[TheForge] Re: [TheForge]ZZZZs wheels

[RIES NIEMI]

In our shop we call them cut discs, but ZZZZs wheel is a better name.
I had one guy working for me who was the king of the cut disc. He wanted to
use it for anything and everything.
I have used them to make cutouts for electrical outlets in 14 ga SS- I used
it as a backsplash for all my counters in my kitchen. We were just
installing stainless fencing in Pasadena, and the cut disc/ZZZZs wheel is
indispensible for notching and shortening pieces of stainless bar and round
when only a little needs to come off. If I needed to cut of an inch or two,
I could use the portaband, but to take off an eighth, there is nothing like
ZZZZ.
Lots of times when the piece is too big and heavy to take to the saw, its
zzzz time.

I too have something like six grinders in the shop- Bosch in my case, all
blue. We usually have one with a wire brush, two or three with flap, or mop
discs, one with a cut disc, one with a regular grinding wheel, and one with
a "fuzzy pad"- basically a round piece of scotchbrite pad. Especially for
stainless, those fuzzy pads are just the thing when you want to take a
little bit off, and shine it up.
Interestingly enough, the grinder with a grinding wheel is the one used the
least. Even when using fabricating techniques, I try to design things with
an absolute minimum of grinding- the principle of constant volume forging
applied to fabricating, if you will.

Ries