Cutting Disk

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i'm not sure if this is the place to put it, but here it goes...where is the cheapest place to find SAFE cutting disks?I have a cheap ShopForce 4 1/2" Angle Grinder and i find that the cutting disks are easier to use than the grinding disks, however, they become smaller and smaller very quickly (i'm not sure why ) and thus i need to change them pretty often. the 1.79 or whatever Home depot/Lowes/Menards wants for them is getting kind of pricy for a back-yard mechanic like myself. I was trying to find Harbor Freight's disks (i've heard they are the cheapest), but i've also heard that they are not very stable or trustworthy. i want to go cheap, especially the way i'm going through them and since they are jsut a consumable, but i don't want half a disk flying off my grinder when my fiance is walking through the garage door, or my brother is watching me.thanks! i jsut want to go cheap, but stay safe.Later,Andy
Reply:Ill all honesty, I ahve only ever sent 1 cutting disk flying, and it was broke to start with.I have used the craftsman brand with good luck.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:You don't want to grind with cutting disks, that is how they break.  They are not designed to handle pressure on the face only on the edge.Get grinding disks, they will last longer, you will pay less.
Reply:He never said he was using them for grinding. Just that they were easier to use.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:actually, i WAS using them for grinding. i think that's how my first one broke. anyway, is there anyway to keep the grinding disks clean and able to send sparks? i noticed that when i was doing my exhaust, the grinding disks seemd to be getting clogged, or glazed, on the grinding face. am i using too much pressure and forcing the metal into the porus surface, or is there a possibility that i may be doing something else wrong?thanks!Andy
Reply:You can't use too much pressure.  Some times if you bear down on it, it will "un clog".  Other option is use a wheel for aluminum.  They don't load up even with galvanize.  They do go faster but cost the same as the ones I buy for steel.  $2.85 each.  I buy em in 25 packs.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:When you say grinding disks I assume you mean real grinding disks and not your cutting disks used for grinding.I have seen cheap grinding disks that would glaze over and stop cutting.  As for clogging with metal I've only seen that when grinding AL with a disk intended for ferrous metal.Cheap abrasives are often the most expensive ones to use.  When the Norton "Norzon" abrasives first hit the market, 20+ years ago, I did a test that proved they were the most expensive on the market and still the cheapest to use.   Ground equal amounts of stock off the end of a piece of bar stock, using several different brands and types.  The Norzon wheel removed material at about a 30% faster rate and wore only half as much while doing it.
Reply:Alan is correct about Norzon.  I ( in the past ) traveled for Gulf States Abrasives and it was impossible to out perform Norzon.  4 or 41/2 X 1/4 X 5/8-11 A 24R are the leist expensive in the long run.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :