Milwaukee M12 die grinder and roloc problems

[@rodan2852]

Keep sharing the love. I cant stand junk tools that let me down. A mans tools should stand by him like his dog, look good in good times and be right there in it in bad times!

[@josephkrug8579]

After using it on my jointer cleanup project I really like the m12 die grinder...and once I realized how to deal with the pads...they worked ok too.

[@richardupinya6351]

Look into the 3M green bristle discs. They’re great for removing paint/light rust without removing much metal. And they last longer than those surface conditioning discs.

[@josephkrug8579]

Thanks, I will keep those in mind if I run through the two packs of disks I have now... So far what I have is 'mostly working ok'...and hopefully the rest will also work well on the jointer cleanup project.

[@josephkrug8579]

I got a pack of those and they do work, especially to get near edges when they are new and the bristles spin out. They are slower than the purple mesh ones tho for the main paint removal on the frame though.

[@richardupinya6351]

@@josephkrug8579 yeah they aren’t the fastest thing especially on thick paint but they tend to work pretty well and last a while. The conditioning discs get clogged with paint and stop working very well almost instantly.

[@dummkompf]

p.s. if it gets better when you rotate it 180 degrees, that just means that both the backing plate and the attachment are out of balance. In one orientation they partially cancel each other out, and in the other orientation they combine to make an even worse unbalance. iow they each have a heavier side and a lighter side, and when you put the two heavier sides together the whole assembly is more unbalanced.

[@josephkrug8579]

Yep, that is a good explanation of what I saw and realized.

[@notthathansome]

I've been carpentering for 20 years and imo the only Milwaukee tool worth buying is the Palm nailer. Not because the Milwaukee version is good, but because it's the only company that makes one.

[@dummkompf]

good info. I just got my first die grinder, also a m12. Got some harbor freight junk to go with it and the horrible noise/vibration was the first thing I noticed. I suspected it was the cheap backing plates being unbalanced but wanted to find confirmation... what brand are the good ones you found? The 3" one in my harbor freight kit is horrible, but the 2" one isn't too bad. I might try the 3m one but idk, it's really expensive.

[@josephkrug8579]

I put the ones I liked in the description for the video. I used the die grinder for my entire jointer restoration project, and it worked really well once I got a better tool holder and a set of balanced disks to use.

[@HabaneroTi]

Milwaukee specifically says to not use anything bigger than a 2" disc with this tool.

[@andre1987eph]

I waited 1 year for the M12 die grinder to go on sale, then read the bad reviews about it's lack of power. Have my eye on the 18V Ryobi die grinder instead.

[@josephkrug8579]

I have had no problems with it do far. Other than some of my batteries are old and fo not last as long as the new ones. It has worked great for me, just don't push hard and let the tool/ sanding pad to the work and so far it has done awesome on my project.

[@josephkrug8579]

Also, for what I needed on my jointer restoration I needed a small die grinder to get in the smaller sections of the frame, a ryobi 18v with the bigger batteries may not have fit. But I could be wrong, in any case, good luck. :)

[@bmbbrevs]

The high output batteries seem to help with power output

[@HabaneroTi]

It's plenty powerful if you use it correctly. People make the mistake of either pressing down on it too hard when it's the rotational speed that does all the work, or using discs bigger than 2" with it. Used correctly it's really effective in its intended uses.

[@deluxepressure]

What kind of mistakes are you trying to correct that needs 18 V , it literally has more power than an air grinder

[@gavinbroad1743]

Excellent video! What are those purple abrasive attachments please?

[@josephkrug8579]

That in the description was the link related to this: So I do NOT recommend this pack: www.amazon.com/dp/B08C4SR5PR?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 I do have to say the purple pads which were not all out of round did work well for cleaning off the old paint/etc for the jointer restoration I was working on...but the fact that a third of the pack was out of round was a bit annoying. I would guess that if you somehow ran the disk into something sharp (carefully) to trim the out of round bits off, you could still use those too.

[@gavinbroad1743]

Nice one, Joseph, thank you for the reply. 👍🏻 @@josephkrug8579

[@Comm0ut]

Roloc is a 3M tool and after the patents expired the industry produced a lot of junk. "Roloc" became a generic name for that style rotary abrasive, which is one item best obtained as a professional item rather than buying the cheapest available. I grab all the 3M abrasives I can get at industrial auctions but if I had to I'd pay retail and do for some of their adhesives and abrasives.

[@josephkrug8579]

That is good to know, thanks. :)

[@RenoSimpson]

With nothing screwed in gently hold the rubber up to some 40gr on a flat surface to true it up in the die grinder

[@josephkrug8579]

@@RenoSimpson Good idea.

[@firstnationsindian8062]

The moral of the story is , stop buy chinesium.

[@josephkrug8579]

Unfortunately with the flood of that in there, It is sometimes hard to find anything else on amazon.

[@allenr265]

Goes to show you spend a little more and get quality attachments.

[@josephkrug8579]

True, the problem comes when you are new to a type of tool (like I am for die grinders) and just learning what to look for with them. Now I know more and what to watch for, and hopefully this will help other people learn too. :)

[@HabaneroTi]

So the problem isn't with Milwaukee, M12, this die grinder or roloc discs, but with the roloc discs that you bought. I've had this tool for several years and swear by it. I don't buy 3M discs as they're expensive. Like you I buy generic mostly on Amazon but lucked out. Sure, they wear out fast but that's what happens when plastic meets metal at high speed. Anything more durable like burr or grinder bits will remove too much metal. They have their uses but not for paint and most rust removal, which is what I mostly use the roloc strip discs for. And yes, you do get the occasional oddball disc that's off-center. The solution is to just not use it. If there's more than one in a pack, return it and go with a different brand. I get 15 2" discs for $10 on Amazon. Don't knock the tool or technology. It's cheap and poorly-made discs that are the problem.

[@josephkrug8579]

You are correct, it is not the m12 or roloc discs in general...but hopefully the video had some useful things in it anyway for you. I know that I learned things due to the process and that was what I was trying to share. :)