Cupgrinders

4seasons · #1 (**permalink**) 01-31-2008, 08:39 PM

Those of you that do alot of walls, natural or otherwise do you have one? Are they worth it?
What kind of grinder is yours on?
i have a dewalt grinder will this work?
How long does the grinder usually last w/ all this dust?
When do you use them?

Just what to build the most level walls out there so fire away folks!

scl · #2 (**permalink**) 01-31-2008, 09:48 PM

I use one from time to time, just to dress some caps, or if i have a stubborn block or two. Use it on a cheap Menards 4" grinder, as I figured th dust would chew up a good grinder and I'd rather kill a $15 tool than a $100 tool. Sometimes I'll even throw a cheap $10 diamond blade on it for quick hits.

Stonehenge · #3 (**permalink**) 01-31-2008, 10:16 PM

Yup to that. I wrecked a nice Makita once, then switched to the cheapest grinder I could find. I throw on there whatever I need to do what I need to do. Diamond cup for getting retaining wall block to fit right, or a standard metal wheel for equipment work.

natural12 · #4 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 08:49 AM

I use a Dewalt 4" grinder. One recently crapped out on me but it was over a year old and had some heavy use. For the most part they have lasted a long time, however, I did go thru 3 of them within a month. Must of been a bad batch or something. It also something like 100 degrees when we were using them so maybe that had something to do with them. HD made good on replacing them.

Not sure what type of walls you are talking about but we use the heck out of them for flagstone patio work. For Veneer walls we mainly chip with hammers. Stones are too thick anyway for the blade. For stacked stone may use the grinder a bit to cut off some bad angles or something. Tough to chip off a small portion on a fieldstone without breaking the in half.

I just use a diamond blade.

Mike

Fine Edge · #5 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 09:25 AM

We have a cup grinder but hardly use it since our 7" and 4" almost always have a diamond blade on them. I have found that between the 2 of those tools, we can get as detailed as we need to for stonework, etc....
The Dewalt 4" has held up well over the last 3 years but I know one company that uses them quite a bit and doesn't hesitate to buy the extended warranty on them. He says he never has a problem getting a new one when his crap out.

4seasons · #6 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 11:17 AM

So alot of you just get a miniature diamond blade for the grinder? I just usually wipe back and forth with my stihl and diamond, seems to wear it out faster though.( on block that is taller on one side than the other)

sandim · #7 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 12:01 PM

Pardon the learning curve, what do you all use the grinders for? When we do stone work, thin-stone or flagstone, we use a circular saw with a diamond blade, score it and snap it. If it's thin-stone and just needs a little "tweaking" we'll chip at it with a hammer.

Fine Edge · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 10:39 AM

The smaller grinders offer more flexibility and they're easier to use than a circular saw.
We use them to score the stones, shave off just a bit here & there, & reshape any curves.
Once you use a smaller grinder, you'll realize what you've been missing.

sandim · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 10:42 AM

Hmmm. And this works well for thick flagstone or bluestone as well?
Tsk Tsk Tsk, looks like I have to look into more tools. Drat! ; )
Thanks for the info! As always, much appreciated.

tom · #10 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 01:51 PM

We often work with large stone slabs for steps and a diamond cup is your best friend for fine tuning. We also use several 4.5" and 7" grinders w/ diamond blades for cutting flagstone. Circular saws work fine if you're making straight cuts, but for curves, the grinders stand alone. You'll want to have a few onsite, for they can become very hot, especially in hot weather, and you have to let them sit. So, we just alternate between a few of them.

sandim · #11 (**permalink**) 02-04-2008, 11:32 AM

Hmm. Very interesting. Excellent advice. I will definitely look into one. Our skill saw was just an inexpensive purchase (bought that way on advice) which has lasted amazingly long considering how hard it works. What is anyone's recommendation for a cup grinder? Mediocre, Good, or Excellent?

bladerunner · #12 (**permalink**) 02-04-2008, 01:49 PM

Here's a good tip that I got from one of my customers; cover the grinder with an old nylon stocking. It'll filter alot of the dust, that's what gets into (and destroys) the bushings. As for blades and cups not lasting it's important to match the right tool to the material being worked on. It may seem like a pain in the rear but you will definitly see the increase in life overall.

sandim · #13 (**permalink**) 02-04-2008, 07:01 PM

Bladerunner..
Wow, great tip! Thanks so much for sharing. To increase the life of something it doesn't seem like much of a pain to me! So, no particular brand to recommend?

uniscaper · #14 (**permalink**) 02-05-2008, 10:20 AM

Okay I'm with sandim on the learning curve thing. We have a 4" Dewalt with a diamond blade and it works great. But, what is a cup grinder. I'm lost. Any websites I can checkout?

Nathaniel Carr · #15 (**permalink**) 02-26-2008, 09:42 PM

A cup grinder is like a polishing pad for granite. It flattens the stone and makes the surface planar, so the next rock sits on it flat. It saves your circular blades for plunge cuts, where you are diving straight into the stone, leaving even wear on all sides of the blade. A cup grinder used flat will take down all of the high spots.
If you are the @nal retentive type you can over do it with a cup grinder matching surfaces until they sit together and touch at ninety points. Not productive, but boy it looks nice.