Safety glasses and maybe gloves too if you are a real wimp. You'll get a lot of sparks, just watch where they go, you may need to cover other things up in case they don't like being hit by tiny bits of flying red hot metal. It'll cut though in a matter of seconds. Take the side handle off so you've got more manoeuvrability.
Just make sure the disc cover and handle are on, once you get proficient with one you can loose the handle, I had one catch and jump on me about 18 months ago, it managed to cut the tendons in my hand, made a bloody mess ..
My fault though, wasn’t having a good day and grip wasn’t as strong as usual.
I’d said to my mate a few minutes before, if this jumps I’m stuffed, it must of heard me.
Gilbertd wrote:
So what are you doing cutting into an ATM? I thought the usual method was to ram raid the location and then open it with a plasma cutter......
ATM actually meaning automatic ticket machine (cinema) in this case - and as said above removing screws some other muppet had chewed up using the wrong tools to take them out.
No point in ram raiding it when the thing only takes cards and contains no cash. Besides which the current preferred method going by the news is to fill them with gas and explode them! Also rather difficult when its on the 4th floor inside the building :)
Morat wrote:
Err so.. if I use the 1mm disk to try and cut through a 10mm bolt from the side am I taking my life in my hands?
Bearing in mind I've never used an angle grinder before (apart from a Dremel stylus which doesn't really count) what should I be aware of?Morat trots off to google "how to use an angle grinder"
Not really - a 10 mm bolt shoudn't present too many problems, just bear in mind which way the disc spins and try to avoid getting anything that doesn't want showering in sparks or bits of metal in the way of the output from it. If you can find some scrap bits of metal have a bit of practice on them first if your not sure, but really the most difficult bit is changing the disc (which if you have discs that fit, and the tool to remove them that will come with it isn't hard).
A fixed bolt shouldn't present any major problem, but watch you don't cut anything else nearby that doesn't want cutting (they will chew through cables or hoses like a knife through butter). Your more likely to get problems with something that pinches as you start cutting as it will try to grab the disc as your trying to get the disc to pass through it, thats when the discs will explode on you usually.
Main thing to be careful of is not using discs with chunks missing from them already - you will soon know as it will vibrate through the tool anyway.
I bottled it :(
I just wasn't happy working on my back with the grinder 6" above my nose. There's plenty of space for a straight cut but working on stands you're either coming in from the short side with the grinder above your neck or coming accross the long way with the grinder above your face. If I could stand under the car it would be easy and for a bonus I'd be able to see the target properly.
The good news is the car still drives (with an EAS fault of course) and isn't on the bumpstops so I'm going to take it to work and see if I can beg 2 minutes on the car lift.
Quote of the day "Mummy, why does Daddy need an ankle grinder?"
Morat wrote:
Quote of the day "Mummy, why does Daddy need an ankle grinder?"
To cut his toenails obviously!
If you not happy , get one of the guys at work to do it, will take seconds, you could watch the firework display under your car, 👍
Wouldn't worry me to cut it while laid under the car but probably not with the grinder just above my head...
Guards and handles get in the way for tight spots, most of the grinders I've bought (smaller than 9") have never had handles or guards fitted.
Best to grind/cut with the tool pulling away from you, if it's pushing toward you it'll bite/jar which is dangerous in itself but is also another cause of broken discs... but pulling away from you means sparks fly back toward you if you're behind and in line with the disc... better if you can get to one side. Sometimes the only way you'll get access is with the disc pushing toward you.. two handed job while applying only light pressure while wishing it spun in the opposite direction. Can often direct the sparks by adjusting point of contact with the disk circumference but it gets progressively more dodgy as it shifts away from pulling away from you. If you can't avoid sparks don't forget ears.. sparks in ears don't seem to cool as fast as they do when hitting skin etc, if a spark goes in at just the right wrong angle it can feel like there's red hot metal slowly burning inner ear (because it is) and it takes a bit of will not to start rolling around while still holding the grinder, then expect earache the rest of the day. Not as bad as welding sparks though.. I wrap a wet towel round head to prevent that when overhead welding. My 9 incher is much scarier than a little 'un, always a tight grip on that ;-) but now I've got to say I only used the 9 incher on one 'project' this year lol. Can't remember the last time I used a saw, grinder is good for all sorts of stuff besides the obvious, such as trimming boot floor carpet that's glued to a thin wooden board (when fitting a cylinder tank to the front of boot space). No worries cutting a 6mm bolt / 10 mm nut even if only way of access means it pushes. Next lesson is on sucking eggs (as opposed to 9 inches).
Lol :) You can keep your nine incher away from me :P
Well, basically I was outside my comfort zone so I'm going to do it in easy mode. If the nut was on the outside of the chassis rail it'd be off by now but the position means you're working from the inside of the car looking out and I'm too fat to survive a P38 falling off stands even with a spare wheel under the sill. It makes me nervous even before introducing a shower of sparks! The final thing was the way I couldn't get an angle that would let me actually see the nut. Cutting blind with no experience and cabling/shock nearby seemed a bit dumb. Live and learn! :)
You’ve done the right thing, I’m like simon, no guard, no handle, but I’m also proof it can catch you out.
Stay in your comfort zone, although if next years meet is at yours, I want to see all the fancy angles you’ve cut with your saw ⚠️
My cousin's ex-girlfriend's brother was a tree surgeon... chainsaw slipped, artery cut (more Texas style that just a nick to the wrist), dead. Got to wonder if it was a one in a million accident that couldn't have been anticipated (given that he used a chainsaw every day at work) or if he was particularly reckless that day. Mate's got a glass eye, he probably won't be getting down close to a lathe again so see what's going on closeup with his other eye lol. Other mate calls in to watch me work every Thursday, as a back seat passenger he was involved in a bad car accident around 1990, car with 5 people on board but he was the only person with more than a few cuts and bruises... due to his head going through the side window and hitting a wall. Very similar in character to how he used to be but now with an unusual mix of both paranoia and extreme optimism. I understand the paranoia when I have to test/calibrate a car and ask him if he's coming for the ride.. I have to promise I won't be driving fast.
Well, it came off :) Then I buggered off and did the Coast to Coast cycle ride from St Bee's to Robin Hoods Bay which is why there was no news. I'm now sitting down again (just!) and The Duchess has a new height sensor.
Tour de Yorkshire next year Miles? Comes straight past here.. Not been tempted to get my bike down from garage rafters for a decade though, last time I did I only went to Pontefract and back but had a sore ass for ages. I'd be more inclined if it had an electric motor to switch on in case I suddenly got very knacked but then would probably want an engine to charge the battery in case that went flat lol. I was gonna rig my dads old mate's disability scooter up with a lawnmower engine and alternator because he liked to go on long distance jaunts on it and was always risking flat batts but then he had another stroke.
Oddly the 9" grinder doesn't bother me - but then I've only ever used it it with a diamond wheel cutting down bits of wall. Maybe the soft start and ear protection dampens the thought of impending doom if it tries to run away...
The 4" one though... won't catch me ever using one without a guard or having it spin towards me. If I have to find another way to make the problematic whatever 'go away', I will. looks around for gas axe
I should probably admit that the guy in charge of the garage looked at me and gently but firmly took the grinder out of my hands and cut the nut off himself :) Took him a while though...
All's well - calibration time!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1848058137
https://www.strava.com/activities/1848058150
https://www.strava.com/activities/1848058111
ooh me bum! :)
Calibrated! Well, for Standard and Motorway settings anyway. I really wasn't very excited about jacking it up for High mode and Access mode doesn't matter. I stuck a new bump stop on the Front Left while I was at it, as the old one was getting frilly most of the way round and wouldn't grip the rods.
I don't know the RAVE method to install a new bumpstop but I suspect it's quite similar to mine: Line it up, stick the P38 in Access Mode and then jump on the side steps to bang it in.
Morat wrote:
I should probably admit that the guy in charge of the garage looked at me and gently but firmly took the grinder out of my hands and cut the nut off himself :) Took him a while though...
All's well - calibration time!https://www.strava.com/activities/1848058137
https://www.strava.com/activities/1848058150
https://www.strava.com/activities/1848058111
ooh me bum! :)
Morat wrote:
Calibrated! Well, for Standard and Motorway settings anyway. I really wasn't very excited about jacking it up for High mode and Access mode doesn't matter. I stuck a new bump stop on the Front Left while I was at it, as the old one was getting frilly most of the way round and wouldn't grip the rods.
I don't know the RAVE method to install a new bumpstop but I suspect it's quite similar to mine: Line it up, stick the P38 in Access Mode and then jump on the side steps to bang it in.
I’d be weary jumping on my steps, frames are on the way out, think they say put a block there and lower to access, I’ll let you know, I’ve had 4 sitting in the garage for a year, lol
Well I certainly wasn't getting anywhere by trying to push the bumpstop up at arms length while lying by the front wheel :)
I guess my sidesteps are OK for another couple of years!
Don't want to tempt fate but she's been sitting level and behaving herself. I still don't have anywhere really flat to test overnight but... we're going on a 3 hour trip tomorrow so lets see how it works out :)
Just need to get to the bottom of the wayward steering now, wife refuses to drive it anymore so she's stolen my Jeep :(
The steering is nicely exposed so with two of you it should be possible to see if there is play in either rod or the box itself with someone looking underneath and other person moving the steering about. Assuming its not either the wheel bearing or balljoints causing it (I had a wheel bearing allowing a noticeable amount of play when jacked up without any noise coming from it, though with the shot balljoints at the same time not helping any, replacing both balljoints on both sides and the bearing made a hell of an improvement when going over the rubbish back roads round this way). The longer link had been replaced for the previous mot due to a knackered end on that at the time.