Patch Panel Weld Grinding Tips?

P

pa2000xxxx

I've used an angle grinder before with decent but slow progress. Anyone else have any tools or tricks to grinding a mig weld flush on patch panels?
 
A die grinder with a cut off wheel. You'll build much less heat this way.
 
I am not sure but I think it was Rusty who mentioned he liked the 3m 01991 discs for his die grinder. They are just like a 3 inch cut off disc but are 3/16 inches thick.

I like them a lot and have appreciated the tip.

John
 
Here's a video I did on grinding plug welds.



I would do similar on MIG weld "dots" after each weld sequence to get the panel back to 18/19 ga thickness. If your welder heat is set for sheet metal, a full weld dot sitting there is affecting your next weld.
 
John Long said:
I am not sure but I think it was Rusty who mentioned he liked the 3m 01991 discs for his die grinder. They are just like a 3 inch cut off disc but are 3/16 inches thick.

I like them a lot and have appreciated the tip.

John
Click to expand...
My favorite for grinding welds too. Saves a lot of time.

Don
 
I like the wider disc also, but you have to be careful with it because its harder to see where you are grinding---for me anyway. The thinner ones are easy to see what they are doing, but either one will be far better than an angle grinder. With later model thin car panels you could easily weaken the area by grinding metal close to the weld instead of the weld itself.
 
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Haven't found the perfect tools yet but the last 4 1/2' electric grinder I purchased (Bosch from home depot) has variable speed & is very useful in cutting down on overheating materials ,as well as being safer when using a large thin cutoff wheel, such as a .040 thick 6" quickie disc. If buying a new grinder the variable speed feature can be well worth the extra cost.

The ideal tool for initial weld grinding would have some sort of carbide burr type cutter with a depth stop on each side of the cutting area. Just like with a sharp drill bit at a proper speed , shaving off larger slivers rather than rubbing off dust is a much cooler form of cutting. I think I did see a such tool before, but not cheap.
 
I find hard grinding discs and cut-off wheels to be too unforgiving when a slip-up occurs, so it's 3M 1406 3" Roloc discs or the equivalent for me. Cut-off wheels are great for grinding welds completely away to remove a damaged panel, though.

I guess I ought to add that if a weld is really bunged up, tall and proud, a cut-off wheel is the right thing to get it closer to the desired surface contour.
 
What kind of penetration are you getting on the welds? There should not be enough weld left on the panel that it is cumbersome to remove. Maybe you should slow down your wire feed so you dont build up so much. We take the 035 cutoff wheel as a distance between the panels, so you can actually see the two parts growing together with the weld in the middle.

This was actually the last deal we tried, after using the skinny cutoff wheels. Big and heavy, but you get across and can really tell when you are on the panel and off the weld.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#4473a6/=154zphs
 
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