remove the circle and put in a lot of effort. It is also important to consider that grinding wheels can be very fragile. If you don't want breakage and deformation, you must be extremely careful when applying force to remove them. Don't forget that certain grinding wheels are suitable for specific metals. Choosing the wrong grinding disc is one of the reasons for breakdowns and malfunctions.

Warming up

The clamping nut must be heated with a hot air gun or gas torch to make the metal more pliable. Then unscrew it with a universal wrench or by hand. But the risk of this method is that it can damage plastic parts and gearbox elements.

Sources:

https://oxmetall.ru/rezka/kak-snyat-disk-s-bolgarki https://2lzz.ru/elektroinstrument/bolgarka/kak-otkrutit-gajku https://mytooling.ru/instrumenty/ne-otkruchivaetsja- gajka-na-bolgarke-chto-delat

Methods for removing a disk when the nut is jammed

If your nut is stuck, you can try to unscrew it with an open-end wrench. You need to make 4 protrusions on the socket head. This will match the flange hole structure. Then we place the open-end wrench under the disk and begin to rotate it in the direction of the circle.

Another popular method is heat treatment. As the clamping nut heats up, the metal softens and becomes more “obedient.” After this, you can try to unscrew the nut manually or use a wrench. The disadvantage of this method is the risk of deformation of the gearbox. If there are plastic elements on the grinder, they may melt.

If you use a gas wrench, the force on the nut increases. Here it is important to control the force of the stop, since otherwise there is a risk of bending the flange or breaking the lock responsible for spindle rotation. You can also move the nut from one point using a hammer drill.

The most drastic way is to deliberately destroy the disk. If it is slightly cracked, we simply break it off and remove the remnants of the circle from the grinder. As a result, only the central metal ring remains. The metal part itself is removed using a vice, pressing the ring tightly into it.

Regardless of the chosen method of solving the jamming problem, it is important to remember the safety system and not endanger your health.

Why does the lock nut tighten?

The grinder, depending on the brand and diameter of the working disk, develops from 6,000 to 12,000 revolutions per minute. When the rotating disk sharply touches the surface being processed, the following rapid processes occur. The cutting disk, cutting into the material, experiences great resistance and slows down somewhat, but the electric motor rotor rotates by inertia for a few more moments at the same speed and literally screws the spindle thread into the locking nut, pressing it into the cutting wheel. Now it will not be easy to unscrew it, especially with the original key.

There are various ways to get rid of this defect. Not all of them pass without a trace for the instrument. Here we will look at one of them, which can be called auto thermal.

Security measures

Angle grinders belong to the group of dangerous power tools, so it is important to adhere to safety rules and handle manual cutting and grinding equipment with care. Adhere to the following rules for working with a grinder wheel:

Always use the disc for its intended purpose. Pay attention to the manufacturer's instructions to determine the technical features of the disc and use the discs for a specific material.
Never use abrasive tools after the stated expiration date. Such discs are unusable and may cause accidents. Most often, the expiration date is indicated on a metal ring inside the disc.
Always store grinding wheels in a dry place at room temperature.
Before use, check the grinder wheel for possible damage.
When replacing the disk, be sure to disconnect the angle grinder from the power source.
Always wear protective clothing, a mask or goggles, as if a disc malfunctions, chips can harm you.
Adhere to the maximum permissible tool speed. Their meaning is indicated on the disk.
Make sure the sanding disc is installed correctly. Make sure the diameter of the disc hole matches the diameter of the mounting on your sander.
Both clamping flanges must have the same diameter.
Work only with angle grinders that have a protective casing. It is designed for protection at work.
Never use cut-off wheels for grinding unless specifically permitted by the pictogram.
Use only discs that are clearly suitable for the intended purpose. Follow any restrictions on use, safety instructions or other information made available to you.
Working with high-speed abrasive discs requires special care.
Avoid applying excessive pressure to the angle grinder.
All manipulations with dry abrasive grinding methods must be carried out in places with an equipped dust removal system. These should be special filters that promote high-quality air purification.

Which direction should the sparks fly from the grinder?

Also a controversial issue that worries many. In fact, there are no written rules about this, and you can cut with a grinder both on your own and on yourself. The only thing I want to say is that in the process of cutting metal with a grinder away from you, holding the tool in your hands when it jams is very, very difficult.

Therefore, I cut only towards myself, so that sparks fly at my feet. There is nothing terrible about this, and it doesn’t happen, the pants don’t burn, and the legs are still intact. But I have full control of the tool, holding it with my left hand by the side handle, and slowly pressing it as I cut. At any moment I’m ready to release the power button with my right hand, and if something serious happens, then quickly move the angle grinder to the side.

By the way, when working with an angle grinder, many beginners make one of the roughest mistakes, as, in my opinion, they put so much pressure on the disk during cutting that the engine of the angle grinder cannot cope with the increased load. As a result, the armature winding burns out, and the angle grinder has to be scrapped, since it is easier to buy a new one than to change the engine in it.