Urgently need some information...

I picked up a cheap die grinder to finish off some mod's to my lathe. The grinder works well enough for me but the stones suck.

First off, I know absolutely nothing about what each of the colors represent and it doesn't seem to matter, as all three colors of these cheap stones wear out equally fast, and I do mean FAST! I now have a bunch of 1/8 and 1/4 dowel pins....

So, would anyone be kind enough to give me the Die Grinder Stone 101 on-line tutorial?

100: What does each color represent relative to grit and hardness?
101: What is each color more suited to application and material wise?
102: Where does one get a nice set of stones... that last long enough to actually remove some metal?


Thanks....

We use a lot of differant stones on die grinders and find for cast iron and most steels the pink colour to be the most robust, the grades you will have to experiment with,just a word of warning make sure you buy quality bits .When i was a boy we had some elcheapo! stones that were not rated for the speed and when i fired one up on our electric die grinder it desintegrated, luckily no one got hurt but when it rained 2 weeks later we found it put a nice hole straight through our tin roof that was 20ft high good luck with your selection greg b

I agree, if you buy abrasive bits from Harbor Freight or eBay, they are poor to unknown quality. The same stones from MSC or McMaster Carr would most likely last much longer!

Bare in mind however, that abrasives are supposed to breakdown along with the material you are grinding, and sometimes it would be better to use a solid carbide rotary burr bit! They do not break down, and can remove massive amounts of material!

Have fun!
Widgit

Thanks guys...

I agree with the need to get quality stones... the ones that came with the grinder were obviously made with Elmers Glue... the White and Pink lasted mere seconds and the Gray lasted several minutes... and I was down to the shank...

I will look into the Carbide Burr's...

(Widgit, I am still looking for an "excuse" to buy something you make....:) )

Dave

Dave, I'll go with Widgit. Good quality steel and carbide burrs will serve you well. I used to get ours from ENCO in Plymouth, WI. They will re-grind them also, saves a few bucks. Since I lived in the area had quick turn around as well. (They're located next to Road America race track.) We used them to make and sharpen rotary dies. Grinding was imposible for the same reason as yours, they don't last.