ibnaz5150 Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 Thinking of picking up a 4 1/2 angle grinder for contours. I'm looking at 3 ......dewalt,makita & milwalkee... I have various tools from each manufactuer and I'm happy with all them. It seems I can't go wrong with any of the three however anyone with experience with these may have a different take. Let me know what ya think. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 I bought a Makita (used) in 1983, it still works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 What sort of disc do you use for sculpting body contours? Ive been looking for a few days but cant see anything specific. Drak? You should be the man for this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 (edited) What sort of disc do you use for sculpting body contours? Ive been looking for a few days but cant see anything specific. Drak? You should be the man for this one Use a flap sanding disk. Either 40 or 60 grit. I'd have to check, but I think I did the contours on my RG with a 60 grit disk. It cut like butter. As far as angle grinders, I would think any of the big name brands would be just fine. We don't need as much power as metalworkers do, so I just went with the cheapo Harbor Freight grinder ($18). It's not so hot for cutting metal and stuff, but it's plenty powerful for woodwork. Edited January 12, 2007 by fookgub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 My thoughts exactly. I can pick up a £15 ($28-30) grinder in my local high street. its only 550 watt but as you say, carving wood is far easier than metalwork so it would be a cheap way to do it, plus I can always upgrade later. Ive used flap sanders using a power drill. those things are awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibnaz5150 Posted January 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 Thanks for the feedback folks....there all in the 50-60.00 range. I wish I knew this tip earlier. I dumped 50.00 on 2 files . I can always use them somewhere. This angle grinder looks like it will take the fun out of things ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 A good file will tend to cost at least 20-30 bucks, so that's fine. Also, re: angle grinders, remember this: you're using it to carve wood. This is nothing compared to metal and stone, so even a low-end, low-power, cheap, angle grinders should be massively overpowered for the job at hand. I have the simplest Bosch (green series, not the pro Blue series) grinder, which is more than adequate for carving even the hardest wood with the right disks. In other words, if you want to stick with quality tools, and you like what you've gotten from certain manufacturers, get the cheapest option. It's more than good enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 I've got the DeWalt, it works great. Still haven't had any problems with it, it does the job well. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
postal Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 My makita works fine and doesnt break the bank. Some guys like flap sanders, I use disk. Either works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 don't regret the files...a good wood rasp is awesome for shaping necks and doing smaller contouring jobs(things a grinder is NOT good for) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Yes indeed, its nice to have some measure of control in the shaping area. I would only use my angle grinder to hawg away large quantities of wood. Otherwise its the finesse of rasp, file and sandpaper for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Can one of those little "router speed control" boxes be hooked up to an angle grinder ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Theyre's no real reason to slow down an angle grinder. We use those crappy Harbor Freight angle grinders ($15) for carving tops and tummy cuts at work. For the amount of time it actually gets used in guitar building, I agree that the cheapest is probably fine. We still have the same one they had when I got there over a year ago and I have put many hours on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibnaz5150 Posted January 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I ended up buying the dewalt (D28110) for 59.00. I cut some steel with it already..she has some balls! I don't mind the extra expense compared to a harbor freight grinder. Think this will do a fine job and should last me awhile. Thanks for all the input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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