Burr for Shaping Heavier Steel

I need to do some grinding and shaping on some .120 wall steel in areas too small to get my angle grinder. I have an air powered die grinder, but I'm not having a lot of luck sourcing burrs that aren't either for aluminum or porting and polishing. I need something that can really rip through some metal.

Does anyone have an online source?

I bought some carbide-tipped ones at Menards awhile back if that helps at all... I don't know that they were intended for the 4130 chromoly I was coping, which was also .120", but they held up fine as long as I didn't push them too hard.

In reply to gearheadE30:

That is a help. I had given up on finding things locally, as Lowes and Harbor Freight seemed to be a bust.

Anyone know if Tractor Supply would carry something that would work?

What you need is carbide! Double cut tooth profile works best on steel but may clog if used on aluminum.

I bought this one after finding nothing local:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001F71X7Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hardly use it, I can ship it to you if you want it, but they're pretty cheap. I think I used it to grind away a corner on the bodywork for the GMC.

Awesome! Thanks for the leads. And thanks, tuna! They are cheap enough I can pony up for my own, but I'm going to try to see if I can find some locally.

Gimpy, if you go up to Carlisile there are usually vendors that have those for pretty good prices.

Good call. I may need them faster, and I just learned there is a Fastenal right around the corner from my house. Going to try there on my way home today.

Carbide burrs

Gimp wrote: ...I had given up on finding things locally, as Lowes and Harbor Freight seemed to be a bust...

HF does have at least one quality burr, but it's only available online (unless you are near a distribution center).

Hit your local hardware store. Mine carries solid carbide burrs. They are expensive but should do what you want. They will probably be locked up with the router bits.

McMaster has a ton of choices. I just ordered one yesterday.

http://store.harryepstein.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=1930&Category_Code=CarbideBurrs

Possibly fastenal if theres one locally.

2002maniac wrote: What you need is carbide! Double cut tooth profile works best on steel but may clog if used on aluminum.

I believe youve got it backwards, double flute is for non-ferrous like aluminum and single flute for ferrous metals such as steel.

In reply to chiodos:

Nope, double cut is for steel. Like this:

Single cut is for softer materials that will load up the bur. Like this:

If you have an Airgas store (Welding Supplies and Gases) near you they usually have a pretty good variety on the shelf or you can go to: http://www.airgas.com/category/_/N-87r and you can refine your search by burr shape, material to cut, etc. There prices are most likely higher then Harbor Freight but I have no experience with HF to compare quality, etc.

Mind blown, I tried aluminum with a single flute (that I had been grinding on cast iron) and it just galled up. But was told double fluted was for aluminum. A quick google search before I posted initially confirmed my thoughts so thats why I posted it. Im still looking into it. Sorry if im throwing out conflicting facts

chiodos wrote: Mind blown, I tried aluminum with a single flute (that I had been grinding on cast iron) and it just galled up. But was told double fluted was for aluminum. A quick google search before I posted initially confirmed my thoughts so thats why I posted it. Im still looking into it. Sorry if im throwing out conflicting facts

Try some bees wax, parafinn or old candle on the burr to keep it from getting clogged up

Burrs at MSC That should be enough variety for you. Some are pricey, but MSC will get most anything to you next day. I don't often buy from them unless I'm stuck for an endmill or something. To help prevent galling on aluminum, try to peck away at your cut instead of just pushing continuously into it.

make sure you are using the correct speed as well.

One issue with Dremel is low amperage so set speed and working speed can be vastly different. I have an older Black and Decker unit that is twice the amperage so holds its speeds better.

pirate wrote:

chiodos wrote: Mind blown, I tried aluminum with a single flute (that I had been grinding on cast iron) and it just galled up. But was told double fluted was for aluminum. A quick google search before I posted initially confirmed my thoughts so thats why I posted it. Im still looking into it. Sorry if im throwing out conflicting facts

Try some bees wax, parafinn or old candle on the burr to keep it from getting clogged up

Toilet bowl wax rings FTW. Stupid cheap and available everywhere.

In reply to Toyman01:

Ha, I thought I was the only one that did that. Well that or a bar of soap.