Keystone State Thread

Yea we had a pretty decent snow storm come through last year (Dec 16th I think) during the day while I was sleeping (worked 3rd shift then). Would have been the first time my old 2009 Tacoma woulda seen decent snow (with me) so I was absolutely thrilled to try it out! Truck did amazing. Snowed a little bit more during the night. Made it home no issues...



Couple days later I bought my 2021

The proceeding months it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. Got tired of it after that. My new truck was in a constant state of nasty...

 

The really fun times are when your driving along on just wet roads after a minor storm dumped 6' or so over night.

Then come to the point the contractor never showed up now your on virgin snow covered roads .

One that comes to mind was years ago late seventies east bound on I 80 coming down off Snow Shoe interesting to say the least

 

Alright... opinion please. Who knows tools well, as to quality/function/reliability?

I'm looking for an angle die grinder, pneumatic that is.

I've got about $60 in gift card from Harbor Freight because of that dang jack stand recall and they never got more in in the past year that I've been waiting/watching. So, I just got the Tractor Supply Big Red 6 ton stands.

With that money burning a hole in my wallet, do I spend it on whatever the best quality angled die grinder Harbor Freight can supply? Or will it just be a sucky version of something I should pay real cash for in another brand (Snap On, Matco, whatever a "real mechanic" might want to choose)?

I started my rusty floor project to fabricate a new reinforced portion of the floor and create a new hole to mount the body mount to. That hole is gonna need a lot of grinding to shape something nice to weld in new metal. I salivated over a friend's Snap On angle die grinder a couple years ago when he helped me get started on my rocker panel project.

Thoughts? Spend it on Harbor Freight, or save that money and spend it on a different brand?

 

Ok, first question, how big is you air compressor? I have this set of Snap-on/Blue points air tools and they are a friggin' air hog!


(yea they look a little beat, but I got all 3 for $100. They work perfect)

My 21 Gallon Harbor Freight will power them, but the grinder will make it cycle ALOT. If you have anything smaller stop right there and go buy a bigger air compressor. Sorry if that came off rude, just giving you a heads up. That aside, I'd go with their upper line which appears to be "Chief". Runs $55 and looks like a solid unit. I've had no problems with HF's upper line of air tools. I have their Earthquake XT 1/2" stubby impact and it definitely packs a punch. It took the axle nut off my 2nd gen no problem. Stubborn lug nuts still require my Snap-On, but that's few and far between. I need to get an air cutter to do the rocker project on my Talon, and I'm gonna go to HF for that.

 

Its a Kobalt 60gall. 2 stage oiled air compressor. Not the best in the world, I'd like a better compressor. But that's what I'm running on.

 

That should run whatever you get then. I'd love to have something like that, but there's no room left in this garage for one really. That and I'm not running a new electrical service out here for a place that isn't really mine.

 

It comes down to how often your going to use it.It comes down to if the darn thing quits does it cost you lots of money or just the frustration to run get another one.

Why do you want to go angle die grinder the only thing I use the angle one for is to use the Roloc pads

I use the straight one much more often with carbide burrs .

I have had both good ones and cheaper Harbor freight ones The better ones can be real Air Hogs 17 to 22 cfm at 90 psi but can go all day long

 

You got it, roloc stuff. That's my main reason. I've been working on my cars long enough that when I had that angled die grinder in my hand and some good abrasive discs on it, I was literally amazed at how much more convenient it was compared to my other tools of similar purpose. The nooks and crannies I'm dealing with for this body job are a good fit for that type of setup.

 

I sealed the deal as far as it raining; quickly took the truck through the car wash. Does the trick every time

 

The grass will grow back go ahead donuts will make you feel better.

 

damn, got a good storm rolling through

 

Here, too. Just enough to put my landscaper off from fixing last year’s screw up on Wednesday morning.

 

I live on the top of a mountain, getting to work was downhill so not usually a problem -- an XJ Cherokee with studded snow tires is good for about 18" of new snow just keep your boot in it until you get to a less deep place.

Getting home offered a challenge, you can climb long and gradual or short and savage -- either way you are going to climb to get here.
Then there are the spots with open fields on both sides of the road - boot down and aim for the lowest drift.

 

Ingersoll Rand #301B right angle
Ingersoll Rand #307B straight
Probably around $70

I had dozens of these at my old job, the workers (almost) couldn't break them. Remember most workers can break a good anvil with a plastic hammer...

Be cautioned, no matter what brand you purchase these tools are serious air users, you need a pretty stout compressor to run one continuously.

https://www.ingersollrand.com/en-us/power-tools/grinders/301b-307b

EDIT: We tried cheap ones, they were always falling apart.

 

2 stage or 2 cylinder?

If it makes about 130 - 140 psi maximum it is a single stage
If it makes 175 psi maximum it is a 2 stage

 

Beautiful day here, about 72 degrees. I considered doing something productive.....and decided to convert gasoline into entertainment instead. Took the old wagon around the block -- 132 miles worth.

Came home and my gas card bill was in the postbox. -- Might be a good thing winter is coming.

 

Thanks for all the advice. Was at Harbor freight tonight. If they had the Chief 1/2 HP (18K RPM, 4cfm) one... then I'd have left with one tonight. So I came home empty handed and changed my mind to end up ordering on Amazon, the Aircat 6265 (1 HP, 22K RPM, 4.2cfm). Hopefully it works out. I dig your advice on the IR301B, Rusty, but the 6cfm would be a limiting factor so much more than the 4.2cfm for my compressor. Less cfm, and better power, we'll see?

 

Let us know what you think of it. I have seen some of the Air Cat tools around but never used any yet.

 

I'll second the IR stuff. I've got a 5102 max and a 301B, I use them both regularly. the 5102 has more "umph" but for light duty the 301B is very nimble and gets into tight places. I use them with wire brush, carbide burr bits, roloc disc attachments quite often. I only just purchased my first HF air tool, Chief brand needle scaler, got it at 30% off the other weekend. I have yet to use it but I figured I'd give it a whirl with the discount, for how often I would need it I doubt I'll wear it out.

The better ones def use more air, if he's got that 2 stage it shouldn't be an issue. I run an 80 gallon two stage in my garage, I think it's rated for 17 CFM at 90 psi so it takes care of most anything I can throw at it.

The IRs are definitely hearty and can take some abuse. I've stepped on mine and dropped them more times than I can remember