T&T: 1)Which Grinder for small fiberglass jobs? 2)6, 000 RPM OK? 3)Rechargable Unit ?

[Peter Bennett]

Monday, May 25, 2009, 6:13:04 PM, M wrote:

Me> I've got a large number of small places in the deck I want to grind, fill, &
Me> fair. Most are about the size of a quarter... some about half-dollar size...

Me> I saw a couple of small-to-medium size grinders at the local home supply
Me> store... that will hold a 4-inch to 6-inch feathering pad. They turn about
Me> 6,000 rpm.

Me> The attractive thing is they are relatively light weight... Plus I like
Me> using battery powered tools on a boat... as opposed to 120 VAC tools.

Unless you have a complete kit of battery-powered tools (all using the
same type of battery), I'd prefer a 120VAC angle grinder - otherwise
its battery will be dead when you need it.

I have a 4.5 inch angle grinder (120V) - just used it with a cut-off wheel to
chop an old barbeque cart that my tenants tried to throw out into
small pieces I could put in the garbage (someone took the BBQ itself,
but left the cart?)I've also used it to cut chain, but haven't used
the sanding wheel on fiberglass yet (I have a project for that, which
I'll get to Real Soon Now).

Me> The price of the unit is such that I can replace it if it wears out or dies
Me> on me half way through the job... and it's worth it for me because of the
Me> reduced weight and size.

Me> The batteries are not that expensive either and I can buy four of them and
Me> keep 3 charging.

Me> But... I wanted to ask you guys if you have any experience with these medium
Me> size grinders like this ?

Me> What other options are there? What are your suggestions?

Me> (Somebody suggested a Dremel Tool... but I'm not sure if there is a
Me> feathering pad attachment... or what the Dremel options may be.)

Dremel (or equivalent) tools have a wide variety of cutting and
sanding (and even routing) tools - once you have one, you'll find lots
of uses for it.

When I took the teak deck off the flybridge of a previous boat, I used
the Dremel to enlarge cracks so that I could fill them, before
painting.

-- 
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI    Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Ennos 31 "Honeycomb"
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter 
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca