Choosing the right angle grinder disc for the job

An angle grinder is one of the most versatile tools in a workshop, and also one of the easiest to use badly. Most of the risk comes from fitting the wrong disc for the material.

Cutting metal

Use a thin bonded cutting disc, usually 1.0-1.6 mm thick. Thin discs cut fast with less heat, but they are fragile: never use them for grinding and never apply side pressure. Match the disc diameter to the grinder — a 125 mm disc on a 115 mm machine will shatter.

Grinding and blending

Depressed-centre grinding discs are 6 mm thick and designed for face pressure. Use them for weld dressing, deburring and rust removal. Keep the angle shallow and let the disc do the work.

Stainless steel needs its own discs

Discs contaminated with carbon steel will leave rust spots on stainless. Keep a separate set of discs for stainless work and never swap them between materials.

Stripping and finishing

Flap discs remove paint and scale quickly and leave a finer finish than a grinding disc. For polishing and light deburring, mounted points and polishing wheels give you control in tight spots.

Browse our abrasives range for cutting discs, grinding discs, flap discs and mounted points in all the common sizes.