4 angle grinder chuck keys

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?

The little grinders used to have all sorts of spindle sizes, some of which were metric. Lately, the industry seems to have standardized on 5/8" spindles, and even the HF cheapies seem to have that size.

I do the same as you except I don't collect the real cheap HF grinders. I go up a step and buy the $15 models if they go on sale. I find that the weak point with these grinders is the cord where it enters the handle. The rest of the grinder holds up pretty well. I have a good Hitichi that I use the most, and a Dewalt that is second fiddle. The HF models get wheels/discs that I use less often. If I'm using one wheel a lot it goes on the best grinder. This saves me a lot of time by not changing discs, just picking up another tool.

I have standardized on the HF lock nuts because I have so many. The Dewalt has a hex nut that requires a different wrench, and I'll change that when this disc wears out. I haven't broken a HF pin spanner yet, but if I broke them all and had to start over I'd make one from 1/8" flat bar and use either dowel pins or Grade 8 bolts to make the pins. I think your problem was that you used nails, which are too soft to hold up to this applicaion.

Usually, the disc has enough meat left on it to get enough of a grip to remove the nut without a spindle lock. If it is worn too much to hold by hand, it is junk anyway and you can use pliers on it. I have never had a spindle lock fail on a HF unit, but then I avoid the cheapest model.

SG, I have a zip lock bag I throw my assortment of spanner wrenches in and so far, I have one to fit just about anything you can imagine. Next time you roll your own, use masonry nails - They're made not to bend.

I wasn't going to reply to this but in the interest of the public good...
I've had this Milwaukee grinder for at least 8 years. I have used it and abused it unmercifully - cutting concrete with a diamond blade on it, lots and lots of cutting with a slitting wheel, lots of grinding, sanding and wire wheeling. And it's still humming right along.
I need to get a new cord for it - you can see it's wearing out where it enters the handle.
I lost the spanner wrench for it years ago so I use a welding glove to protect my hand and take wheels off that way.
My Milwaukee 7" is over 30 years old. I had the dealer replace the cord once and another time they put new brushes in it and regreased the gears. My tools do not have an easy life. That's why I buy good ones.

You're tightenening them too tight. I'm like
UltraDog. Just use a leather glove to tighten and remove the disk or wire wheel.

I have bent a couple, so now I have a universal/adjustable one that fits most any of the grinders.
I'm not sure where I bought it, may have been HF.
It looks similar to this one:
Universal Pin Wrench

(quoted from post at 07:59:12 06/24/12) I wasn't going to reply to this but in the interest of the public good...
I've had this Milwaukee grinder for at least 8 years. I have used it and abused it unmercifully - cutting concrete with a diamond blade on it, lots and lots of cutting with a slitting wheel, lots of grinding, sanding and wire wheeling. And it's still humming right along.
I need to get a new cord for it - you can see it's wearing out where it enters the handle.
I lost the spanner wrench for it years ago so I use a welding glove to protect my hand and take wheels off that way.
My Milwaukee 7" is over 30 years old. I had the dealer replace the cord once and another time they put new brushes in it and regreased the gears. My tools do not have an easy life. That's why I buy good ones.

<img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h56/Ultradog/tools/100_08361.jpg">

Click to expand...

I've got two HF grinders that have lasted roughly a decade in pretty rough service. They work every bit as well as anything else I have inclduing my Makita. I consider them to be disposable at $19 and keep different wheels in them so I don't have to keep changing it. Never been impressed by what you get for the price of a Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch, Dewalt, etc. IMO if you have cash and want a real quality power tool buy Hilti. I bought one of their Tek screw guns when I was putting up my steel building - puts everything else I looked at to shame and I looked at them all. You will know the difference the instant you pick a Hilti up (and when you go to pay for it ) The crew doing the building erection had Milwaukee guns and I constantly had to pry my Hilti away from one of them every time I left it laying about unguarded :roll:

TOH

Every Makita I have brought but one has broke prematurely most while under warranty.. No more Kitas for me... Its depressing to get a new replacement under warranty and don't even want the new one....As they break I am replacing with Milwaukee good stuff not the low end tools... I will consider your recommendation :wink:

I agree on the Hilti.
I have a TE25 hammer drill. Comparable new one is over $800. I paid $300 for it used with the box and a bunch of bits at a tool swap/sale.
I will never wear it out but if I did I can get parts for it.
I think that some Milwaukee is being farmed out to China, etc and when my little grinder goes kaput will probably look at a Bosch or Hilti.
I have a couple of Bosch tools - 4x24 belt sander and my router.
I like good tools. When I go on a job I'm proud to use them. I'd be ashamed to have to drag out a bunch of HF stuff in front of a homeowner.

Soundguy,
Are you talking about a spanner wrench used to take the grinding wheel off? I use dewalt 4 1/2 inch right angle grinders. The spanner wrench is a little larger than those used by the cheaper models.

I think I saw Harbor freight sell an adjustaable spanner. Didn't buy it, I make my own to take hyd cylinders apart on backhoe.

If you need the larger spanner, I think I have a spare one in tool box. My email is open, send me your adddress.
George

I do not loose them or bend them but then I use them the right way LOL. I keep them in the drawer in my tool cabinet that has the Allen wrenches in. I like you have probably 5 plus of them. As for the chisel way done that many times also but I prefer the right tool for the job LOL

The only time I use one is when I can not do it by hand which is rare .

As for the spanner wrench , you only have to get one peg in the hole , the other peg can hit the side of the round nut so about any spanner wrench you grab will work .

You could grind six sides flat the next time you have it off and never worry about it again . Most grinders are 5/8 - 11 so you can reuse it on your next grinder also .