Best way to grind welds smooth
 

A friend and I are trying to figure out the best way to ground MIG welds smooth on charge pipes, we've tried a normal angle grinder and it was hard to get it decently smooth, any ideas ?

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

I use a little CP die grinder with a 90° shaft (as in, perpendicular to the handle) and a 3" Roloc. 24 or 36 grit will knock down the welds in a hurry. :y

Colin

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Die grinder.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

If they are going to be painted when done, just grind them downa dn then use a little body filler and sand by hand. You won't even be able to find them after painting if you do a decent job.

Later
Randy

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Angle Grinder and a High Grit Flap Disc!

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Would hardware stores have the flap disc ?

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

yeah

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Unless you're getting full penetration, you'll probably be grinding half the strength off your welds.

If that's ok with you, it's your stuff to do with what you want.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

i've never ground any of my welds flat either.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

This is HMT, why are you trying to grind your welds down?

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Flap wheel for teh win! Home Depot has them.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Remember, its only charge piping. The amount of stress/load is so minimalistic its ridiculous. 15psi at 150*F is not even close to fatiguing stainless, aluminum, or mild steel. Also remember, there are couplers. The couplers relieve almost all the stress the joints would have. As long as the welds are half way decent and pressure test fine for 40ish psi for a couple minutes I cant see a reason why grinding the welds would cause any problems what so ever. Grinding other welded parts is a whole other story as I'm sure you know way more on that than I do.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

when we do bumpers at work we use a 4" flex-lock disc with a 36 grit pad to take the welds down and shape them.

then we finish up with a coarse scotch brite pad that locks onto the same disc.

personally I run these on a 4" angle grinder.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

4.5" angle grinder with a flapper wheel here :y

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

Don't forget that 15psi means 15 pounds PER SQUARE INCH. How many square inches of surface do you think are inside the charge pipes? Multiply that by 15 and you'll see how much force is in it. Puts it in a different light, huh?

As I said before, the amount of penetration will be a factor. If you have very little penetration, you could have problems. If you get good penetration, sure...you won't have any problems at all. It GREATLY depends on the quality of the welds. It's what's left after grinding that's important, not what's there prior to grinding.

Re: Best way to grind welds smooth
 

its charge piping, its not a big deal man. grinding down welds? nah. id rather them be a little ugly and strong than be pretty and break. engloid is right (always) dont grind em down, let that flux/mig spatter show!