territorialmillworks Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 At work, we have a bench grinder with a twist knot wire brush that's very aggressive with .03 wire. So I've been looking for a source for my home shop but wanted a smaller dia wire and a longer flag length. Came up empty handed with Mcmaster Carr/ Grainger/Fastenal etc etc. Stumbled onto Global Industrial: Standard Twist Long Flag Knot Wheel Brush. .014, 6"dia $24.95 plus S/H. The knot doesn't throw wire bristles as bad as a crimped brush and and the flagging and knotting of the bristles doesn't grab as much because you can't push the work piece into the bristles as deep. Just safer all around IMO Stock picture http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/tools/abrasives/Wire1-Wheels-Knot/6-standard-twist-knot-wheel-5-8-1-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 The danger of grabbing and flying wires is why I use a tumbler as much as possible for finishing rather than wire wheel. As well it works while I am doing something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Even taking precautions, I always end up with those "porcupine quills" stuck in my forehead and my scalp. Got one in the tip of my nose once :blink: Best to go with belt and suspenders with these, glasses and face shield....An apron ain't a bad idea either, they go through jeans as well...... :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweany Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 face shield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WraithsNinja Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 There was a guy at work that was just walking buy a guy using a wire wheel and one of those metal needles of doom flew in his mouth and he swallowed it. Just food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Get you a Leather apron ,face shield And good hat, and gloves (I know the Hazards of gloves & wire brushes) however hit your hand with a wire brush and you will only do it once . Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Jim Wilson had a open wheel wire brush that caught an s-hook from 3/8 square and threw it back at him. Two skull fractures, one from the s-hook the other hitting his head when falling to the ground, and a shattered pair of safety glasses. There is another smith I know that was using a hand held wire brush on a grinder. It contacted the pants leg, climbed his body and ate his shirt. The shirt ripped and finally clogged the wire wheel and stalled the hand held grinder. I had a wire wheel on a grinder try to eat a thumb and hand. Still carry the scars to remind me to be more careful the next time. No one had mentioned ear protection from all the noise of the motor and the wire brushing. Definitely use ear protection for sound deadening and to keep dirt and debris out of the ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 even with a cup wire brush on an angle grinder safety glasses gloves and leather apron. Had a piece of wire fall off my shoe and I stepped on it with bare feet it was getting the needle nose pliers to pull it out that was no fun. I use wire brushes very spiraling. Not worth the hassle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private Entrance Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 The danger of grabbing and flying wires is why I use a tumbler as much as possible for finishing rather than wire wheel. As well it works while I am doing something else. I like this idea, and might have to rig one up. Wire wheeling is sketchy and a time-suck, for sure. What do you use as a tumbling medium? And how big did you make the tub? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNewman Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I had planned on building one for years but bought one off Kijiji for $90. My drum is about 30" long and about 18" dia. The drum is an old water or air pressure tank. For media I am just using a bunch of offcuts that I hotcut off a repeat job that I do. I also threw in a handful of wood screws. I would like to get a bucketful of ironworker punchings to help clean concave areas. Most of the offcuts are too big and work well on convex surfaces but not so well on concave. I feel the 2 most dangerous tools in my whole shop are the wire wheel and the buffing wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 I've been saving offcuts for a couple of years now and also picked up about 4 gallons of used SDST metal screws. I was told the more different shapes the better the job it does. Now just to get the thing built! Got a gear reducer but may try a used roll up door motor as it's already geared down and fitted with a sprocket. I was thinking about having it supported on a couple of skate board trucks as they have the wheels and bearings already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Yates Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Yes Brother Glenn, I did forget to add Ear protection on mine I use them ALL the time as the old saying goes hear today not tomorrow. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Private Entrance Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I had planned on building one for years but bought one off Kijiji for $90. My drum is about 30" long and about 18" dia. The drum is an old water or air pressure tank. For media I am just using a bunch of offcuts that I hotcut off a repeat job that I do. I also threw in a handful of wood screws. I would like to get a bucketful of ironworker punchings to help clean concave areas. Most of the offcuts are too big and work well on convex surfaces but not so well on concave. I feel the 2 most dangerous tools in my whole shop are the wire wheel and the buffing wheel. Thanks. I've got about 10-15# of self-tapping sheetmetal screws that I can use for media. I was thinking I would need something more exotic, like ground walnut hulls, lobster carapaces, or elephant toenail clippings. And I'll keep an eye out for tumbler for sale. Based on the amount of free time I actually have (vs what I THINK I have) this might be the more tactically sound way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kailey Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 makita makes a angle grinder that has a variable speed ajustment on it for around $150 I use it most of the time because i can slow the rpm down and not deal with flying wires hardly at all. I only use my bench wheel when i have to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I got rid of it finally because I had stopped using it - but I built a tumbler some years ago from a 1725rpm, 1/4hp motor, 4 pillow blocks and 4 reduction pulleys, using V-belts to transmit power. The container was a 55 gal drum with three pine 2x4's screwed into the sides 120 degrees apart. The tumbler was tipped back about 15 degrees and ran against a small idler on the base. The drive and idler wheels to power the barrel were old mower wheels. Barrel ran at about 30 rpm final speed. I normally put about 50 lbs of parts in it at a time with a couple cups of blasting sand. This setup worked fine on loose scale and rust plus it yielded a fine "peened" texture. Took about 2 hours to clean up most loads while I was otherwise occupied. Vibratory tumblers come up occasionally on Ebay and are great additions to a shop for general cleanup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_K Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Thanks. I've got about 10-15# of self-tapping sheetmetal screws that I can use for media. I was thinking I would need something more exotic, like ground walnut hulls, lobster carapaces, or elephant toenail clippings. And I'll keep an eye out for tumbler for sale. Based on the amount of free time I actually have (vs what I THINK I have) this might be the more tactically sound way to go. Vibratory tumblers come up occasionally on Ebay and are great additions to a shop for general cleanup. Harbor Freight has both (small) vibratory tumblers and walnut hulls. (Haven't noticed any elephant toenails on the site, but you never know...) I'm sure the quality on the tumblers is not all that good, but for occasional use, I'd expect them to be passable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Harbor Freight has both (small) vibratory tumblers and walnut hulls. (Haven't noticed any elephant toenails on the site, but you never know...) I'm sure the quality on the tumblers is not all that good, but for occasional use, I'd expect them to be passable. The bench top units are too small - I'm talking about something at least this size or bigger. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vibra-Hone-FSV25-1-cubic-foot-Vibratory-Tumbler-FREE-Shipping-/251137792086?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a78fa9856 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 hillbilly rock tumbler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvGYfmbBYyg neat centerless tumbler http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpxFDMcYiXA You can also tumble in a concrete mixer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f32989UsCEs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainSpaulding Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Maybe being a complete newb has its advantages. Having only been exposed to power tools since I became a homeowner in my early 30's I have a great fear of any power tool, including 18V cordless drills. Having said that, I've been using a 3" wire brush or cup in an electric drill to clean up a lot of stuff so instead of holding the material and taking it to the abrasive, I've been clamping it into the vise and holding the drill. Am I missing something? Do the higher speeds of the grinders make a huge difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 A couple points: First, safety glasses or a face shield alone are not enough. Use both, I've had too much junk bounce off my face, then the inside of a face shield and lastly off my glasses or just off my eye socket and the inside of my glasses fortunately not doing any damage as those are mostly low velocity, they still smart though. Next, ear protection is always a good thing but with wire wheels it's really good at keeping a ricochet wire from finding it's way into an ear drum. Unlikely you say? You bet it is but I've had more unlikely things happen including a bit of grinder dross making a loud thwack in my ear then the smell of hot ear wax. (ugh) Another is operator technique. Stay OUT of the plane of rotation! Things getting thrown from a wire wheel or buff will have it's greatest energy (velocity) in the plane of rotation. For those of you who don't know, the plane of rotation can be most easily seen in the track of mud on a bicyclist's back from unfendered tires. Another bad technique is pushing work into the wheel, this bends the bristles over and diminishes their cutting ability finally weakening them till they come out. A light touch lets the tips of the bristles do the work and for a demo of the difference try rubbing your finger along the side of a piece of sharp wire and THEN scratching across the tip. Hmmm? This applies to grinding wheels, belts and buffers, it's the tips that do the most work. Pushing on a grinder tends to pop grains of grit out of the matrix and loads the gaps with metal. NO LOOSE CLOTHES, EVER! A bench wire wheel will drag you into it, a hand held will climb you and have it's meal faster than you'll feel the pain. You won't hear the bang till it's all over except stopping the bleeding. This is a bit ow wisdom passed to me by my Father till I got screaming sick of hearing it, true though it is. "You have to respect a (X tool) but you can't be afraid of it. It's like riding a dirt bike and being afraid of falling, it's a self fulfilling prophesy, worry about falling and you will. Tumblers are good, I have one I made from a 55gl drum though it's not hooked up. The drum has a lid held on with a ring and bolt. The suspension <grin> is an old tilting drum stand and some rubber casters. The casters are welded to the stand's frame. The motor is 1728 RPM. x 1/2 HP (because that's what I had) and it's mounted on a hinge under the drum and drives the drum via a belt over the drum. The bottom pulley is somewhere around 1" and the drum has an OD around 23-24". The math says final is 72 rpm. +/- but it's a bit slower than that, I think it slips some though quietly. The belt keeps the drum from wandering off the rollers and seeing as it's a tilt stand all I need to do is pull the lid and dump the stuff in a pan. The only money I laid out was for the elec cord and plug and a can of Rhino liner repair paint for the inside of the drum. The bed liner goop not only quietened it a lot it keeps the drum from wearing through quickly. Well, I think that's my ramble for the day. Of course I may find something else to comment on or maybe you'll luck out instead. <grin> Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Seelye Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I did about 15 of the Christmas ornaments that you see in the Avatar. One of the first ones caught in the wire wheel, and took it out of my hand. I decided to soak the rest in white vinegar overnight. When I pulled them out, I ran them under water with a Scotch brite pad. NO carbon deposits. I reheated them in the gas forge and used the temper colors as finish, then put some wax on them. Got shades of blue and straw. This was SO much easier and safer for small parts. I love my wire wheel, Frosty has some great ideas, I decided to not use mine for small parts again before I do something stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Better maybe, safer maybe, kinder and gentler? Don't you believe it, they're just waitin for one little slip and it's a bad day......I'm keepin mine...... B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 yes the speed is the diference I use a variable speed grinder and have had more success than with bench mount. Just hold on tight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Cap, the difference between a professional (10+ amp) hand-held 4.5 inch grinder and a wire wheel on a dinky homeowner drill is the difference between a Ford Expedition and a Mini-Cooper. (Both parked in my driveway; His 'n Hers.) Even a cheap 5 amp import grinder with a few accessories will save you lots of wear and tear on your joints, plus time. The downside: more power & higher speeds = more danger. Your level of caution and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must go up accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willway Forge Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 If you dont want to through your work, listen in. I use a large wire cup wheel on a variable speed "HF" buffer/grinder ($30). The wire cup does NOT through your work. It may lightly grab from time to time, but it will not send them at light speed into your melon. I have three diferent sizes and corses of cup wheels. With the variable speed buffer you adjust to suit your needs. Try it and you will see, much much safer. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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