glivo
27th May 2019, 08:47 AM
In relation to angle grinders, what is a "Flex" wheel? Is it the same as a "cut-off" wheel?
Yesterday I purchased a Makita 7060 Angle Grinder (7" / 180 mm) and some cut-off disks for a job that it too big for my 5" models. It came with 2 sets / 4 pieces of mounting flange, back up pad and lock nut which the instruction booklet show to be used for 2 different wheel types. 1) Depressed center or flap disk and 2) "flex" wheels. "Flex" appears to be a descriptive term for a type of wheel, but I can't find a description of what this actually is.
The disks I purchased are all 1.6 mm cut-off wheels, however some are depressed center wheels and the others just flat disk wheels. When I asked the salesman which wheels were best suited to the machine he said I could used either. :? maybe, or just doesn't really know. Benefit of the doubt, this may be the case, but I'm not really sure since there is no actual information regarding this in the user manual. They both physically can be used but should they be?
???? Are the flat disk wheels considered to be "flex" and thus requiring the use of the larger diameter flange and backup pad for safe mounting? (Or are they something different altogether? See below.)
The depressed center cut-off wheels obviously can't be used with the additional diameter support flanges, but should the flat ones have the extra support if it's possible to do so?
The word "flex" appears to be associated with brands and variety rather than a type of wheel in a Google search, or as in Europe, the whole tool is called a flex in reference to company that invented it. Google images show that many wheels that contain the word flex in the naming are actually depressed center wheels and some of these are grinding wheels up to 6 mm thick. Now it's me who's :?. I can't see that using the larger diameter flange where possible is a bad thing, other than slightly reducing the depth of possible cut. When it comes to safety though, particularly with larger angle grinders, this is an important consideration.
From Above: Perhaps this is all irrelevant or incorrect, since on page 11 of the user manual there is instruction on using abrasive cut-off / diamond wheels and the requirement to use the fully enclosed wheel guard (optional accessory). Apparently in some European countries the use of the diamond wheels with the standard guard is allowed but I'm not sure about abrasive cut-off wheels. The instruction manual says to follow the regulations for your country. ????? What are they for Australia does anybody know?
I guess I'll look into the availability of the fully enclosed guard anyway.
EDIT: I should have read the whole booklet. Apparently the large diameter flanges are provided in Aus / NZ only, which sort of suggests they are required here. So this then begs the question, what is the back up pad needed for "flex" wheels and I still want to know what a "flex" wheel is.
Yesterday I purchased a Makita 7060 Angle Grinder (7" / 180 mm) and some cut-off disks for a job that it too big for my 5" models. It came with 2 sets / 4 pieces of mounting flange, back up pad and lock nut which the instruction booklet show to be used for 2 different wheel types. 1) Depressed center or flap disk and 2) "flex" wheels. "Flex" appears to be a descriptive term for a type of wheel, but I can't find a description of what this actually is.
The disks I purchased are all 1.6 mm cut-off wheels, however some are depressed center wheels and the others just flat disk wheels. When I asked the salesman which wheels were best suited to the machine he said I could used either. :? maybe, or just doesn't really know. Benefit of the doubt, this may be the case, but I'm not really sure since there is no actual information regarding this in the user manual. They both physically can be used but should they be?
???? Are the flat disk wheels considered to be "flex" and thus requiring the use of the larger diameter flange and backup pad for safe mounting? (Or are they something different altogether? See below.)
The depressed center cut-off wheels obviously can't be used with the additional diameter support flanges, but should the flat ones have the extra support if it's possible to do so?
The word "flex" appears to be associated with brands and variety rather than a type of wheel in a Google search, or as in Europe, the whole tool is called a flex in reference to company that invented it. Google images show that many wheels that contain the word flex in the naming are actually depressed center wheels and some of these are grinding wheels up to 6 mm thick. Now it's me who's :?. I can't see that using the larger diameter flange where possible is a bad thing, other than slightly reducing the depth of possible cut. When it comes to safety though, particularly with larger angle grinders, this is an important consideration.
From Above: Perhaps this is all irrelevant or incorrect, since on page 11 of the user manual there is instruction on using abrasive cut-off / diamond wheels and the requirement to use the fully enclosed wheel guard (optional accessory). Apparently in some European countries the use of the diamond wheels with the standard guard is allowed but I'm not sure about abrasive cut-off wheels. The instruction manual says to follow the regulations for your country. ????? What are they for Australia does anybody know?
I guess I'll look into the availability of the fully enclosed guard anyway.
EDIT: I should have read the whole booklet. Apparently the large diameter flanges are provided in Aus / NZ only, which sort of suggests they are required here. So this then begs the question, what is the back up pad needed for "flex" wheels and I still want to know what a "flex" wheel is.