7-inch Grinder Dust Shroud

by forgi-engineering in Workshop > Home Improvement

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7-inch Grinder Dust Shroud

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Massive DIY gas fireplace project included (as just one of the sub-projects) ~200 sq. feet porcelain tile floor. The existing linoleum tiles came up quickly, but the kryptonite mastic (at least 40 years old, perhaps even older) needed to be removed from the concrete slab. I investigated various methods, including chemical (toxic and otherwise), and renting a floor grinder, with a daily cost approaching $500 (and unclear whether I could get it done in one day).

I caught a few good tools deals for the project: < $100 for a 7 inch. DeWalt grinder, and a 7 inch "DiamaBrush" grinder, specifically for removing coatings from concrete, for something like $70.

I didn't want to spend $$ on a "fits all brands" shroud, and the DeWalt -specific one for my grinder was over $100, so I decided to DIY. About $15 worth of big-box plumbing bits: 2 gallon bucket, shower drain, and coupling, which I hacked together as a bespoke grinder shroud. Came out *really* great, worked perfectly for my purposes, and yielded a naked concrete surface for installing the 18-inch porcelain tiles.

Fabricating the Grinder Mount for the Shroud

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First step was to trim the "shower drain" to fit between the grinder mounting boss (where the threaded shaft comes out) and to clear the back of the the "DiamaBrush" grinding wheel. Lots of measuring, careful filing, shaping so the "shower drain" slowly morphed into a grinder shroud mounting flange...

Tie Together the Grinder Shroud "mounting Flange" and Other Bits...

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PVC coupling was required to shim down from the inside diameter of the (former) "shower drain" to fit snugly to the outside diameter of the mounting boss of the grinder.

Glue & Screw the Dust Shroud "mounting Flange" to the Bucket...

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Final tweaks to the "mounting flange" to fit the grinder, then countersink holes to mount to the 1-gallon bucket. Plywood added to the bucket to (1) strengthen the assembly, and (2) give something for the flathead screws to bite into.

To Complete the Assembly, Adapted Vacuum Accessory and ...

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Added a few screw eyes to the plywood, and used cable ties to snug the handles of the grinder to the "dust shroud". Then trimmed the bucket so it was *just* about the same height as the DiamaBrush blades.
Finally, I trimmed a shop vacuum accessory (with metal cutting shears) at an angle, and riveted-and-hot-glued it to the bucket. The vacuum hose then attached, as the pics show.

Worked great! I am mildly embarrassed how long it took to fabricate this - however, several years later I fabricated a similar shroud for a 4-inch grinder (for a bathroom floor retiling project), and that took maybe an hour or less, including scrounging around the house for the right size plastic bucket for the smaller grinder.

Last tip: when grinding the perimeter of the room (when wrapping up), it helps to trim a section of the shroud (i.e. bucket) edge, to enable "sneaking up" as you're grinding close to the wall and any obstructions (e.g. radiators etc). I don't have a pic of this, though you can see what I mean by taking a look at off-the-shelf dust shrouds, which have a sort of folding edge on them.