Any good, safer replacement for a wire wheel on a bench grinder?

[bcp]

I use mine mostly for cleaning bolt threads and rust removal. I do have the shield on the grinder and I use eye protection, but I am getting tired of flung wires.

I've seen abrasive rubber bristles

abrasive bristle disc - Google Search

and gritty mesh wheels.



These would work for the rust, but will any clean rust and dirt from bolt threads without removing the crest of the thread?

Bruce

 

[aarolar]

I use mine mostly for cleaning bolt threads and rust removal. I do have the shield on the grinder and I use eye protection, but I am getting tired of flung wires.

I've seen abrasive rubber bristles

abrasive bristle disc - Google Search

and gritty mesh wheels.

View attachment 492824

These would work for the rust, but will any clean rust and dirt from bolt threads without removing the crest of the thread?

Bruce

No but a triangle file will clean threads real well a lot safer than a wire wheel on a grinder. Worst case a hand brush I don't like using power brushes and I work with steel for a living.

 

[Gary Fowler]

There are different types of brushes that don't sling the bristles out as bad but none that I ever came across that were bristle throwing free. Perhaps you would be better off with a rust dissolving liquid soaking solution containing phosphoric acid.

 

[RNeumann]

I've never found a better product to the wire wheel. However, I replace them regularly and only use a quality product. Check with Lawson or your local welding supply- skip the hardware store or big box stores. As you stated one flying wire is all it takes to make a bad day.
The angle grinder wire wheels seem to be a bit safer as they send product away from your body instead of toward your body and down.

 

[thepumpguysc]

RN is correct, there is a BIG diff in the quality and grades of wire wheels.. I worked in manufacturing for many years..
We used to get our wheels from CAT until they quit.. we get them from Kimball Midwest now, still not as good as previous vendor but it will stand up to daily use.

 

[Gary Fowler]

There are different types of brushes that don't sling the bristles out as bad but none that I ever came across that were bristle throwing free. Perhaps you would be better off with a rust dissolving liquid soaking solution containing phosphoric acid.

I couldn't remember the name of the commercial grade rust remover we used to remove carbon steel contamination from stainless steel till I Googled it. The best and fastest thing we ever found was a product called WEEDAC. I know it sounds like a herbicide, but it is a strong phosphoric acid.

 

[newbury]

Is this a case of "they don't make them like they used to"?

I've one bench grinder my Grandfather built from a salvaged 1920?s era refrigerator motor (so I was told). I probably only use it for brushing 5 to 10 times a year, but it's been in my possession since 1978 and I don't think it's thrown hardly any bristles.

On the other hand I frequently use HF wire wheels with my drills and they last a very short time.

 

[k0ua]

This is not a fix for the wire wheel thrown bristles, BUT I often wear my leather welding apron to help keep them out of my beer gut. Otherwise they get stuck in my fat belly, and I gotta pick them out. Of course I wear eye protection, but the leather is a big help.

 

[JRobyn]

I either use an angle grinder with a brush designed for its high RPM, or a lesser, "regular" brush chucked in an arbor in the drill press on its slowest speed. The angle grinder throws a few, but as noted, usually away from sensitive areas. The drill press also sometimes throws a few, but at a low enough velocity to not be too dangerous. I always use a full-face shield.

 

[oosik]

I only have one good eye. So when there is talk of using wire wheels - I'm ULTRA careful. Safety glasses and full face shield. I've moved my wire wheel from the bench grinder to my drill press. A lot lower speeds and the speed is variable. I just hate picking wire bristles out of my flannel shirts(I use a big horseshoe magnet). At least, with the drill press anything that is thrown is with a lot less force.

 

[sdef]

I use my HD stand model the same as you do, with a knotted wire wheel on one side and the standard wire wheel on the other side. I do get a few thrown wires from the standard type wheel, which one can't get totally away from, but not many. And none from the knotted. I think I got my wheels from Eastwood some years ago.

 

[JCByrd24]

I bought an 8" Dewalt wheel and it has not thrown any wires that I've noticed on my bench grinder. It's balance was horrible and vibrated badly so I made a offset washer that bolts next to it in the arbor and can be rotated to balance. It now runs very smooth and I've been super happy with the quality otherwise.

 

[GLyford]

If you ever see the wire brushes with the brass coated steel bristles, those are actually made with wire that was rejected for use in tires, as a way to use up that wire making "something". They were never designed for any actual purpose other than to sell cheap.

Best advice I ever got was to buy name brand brushes with thicker wire. I like really stiff brushes, so was told to try a "knotted" (twisted) brush. That was 10 years ago, and I am still on the same one. It's replacement has been sitting on the shelf behind it the whole time, I bought 2. I was also told that they clean better if you flip them over now and then. It is too stiff for cleaning threads, though, so I usually use a hand brush for that.

 

[JRobyn]

I keep an embarrassingly large collection of rotary (and hand) wire brushes around for various uses; regular, soft, stiff, knotted, straight, cup, and in maybe a dozen different sizes. They are so useful for so many things, especially when refurbishing old stuff; rust and paint removal and thread cleaning are tops, but a soft one at high rpm is very good for polishing. I recently did a slightly pitted rifle barrel and it almost exactly duplicated the original factory finish/polish and even left a little bluing. The tiny Dremel ones are terrific for cleaning and smoothing internal gun parts.

The better quality ones are definitely worth the extra $, but for light use, even Harbor Freight ones are ok. I was recently surprised to find that their collection of Dremel brushes were actually capable of more than one or two uses if kept to a lower rpm.

5 Piece Stainless Steel Wheel and Brush Set

They have them in both stainless and brass.

 

[m35techa2]

3M makes some good non metallic abrasive wheels that are alot safer and clean rusty steel, some we use for removing paint, rust.

 

[Mace Canute]

I've used both the cheaper wire wheels and the higher quality ones and hands down the higher quality ones won out over the cheaper ones in every way. No where near the amount of wires thrown and they lasted multiple times longer than the cheap ones and in the long run they ended up being much cheaper to use.

Regardless of what wire wheel you chose please use eye protection. It takes just that one errant wire to ruin your day...and maybe longer.

 

[sparc]

At a place I worked in the past we had the need to clean hundreds of large diameter bolts.
I located a tool which you chuck in a large, low speed drill which looks like a hole saw but
has stiff wire bristles mounted on the inside which contact and clean the threads. Don't
remember the name off hand but I'll look it up Monday at work and add the info here for
anyone looking in the future. They make a brush for cleaning nut threads too.
Not cheap but very safe to use and they last for a few hundred bolts. We were cleaning
1-1/4" x 7-1/2" SS and Monel studs.

For small diameter nuts try using a copper fitting cleaning brush. Cut the handle off and
use it in your cordless drill at low RPM. A 1/2" copper brush would work for 5/8" nuts and
maybe for 1/2" but would be a tight fit.

Here it is, found it faster than I thought I could.

shipman-ind.com

 

[Fallon]

Bead blast cabinet with beads, fine walnut shells, fine corn cob or plastic blast media.

I love my blast cabinet, so much faster than a wire wheel & gets most of the crevices too. Running beads in there now which leave a bit of a satin finish. Great finish for painting on, not that it's relevant generally for nuts & bolts.

 

[GManBart]

Skip the wheel and soak those small parts in Evapo-Rust....parts come out with zero rust. It's not caustic so you can get it on your hands, it doesn't smell terrible, and it's biodegradable, so you can have some go down the drain without causing any problems. The nice thing is you can reuse it...I just filter it with a rag/show towel when I put it back in the jug.

 

[k0ua]

Skip the wheel and soak those small parts in Evapo-Rust....parts come out with zero rust. It's not caustic so you can get it on your hands, it doesn't smell terrible, and it's biodegradable, so you can have some go down the drain without causing any problems. The nice thing is you can reuse it...I just filter it with a rag/show towel when I put it back in the jug.

Here you go,

Amazon.com: Evapo-Rust ER12 The Original Super Safe Rust Remover - 1 Gallon: Automotive