Tool Review

Many pro tradesmen and women work with grinders daily, with the advancement in battery tool technology cordless grinders have become a favorite tool for many trades because of the speed and versatility they offer. Small grinders fit into hard to reach areas and offer the ability to cut materials at speeds other tools cannot match.

Simply put, grinders are such a useful tool and are found on the trucks of HVAC techs, plumbers and electricians alike.

For years I have used my grinder with a thin cutoff wheel for cutting into cast iron plumbing stacks and lateral drains and until just a couple months ago the wheel of choice has been a bonded abrasive disc. I have completely replaced all abrasive discs with the new Diablo Diamond Cutoff Wheels for many reasons, chief among them being safety.

We have all heard of bonded wheels shattering under load and causing the user physical harm. There’s no shortage of pictures available on the Internet of bits and pieces of abrasive wheels embedded in various body parts [go ahead and Google it but I don’t recommend it for anyone with an aversion to blood or graphic bodily injury, do so at your own risk] Diablo’s answer to safety concerns regarding metal cutoff wheels is the new solid metal cutoff discs that will not shatter or break when dropped or banged around a little on the site or in the truck.

These wheels will outperform abrasive cutoff wheels in life expectancy hands-down. Its important to know straight away that the continuous-edge diamond grit metal cutting discs are not all-day production cutoff wheels but for the tradesperson who uses a grinder for cutting occasionally throughout the day or week, this is a solid and safe alternative to a bonded wheel.

The speed in which bonded wheels remove materials is always going to be hard to beat. This cutoff disc will not match or beat an abrasive wheel but it will last considerably longer and remain the same diameter throughout its useful life. That’s not ever going to be true for a bonded wheel; yet another advantage Diablo’s disc offers the user.

For the last couple months we have actually began to use our grinders more because of these discs. Knowing I don’t have to search for a new cutoff wheel for nearly every tie-in out of concern that the disc already loaded on the grinder may have been compromised in handling or storage. Instead I have confidence that the solid metal disc will not shatter when I plunge thru the sidewall of the 4” no-hub in front of me.

Cutting pipe is not the only use we have for these wheels though, they’re often used to cut sheet metal, threaded rod, steel pipe and even during demo work the occasional slew of copper tubing nightmare.

One criticism I have for the design of the diamond grit cutoff wheels would be that they could benefit from an increase in thickness. They’re very thin and can become warped when put under high loads in heavy cuts. That’s an obvious problem requiring immediate replacement for not only performance but safety as well. Increasing the thickness of the disc and adding a segmented rim might best realize this. I have had multiple conversations with the design engineers and product managers about these wheels and have little doubt that this is just the first of an expanding diamond cutoff wheel product line.

So far I have only found these available at The Home Depot. Sizes ranging from 4.5”, 5”, 6” & 7” and costs starting at $14.97 in my local market (MN).

Overall I would definitely recommend exploring the new diamond grit cutoff wheels from Diablo. If you’re using a grinder for occasional metal cutting then you owe it to yourself to increase the safety aspect of this task.

Information courtesy of The Home Depot website & Diablo Tools

TOOL: FLIR CM174 Imaging 600A AC/DC Clamp Meter With IGM (Infrared Guided Measurement)

Mechanical Hub asked me to test out the FLIR CM174 Clamp Meter with the integrated IR Camera. I was excited yet skeptical to try out a new meter.  In my line of electrical work I have my ‘go to’ meters and current clamps that I know every in and out of.  These have shared the same long days, weekends, overnights, and holiday emergency calls, so why look at product other than what I’ve carried for years?  Well after I familiarized myself with the FLIR CM174, I was impressed by the added functionality that this meter provided.

Let’s be honest, in the electrical world there is voltage and current and you don’t need much of a complex device to tell you what these readings are; however, I didn’t realize what all I was missing without FLIR’s IGM technology (Infrared Guided Measurement).  The IR function of this compact meter gave me an advantage and more importantly a safety aspect to my job that was not their previously.  Not only can I easily troubleshoot hot spots and imminent failures with this meter, but when going through my procedures to test for ‘zero’ voltage or absence of voltage, I am also able to take a look at the thermal properties of the equipment.  The old mentality is that I need to get to work and get this job done as quick as possible, so I only care about voltage – am I going to get shocked or not. Getting hit by a stiff 480V in the morning is not how I like to start my day, but the reality is I’m stuck in a time crunch and the customer is standing behind me tapping his feet because his plant is shut down and costing him big dollars every second it is down.  So I hurry up and grab my ‘new’ meter, and as expected, the voltage is zero, but what about the temperature?  Do I really have time to check this, and why would I care to even look at this, I have never done this in the past.  So I have the meter in my hand and it is only 1 quick click away from telling me the temperature.  To my surprise there is a section of the equipment that was extremely hot due to a loose connection.  My heart takes off and I get a little clammy thinking about how bad I could have been burnt when I would have grabbed onto the equipment to get this repair completed while trying to get the customer back online.

The silent killer, known as electricity, is not the only silent danger that I should be worried about.  I thank the FLIR CM174 for identifying other safety aspects of my job and preventing me from being injured.  The safety aspect alone is worth having the meter, but the ability to troubleshoot using the IR functionality of this meter is a huge step above what the industry is used to.  At the end of day, the customer has the lights back on and was thoroughly impressed by the equipment not only to solve their problems, but to identify and resolve other pending issues that were not identified before.  This customer is now loyal to us and continues to use us for their service needs.

Tool feature info courtesy of flir.com

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