Grinding disc vs flap wheel?

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Which do you prefer and why?I've hardly ever touched my grinding disc and use the flap wheel for any type of grinding I do. Mainly because if I accidently get knicked with it, it's much less abrasive than a grinding stone. But, does one have any advantage over the other?Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:I use grinding wheels for heavy removal and cutting and roughing. I use the flap discs for smoother nicer finishes, light material removal, and stuff. Grinding wheels work much better for fast mill scale removal where the flap discs are normally slower.
Reply:x2 what VPT says. I use them in the same way as filing. Grinding wheel for heavy material removal and move through to finer flap disk for finishing, for a smooth, clean look. A heavy flapdisk can take off good amounts of excess, but are more expensive and don't last as long as a grinding wheel.   When a welder tells you to "stick it", what do they really mean?"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Reply:These Diablo flap discs are great at getting into corner with angle iron and channel iron. I was a little skeptical of them but they do that job easily. http://www.diablotools.com/cutandgrind.html#FlapDiscsTxDoc's Photos Lincoln SP175 PlusLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln 250 LX Spool Gun Lincoln Precision Tig 225 Hypertherm 600 KMG 2x72 Belt GrinderBaldor 812RE Grinder
Reply:Any idea on the cost of the diablo? A regular 4.5" flap disc just coated me $7.63 from menards!Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer
Reply:Flap discs are expensive and they burn up when you use them on hot steel.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749I agree. Never been a fan of them. Bought a few, watched them burn up before my eyes.Been using 5" zirconia sanding discs for years. They work the best for me anyways.36 grit to rough, 60 to finish.IMHO of course
Reply:I think grinding wheels last longer, remove material faster, and leave a rougher finish. Flap disks can be bought with a finer grit to leave an almost polished finish. Flap disks also have a little bit of "give" so they'll leave more of a molded or rounded surface when rounding off edges, whereas a grinding wheel, you'll see every single time you changed the angle. On the other hand, when it comes to removing rust or other heavy coating, flap disks will fill up and stop working nearly as well, whereas a grinding wheel will keep going.
Reply:Originally Posted by GambleAny idea on the cost of the diablo? A regular 4.5" flap disc just coated me $7.63 from menards!
Reply:I use this place for all my abrasives...they hold up really well...no way I would pay $10 a pop for a flap disc.http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/servlet/StoreFront
Reply:I like flap disc better too. I am generally stuck with 4" ones though. That's ok, because if you ever use a Nitto Kohki air grinder. it's hard to use anything else.. So smooth, and quiet.. Attached ImagesEsab/Lorch ET-220iEsab 160i caddyThermal LM-200 Lincoln feedersThermal Pee-Wee 85sThermal 60i- 3phase /RPC powered (Beast)Thermal Drag-gun 35CINE 1500 Klutch 140i
Reply:I think the difference in opinions stems from the work done.  We do shipyard type work, fitting and structural stuff.  It's all very rough.  Y will never see a flap disc in a shipyard.  We are about speed and grinding on hot steel.  Finish doesn't matter, the sand blasting will take care of that.
Reply:Originally Posted by 76GMC1500I think the difference in opinions stems from the work done.  We do shipyard type work, fitting and structural stuff.  It's all very rough.  Y will never see a flap disc in a shipyard.  We are about speed and grinding on hot steel.  Finish doesn't matter, the sand blasting will take care of that.
Reply:Originally Posted by kazlxI use this place for all my abrasives...they hold up really well...no way I would pay $10 a pop for a flap disc.http://www.lehighvalleyabrasives.com/servlet/StoreFront
Reply:Thanks for the resource. I'm trying to cut down on my $10 flap disk habit.
Reply:They last just as long if not longer than any other ones I've used.  I usually have a grinder with a hard wheel and one with a flap disc.
Reply:In you garage like someone said its probably better and more versatile to keep a flap disc on you grinder with a 50 grit could be a good idea.I work in a company and most of my job is about stainless raillings, and aluminum, and even when i work with carbon steel its always required fine finnish, so when my company buy sanding disc and stuff its almost only for me.The probleme with those is not their quality or the fact that they don't last longer than ginding disc, i think that its just really obvious that its not a grinding disc and you should NOT use it for rough steel, the probleme come when (in a shop situation) people that work with structure and beam start to use those expensive flap disc and sanding stuff, sometime the company don't even notice that and they spend about the half of the stock order in job that doesn't need a nice finnish.Samething about company that use grinding disc made for stainless only, when the company don't even work with stainless, stainless only grinding disc doesn't contain any ferrous material (for contamination) but because of that they last less longer, and the company spend more in grinding disc.Here some of sanding disc that i use at work and i prefer them to those normal flap disc.http://www.directindustry.com/prod/w...11-951325.htmlhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Walter-Coolc...item416d683c6fAlso a last thing, if you use those flap disc or sanding disc on aluminum, they tend to ''glaze'' the grit keep all the aluminum particles and the disc seem to be at the end of his life by less than 5 minutes, what i do is put some coolant grease tube, you know that king of wax tube for cutting tool like tap or drills, take some on a cardboard, and pass you sanding disc a little on this grease, your sanding disc will triple his life.Calculator > Bevel Square
Reply:Gettings abrasives at the big box stores is expensive.  Places like Lehigh Valley, Roark Supply and even Enco have much better deals for what is the same part, if not better quality and less expensive.Enough stuff to build and repair wrinkled up race cars or bring a classic back to life...
Reply:these are my favoritehttp://rexcut.com/products-page/t27-...ending-wheels/Miller S60 feederCobramatic push/pull feederMiller CP-252tsLincoln Tig250/Tig250Lincoln weldpak 100 -italianC-H 90A- italianHarris & Victor O\Afull manual & CNC machine shop
Reply:if you do ornamental metalwork,Nothing beats a FLAT disk36 grit sanding disc with a backing padI use a 7 inch whenever possible the more contact you can get the less apparent the grinding is. 5 inch when needed for deburring and smaller stuffyou want MAXIMUM surface contact for a flat grind the idea is to equally get the area down flat and nice.flap disks cost too much dont last all that long and dont grind flat they dont have enough flat contact.you can use a hard disk switch disks or grinders and than use a flap disk.meanwhile you could just hit it with a flat disk and take it down in one shot in half the timeand get a better quality product.36 grit to take the weld down 80 grit afterwardsif you going for a polish 80 grit is enough just use a spindle grinder with a 150 grit polish on a buffing wheel on the handheld polisher and you can take it to mirror with white and green.keep in mind flat disks cost about 50 cents to $1.50 what ruins abrasives more than anything is clogging, whether its brass or aluminum.on steel its the oil, or anti spatter that kills disks quick even a fresh one can get ruined in 10 seconds flat if you get oil on it.stainless your pretty much good to go your better off using the best quality disks on stainless because its cleaner material as well as harder to grind.
Reply:BTW the Walter TURBO Backing disks are freaking amazing,they reduce the friction on the grinder heavily and they attack the metal fast, they also are much heavier duty than the old orange backing pads.they are awesome they come in 2 versions the white disk which is flexible and the black for flat grinding
Reply:I agree the flap disc are more cost, but the "finished" product looks good. I have 4 grinders set up for grinding, brush cup wheel, cutting disc, and a flap disc. Saves me a lot of time, but I find myself using the flap a lot.JobSmart MIG125Lincoln AC225-SLincoln Pro-Mig 175Dewalt GrindersRidgid ChopsawIR Garage Mate CompressorAny thing worth doing, is worth doing right.
Reply:I agree... the abrasive disc are for a rougth finish... when you are working on mild steel and nothing thaths going to be coated, or galvanized it will be ok... When you work with SS... we like to use the next:(On a mig weld, to be finish) First an abrasive disc 36 grit...(Here should be used another disc from Walter, but I dont remember the name ) Then a litte bit of flap wheel on 80 Grit Then a flap Wheel 60 Grit. After a Medium blendex And if its need a pass with a fine blendexand after  a linear or roud finisshing tool. BTW Flap dics from Austromex cost about a USD 3.5 or less I think... If you buy the 10 pieces.