4" angle grinder chuck keys

[Soundguy]

those lil flat 'wrenches', usually with 2 posts on them that engage holes in the lil hold down disc for holding abrasive blades into 4" angle grinders.. am I the only person that looses or bends / breaks those things?

if I don't loose them.. they break. I even made one out of flat stock and some heavy nails.. drilled and welde dthem in.. etc.. they still bend the lil posts.

I have an assortment of angle grinders.. some dating back to about 92.. some chinese.. some generic store brand that may or may not have been chinese back then.. may have been other import countries.. etc.. and at least 1 'good' makita.. which.. heck.. probably comes from china too..
i keep my good grinder for correct tasks.. the others are on a variety of jobs. usually hav eone set as a cutoff tool, one on a wire wheel.. and one on hard duty grinder.. If I see a harbor freight 9$ sale on them i grab one and put it on the shelf. some times on a tractor refurb i'll burn a 9$ one up by the time it's done. I have a buckt of parted grindres.. every couple years i scavange thru and make 3 out of 5.. etc.

anyway.. back to the chuck wrench. so.. either bent or broke. anymore I don't even look for one anymore.. I go right to the chissle drawer and grab a suitable small cold chissle and with a few taps of a ballpeen the chuck is loose.
.. heck.. half of them don't even have the lil joke of a plastic lock button to lock the blade.. thus the chissle is about the only way to get a blade off anyway..

am I the only one having to do that?

 

[brain55]

I don't ever use those silly wrenches. Most of the time I just hold the lock button and grab the disc to loosen the nut. If there isn't enough disc I grab my medium Channel lock pliers, push the lock button and loosen the nut. I never tighten the nut more than hand tight, I've never found reason to. I've seen guys think they need to tighten the nut one grunt before strip, and then wonder why they can't get the nut off when it is time to change discs.

Brian

 

[tcartwri]

Ya, you don't really have to use the wrench.

 

[jkis]

yer same here only hand tight, and hand undo
cheers stuart

 

[k0ua]

yer same here only hand tight, and hand undo
cheers stuart

I use the little wrenches, on mine, and never lost one (well for very long) and never bent or tore one up, but as said, I don't tighten the pi** out of them either. My little Ryobi has a convenient storage in the handle for the wrench, and that works well. My others just have loose wrenches, but I always try to throw the wrench's back in their little compartment in my weld cart so I know where they are.

James K0UA

 

[Agent Blue]

I have gone through several grinders and never had second thoughts about using a tool to tighten or loosen he cutting wheel. It tightens as it grinds so why would one exert more pressure than needed ? I buy one quality grinder at a time and change the discs to go with the specific usage. It's fast, quick, and I have less tools laying around to clean up. Buying throw aways is a waste of money.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I agree that turning the wheel itself will usually work. On my 9" one time the nut got too tight and the wrench pins were bending so I tried turning the wheel and that did the trick. If the lock button is missing it's a good idea to open the case and find the retaining ring before it gets in the gears.

I also have an adjustable wrench from HF in case I can't find a match. Adjustable Pin Wrench

 

[k0ua]

I agree that turning the wheel itself will usually work. On my 9" one time the nut got too tight and the wrench pins were bending so I tried turning the wheel and that did the trick. If the lock button is missing it's a good idea to open the case and find the retaining ring before it gets in the gears.

I also have an adjustable wrench from HF in case I can't find a match. Adjustable Pin Wrench

HA. adjustable Pin wrench.. never knew such a thing even existed.. Learn something new every day!

James K0UA

 

[Zebrafive]

I have a Metabo brand. Shut it OFF and as it is coasting to a stop hit the lock button. Momentum of the disc loosens it. Not abuse, this is how it's designed to work.

 

[jkis]

I have a Metabo brand. Shut it OFF and as it is coasting to a stop hit the lock button. Momentum of the disc loosens it. Not abuse, this is how it's designed to work.

thats how it looked to me on the box, just couldn't bring myself to hit the button.
cheers stuart

 

[CompactTractorFan]

I got my first angle grinder recently. It's one of the red HF models. I found that I have to use the pin wrench and get the wheel really tight or else it will wobble around. Maybe I'm doing something wrong??? I haven't had any problems with the wrench yet...

I like the idea of an adjustable one...I will have to pick one up.

 

[pat32rf]

Normally there is a shoulder that holds the disk from wobbling. Hand tight should be enough if everything is correct. It will tighten as you run it.
I have a fat centerpunch that I use when the disks get too tight to hand loosen....

 

[Soundguy]

i run my discs to anub.. even putitng htem on hand tight usually has them tight enough to use a tool to take off. I recall tossing those tools in my wrench drawer.. but never can find them..

 

[EE_Bota]

CompactTractorFan, your wobble worries me.
Look at the surface under the grinding disk...some you can flip to use different devices. Mine, I have it flipped one way to use a standard grinding wheel, but I have to flip it the other way to use a cutoff wheel. I never tighten mine with the wrench, only hand tight, and I have had no problems, but I think that is probably a bad idea. It may do like my die grinder does...when I let off, the thing can use the inertia to unscrew the chuck.

But I don't have Soundguys's issues...mine never bends the fingers on the wrench. I wonder of Soundguy is just a heavier user, or perhaps he is sometimes accidentally touching the screw-on lock to the work, thereby tightening it more. Again, I am a very light user, but some of you guys move a great deal of work, so don't go by me.

 

[Soundguy]

i'm a heavy user.. I do lots of metal prep work on tractors and for fabbing. my grinders see lots of abuse.. so the collet may be touching work too sometimes..

 

[LD1]

I don't ever use those silly wrenches. Most of the time I just hold the lock button and grab the disc to loosen the nut. If there isn't enough disc I grab my medium Channel lock pliers, push the lock button and loosen the nut. I never tighten the nut more than hand tight, I've never found reason to. I've seen guys think they need to tighten the nut one grunt before strip, and then wonder why they can't get the nut off when it is time to change discs.

Brian

Thats how I do it:thumbsup:

 

[Iplayfarmer]

i'm a heavy user.. I do lots of metal prep work on tractors and for fabbing. my grinders see lots of abuse.. so the collet may be touching work too sometimes..

I use the little wrench to tighten and loosen the collet. I don't crank hard to tighten, but there are still times when the disc works itself so tight that I bend the pin wrench when trying to loosen it. I even disassembled a grinder once and put the spindle in the vice in order to get the collet loose. I'm like you, Soundguy. I go through grinders. I've made a habit to keep the pin wrenches even after I've thrown the grinder away. I have one small toolbox in the bottom of my welding cart that has all my grinding discs, hacksaw blades, and other cutting tool accessories. I keep my pin wrenches in there. With a few spares there's always at least one in the toolbox even if I've misplaced a few during a project. I just put them all back in the toolbox when I find them as I'm cleaning up at the end of a project.

 

[Soundguy]

i thought I was doing that.. yet every time I need one.. .. none..

 

[doohicky]

The best wrench that I have used lost and found over and over was the factory Dewalt. Never bent or broke and that has been for about 10 years, couple years back I got one of those cheapo HF adjustable ones and it bent first time and so it got "recycled". When I can't remember where I put the Dewalt wrench I get my truste ol set of curved jaw visegrips.

 

[Domush]

never had second thoughts about using a tool to tighten or loosen he cutting wheel. It tightens as it grinds so why would one exert more pressure than needed ?

Entirely agree. There is no need, as it tightens as you grind. I've done metal sculpture which goes through tons of discs and never used a tool. Not once has a disc come off or even come loose. Save yourself a headache and throw away that wrench, or at least stop using it to tighten, only use it to loosen when you are feeling weak.

I use the cheapo HF grinders at home, but in the metal shop we use dewalt almost exclusively, as they stand up to the metal grinding abuse the best. Plus the trigger on the dewalt makes life a lot easier and, more importantly, safer.

As for the screw-on handle.. some use it, some don't. I'm a stickler for using the handle. One good jerk and I'd have a flying grinder. When in the metal shop, it's a constant routine.. I'll screw on a handle to grind something, someone will grab it, remove the handle for a grind, I'll grab it back.. etc.