Beveling plates by hand used to take me forever...

For the first 5 years I was in the trade, I'd spend 30 minutes per joint beveling with a grinder. Last month I finally got a portable beveling machine and cut that down to 8 minutes per joint. Anybody else take way too long to switch to a better tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_daniel3d ago

Man, that's a game changer right there! I did the exact same thing for years with a flap disc and a steady hand, thinking I was saving money. Then I borrowed a friend's beveling machine one weekend and suddenly realized I'd been wasting half my life on grinding. The time savings alone are huge, but the consistency is what really sold me - no more wavy edges from my tired hands. How long did it take you to get comfortable with the new machine?

wesley6393d ago

Hold on, is it really that big of a deal? I mean yeah, grinding a bevel by hand takes time, but 30 minutes sounds like you were maybe overthinking it or using way too fine a grit from the start. I've been using the same $40 angle grinder for eight years and my joints come out fine in maybe 15 minutes tops. The consistency thing people keep mentioning, I just use a straight edge as a guide and my hands have been steady enough for decades. Not saying the machine is bad, but it feels like everyone acts like they're carving marble instead of just knocking off a metal edge.

cora_west53d ago

Hold up, 30 minutes per joint?! I thought I was bad at 20 minutes with my cheap grinder and a worn out flap disc, but you were out there doing a whole half hour each time? That's insane, man. I can't believe you stuck with that for five years, I would've lost my mind way sooner. And now you're down to 8 minutes with the new machine? That's a huge jump, I gotta look into one of those.