Battery powered angle grinder to cut 3/4" logging cable

[Sodo]

A thread was posted regarding ways to cut logging cable. Here is a test using a 10 year old DeWalt 18volt angle grinder. It stands to reason that the technology has improved in 10 years but I have never used anything but my old DeWalts. My batteries are 4 years old and past their prime. My batteries were 2.4Ah when new, and the new batteries have more capacity. A 4.8Ah battery would (in general) run twice as long as a 2.4Ah.

There is a tangle of rigging buried underground here. I mow this field twice a year and in between, I forget that I planned to cut that cable out of the ground. The 27HP tractor that I have can't pull it out. Today is the day to cut it out.

It took 57 seconds to cut 3/4" logging cable, and it used 1/16" of a 4 1/2" harbor freight abrasive cutoff disc. I don't know how many cables I could cut with one battery, I suppose between 10 and 20. And if you made no mistakes, the 4 1/2" abrasive disc might be down to 3 3/4" or so after 10 cables.

As the cable cuts, you can sometimes choose the best way such that it springs open and doesn't grab the disc. The strands can be under a lot of tension. If it's not cooperating you have to go at it from a different angle.

 

[varmint]

I have been told, and read, that mildly enterprising thieves are using just that to quickly cut thru hardened locks- the kind that used to be considered secure. Sounds like nothing is safe unless it is constantly under watch.

 

[Sodo]

Dang you're right about that, but the mildly enterprising are already watching YouTube how to pick the lock, probably on YOUR wifi. Lucky most thieves are dumb.

 

[RickB]

When I was turning wrenches fulltime I accumulated a bunch of 18v Dewalt stuff. Bought the angle grinder as an afterthought. With abrasive & cutoff wheels and the irreplaceable flap wheels, I used it as much as the rest of the bunch combined. Yours looks identical.

 

[Coyote machine]

I use combo locks, because I can change the combos if needed, and a 'bump key' isn't an issue. Angle grinders, not so much.
What would a diamond blade do with the cable? I would thing it would cut it too, yes?

 

[k0ua]

I don't think there is a padlock with an exposed shackle of any kind safe on this earth from a battery powered angle grinder with a harbor freight cutoff wheel in it.

 

[k0ua]

I use combo locks, because I can change the combos if needed, and a 'bump key' isn't an issue. Angle grinders, not so much.
What would a diamond blade do with the cable? I would thing it would cut it too, yes?

I could be wrong, but aren't diamond blades for your angle grinder made to cut masonry not steel?

 

[Coyote machine]

Probably diamond wheels are mostly for stone; but I'm just curious if they will cut metal like a shackle too.

 

[CurlyDave]

Probably diamond wheels are mostly for stone; but I'm just curious if they will cut metal like a shackle too.

Diamond wheels will cut metal, but will not last very long cutting iron or steel.

The problem is that diamond is carbon crystal and carbon dissolves in hot iron or steel. This is how carbon steel is made, although a less expensive source of carbon is usually used. Essentially the iron chemically attacks your expensive diamond wheel...

 

[varmint]

Curly Dave explained just what I once watched... a rushed contractor using a diamond blade to cut thru steel. It was noisy, and destroyed the blade pretty thoroughly, but got the job done. He could have changed to a cut-off wheel and done it in less time.