Changed my mind about using a grinder for every bevel prep

I always thought it was faster, but watching a guy in our shop hand-file a perfect 37.5 degree bevel on a 12-inch pipe in under ten minutes made me rethink. The control was way better and there was zero risk of grinding too thin. Anyone else find certain hand tools are still the right call for precision work?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_hill5921d ago

Yeah, my buddy had a similar wake up call last year. He was grinding bevels on some thin wall stainless tubing and went right through it in two spots. Boss made him redo the whole section by hand with a file. Took him three times as long to fix it as it would have to just do it right the first time. Sometimes the old way is just the smart way.

barbaraw1621d ago

Ever try a flap disc for that, @blair_hill59?

nina14713d ago

Thin wall stuff is no joke. Seen guys blow right through with a grinder because they're rushing. Like @barbaraw16 said, a flap disc can help a ton for control, but honestly on really thin material I'll still go straight to a hand file for the final pass. It feels slow but you can actually feel when you're getting close to breaking through. Saves so much headache and rework time.