Welding Tips and Tricks

Can someone tell me which would be better to clean out spatter in tight places and corners, either an air grinder or a die grinder? I'm typically using SMAW with 1/8 7018 and I'm also new to the marine aspect of welding so I'm still trying to fine tune my machine.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, because I'm not trying to waste good money on a my guessing.

CLlant4 wrote:Can someone tell me which would be better to clean out spatter in tight places and corners, either an air grinder or a die grinder? I'm typically using SMAW with 1/8 7018 and I'm also new to the marine aspect of welding so I'm still trying to fine tune my machine.

Any help will be greatly appreciated, because I'm not trying to waste good money on a my guessing.

I've got die grinders in air and electric power. I've got air grinders that are angle grinders and die grinders.

What are you trying to ask?

Steve

This will probably answer your question. A die grinder with a small burr will reach anywhere you need to go to remove spatter.

Steve

Well, if you are reqiured to provide your own air and power tools, ideally, you would have enough tools to make your job as easy as possible.

But we all know how it is to have a tight budget.

For cleaning spatter around tight spaces, a die grinder would work well, but maybe an even better option would be a small "air grinder" by which I am going to assume you mean a grinder which has a black circuler blade, sometimes called an "angle grinder". Search around a little, these are sold in various sizes, I have even seen them using small 2 and 4 inch blades(2 and 4 inches in diameter). Also, tools stores specializing in auto repairs would be more likley to have these types of grinders, and I have even seen adjustable angle grinder(meaning that you can adjust the angle of the head of the grinder.) at auto parts stores, and on snap-on trucks.

Thats my 2 cents,
good luck,

-Rick

BTW, if anti-spatter spray is allowed and available, use the hell out of it. You'll get most of the spatter by using a chisel as a scraper. I re-profiled a 1" cold chisel to look more like a wood chisel, with one flat side and about a fifteen degree face:

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Slide the flat side against the metal, and the face will take most of the spatter off. A tap with a hammer will carve off stubborn spots.

The angle grinder will cover more area faster than a die grinder, but if you're in a shipyard, you've got a lot of tight corners where the four-inch (or even two-inch) disc won't reach. This is where the die grinder really shines.

Steve

If you have access to air, Air needle scalers work good for me.

jpence38 wrote:If you have access to air, Air needle scalers work good for me.

I agree, when the needles are fresh and have square-cut ends. Once they round over, they need to be re-cut or ground square, or the rounded ends just slip past imbedded spatter. Re-cutting them must be done carefully to avoid ruining the temper.

Sometimes it's the simplest choice, especially if the company will buy new needles as a "consumable".

If you're stick welding, nothing beats a needle-scaler for quick slag removal.

Use good earplugs; You'll need them.

Steve

Your right about the ends on the needles. If you can get the company to buy them thats even better. They are not really that expensive. Definately need the ear plugs.