'Trick Tools' Multi-tool Review

[bigpappy]

Hey guys and gals, as most of you probably don't recall, I started a thread a while ago asking what I should do with $200...Well, I figured it out and bought the Trick Tools/Vansantent multi-tool attachment (http://www.vansantent.com/multitool.htm) for my bench grinder.
I had always needed a faster way to clean up tabs brackets once they had been cut out and although an angle grinder has its place in any tool collection, it is just not up to par when lots of parts need to be cleaned up.
I had a very old bench grinder that a friend gave to me that only got used with a wire wheel....So, it was just taking up space.
Add that with $200 and a need/want for a belt sander, and you get the multi-tool.
I first called Christian over at Trick Tools and he answered all my questions and had this attachment on its way to my house in no time. He made spending money so easy. :smokin:
It arrived in a few days and was packaged very well.
I'll show ya my pictures first then give the rest of my review after.

http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures001.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures006.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures004.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures007.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures008.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures011.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures012.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures013.jpg
http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures015.jpg

It was a snap to put together with the included instructions...But my bench grinder had some difficulties.
The shaft and step down in the shaft were too long for everything to line up correctly.
So I turned down a 316SS spacer at work with the correct bolt circle to make it all fit nice....Not to mention it's bling.
Once that was on, it took about 5 minutes to put the rest together.
The quality of the mutli-tool is top notch and far better than I expected for the price.
It is extremely heavy duty and its design is very well thought out to accommodate any play that might exist between your grinder and the attachment.
Even though my grinder is a wimpy 1/4 hp, it can still take quite a bit of force to stall. Just imagine if you put this on a 1 hp grinder...This thing would be unstoppable.
The miter table angle adjustment is kind of awkward, but most of my cuts require no bevel, so I just set it at 90° and it works great there!
It is awesome for squaring up cuts, deburring edges, and pretty much any other grinding/sanding/finishing task at hand.
I also love the fact that I still have the wire wheel on the other side.
I now use it every time I'm in the garage and it works flawlessly.
Basically, this thing is fantastic and if you're thinking about buying one, DO IT!
Any questions just post em up and I'll do my best to answer them.

[urbanmuddboger]

although i do not have that set up
my belt sander is sweetness for finish work
i may have to look into this a little deeper cause my old ass sander is about to have a epic melt down(got it from a yard sale like 6 years ago for 5 bucks)

[bigpappy]

It may not compare to a large industrial Wilton or the like, but it can hold its own.
Depending on your budget, you get these already attached to a grinder or even just a huge motor. These come in different sizes too.

By the way, I am not affiliated with trick tools or vansantant in any way. I just like their products.

[JamesD]

http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures001.jpg


I have the same grinder! Now I know this will work on mine!

James

[bigpappy]

James, it will work, but you just have to make one of these http://i546.photobucket.com/albums/hh409/bigpappy115/Pictures004.jpg
The shaft is too long. So I turned down a spacer to make it fit.

[4x4mike]

Oh that's the spacer. I thought that came with the kit. That's a nice piece. I'll have to take apart my old bench ginder and take some measurements.

[bigpappy]

Yep, that's the spacer. I believe someone makes spacers for other models, but they are very pricey.
Thanks, not too bad for the first time on a lathe, eh?
They have a fitment guide on their website (the one I posted above) to see if it will fit on your grinder.

[AthlonAJ]

I've had the Multi-tool belt grinder on my Wilton for a good 3 years now and through heavy daily use it's been nothing but terrific. The only thing I did was make an extension so that it can use longer belts which increases their life a bit.

[bigpappy]

I've had the Multi-tool belt grinder on my Wilton for a good 3 years now and through heavy daily use it's been nothing but terrific. The only thing I did was make an extension so that it can use longer belts which increases their life a bit.

You are one of the main reasons I bought it!
I read your thoughts on it in a few other old threads and that sealed the deal for me.
Your extensions idea is pretty ingenious, for how simple it is.
Thanks!

[sadisticiron]

ive had the multi-tool for about 5 years now. its one of the best tools i have and it gets used all day everyday. the only problem i have with it is that the sanding disc are 7 inch sticky disc. no one carries these except for welding supply stores in a 3 disc varity pack but they can order them. my advice is to order them in 50 to 100 packs like i do. cuz you only run out on a sunday morning when you have about 10 tabs to sand ....;)

[RockHammered]

Is the miter table good quality? How exactly does the "drive wheel" attach to the grider shaft? I'm most interested in using it to square up cuts so its' ability to be adjusted to square and staying square are important.

[bigpappy]

The miter table is pretty decent. It is very easy to make square and keep square by tightening the bottom bolt.
I personally wouldn't want to change the angle on it because its kind of cheesy.
But once set up where you want it, it is good to go.
The 'drive wheel' bolts on just like the grinding disk would.
Click on the second video here (http://www.vansantent.com/Grinding_Sanding/multitool_video.htm) to see how to put it together.

[ChiScouter]

I found this while looking for something else totally unrelated http://cgi.ebay.com/BLUE-POINT-MULTITOOL-BELT-DISC-SANDING-ATTACHMENT-NEW_W0QQitemZ390033495590QQcmdZViewItemQQptZWoodwo rking?hash=item390033495590&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

[beartj]

I found this while looking for something else totally unrelated http://cgi.ebay.com/BLUE-POINT-MULTITOOL-BELT-DISC-SANDING-ATTACHMENT-NEW_W0QQitemZ390033495590QQcmdZViewItemQQptZWoodwo rking?hash=item390033495590&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Sweet! Just bought one.

It shows a quantity of 58 so I'm not sure if there was a pallet of these that bumped against something, tearing the boxes open or what the deal is.

[beartj]

Mine came in today. Perfect shape and nothing is missing?. I don't know why the ad makes it seem like it's some open box return deal.

[Rowdie]

Great Buy.....for $89.00... $12.00 shipping. Ordered Saturday arrived today. Nothing missing even has the adjustable table. Set it up in about one hour on a craftsman Pro 1/2 HP. grinder.

Does a great job. Used it all afternoon.:)

[carwash]

These setups are cool, but I don't see repurposing one tool to make it into another, especially for $200. For $200 you can get this, and the belt is 6x48" and the disc is 9" Sits on it's own stand, 1 hp, etc...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/06800-06899/06852.gif

[bigpappy]

Glad to see some guys finding em cheaper. Ya lucky bastids.
They are useful though, aren't they?!
Although the guys at Trick Tools are pretty cool so I don't mind supporting them.

Carwash- Where the fawk did you find that?!!

[beartj]

I don't have room for both but you're argument is sound for some people. When I setup my shop someday it's going to have an oldschool rockwell belt grinder anyway so :flipoff2: For now this is perfect.

$100 for this tool and another ??? for a bench grinder isn't bad really. HD bench grinders can be had for next to nothing used on CL in most areas.

[carwash]

pappy, that model is a Central Machinery, available online or at HF. I picked mine up on CL for 160 with 6 extra belts.

Doesnt take much more room that a converted grinder setup on a stand.

[bigpappy]

You sir, I dislike. :flipoff2:
I searched for one of those but could not find any good deals.
Thanks for the heads up though. When I get a shop someday after college I will surely get something like that.
But I'll still have the trick tools one!

[PARANOID56]

These setups are cool, but I don't see repurposing one tool to make it into another, especially for $200. For $200 you can get this, and the belt is 6x48" and the disc is 9" Sits on it's own stand, 1 hp, etc...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/06800-06899/06852.gif

the problem is that these ones dont spin fast enough. the real metal ones spin much faster and work much better at that speed. the bench grinder gives you that speed too

[Indyguy]

the problem is that these ones dont spin fast enough. the real metal ones spin much faster and work much better at that speed. the bench grinder gives you that speed too

"These ones" as in that particular brand, or as in that style? Reason I ask is I found one that style; but crapsman brand on CL for a good price that I may be going to check out this weekend. Its the 6x48 and 9". My only use will be for metal; so it certainly needs to work for that purpose. Here's the one I found:

http://images.craigslist.org/3nb3p83l5ZZZZZZZZZ93171bac74e80fe184d.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/3n03m03o8ZZZZZZZZZ931840630b8dec21d7b.jpg

[Indyguy]

As a follow-up to the above question... what RPM range is best for use on metal? Exploding the pictures of that one I'm looking at, it appears to say 3450 RPM. That sounds pretty darn fast to me:laughing:

[darkstar]

I have a 12" disc sander, and a 1" belt/5" disc combo. they both spin around 1700 rpm and I think they work fine for metal.

[PARANOID56]

"These ones" as in that particular brand, or as in that style? Reason I ask is I found one that style; but crapsman brand on CL for a good price that I may be going to check out this weekend. Its the 6x48 and 9". My only use will be for metal; so it certainly needs to work for that purpose. Here's the one I found:

http://images.craigslist.org/3nb3p83l5ZZZZZZZZZ93171bac74e80fe184d.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/3n03m03o8ZZZZZZZZZ931840630b8dec21d7b.jpg

that style. its made for sanding wood. so the belt is slow, around 1200rpm or so. the ones for metal are over 1k and the one i was using was around 6k. i had used one of those posted and it was ok, not great, but it worked. then used one that spun 2x as fast and it was the best thing i have ever used. now going to the 6k one its like cutting butter with a hot knife. super good.

As a follow-up to the above question... what RPM range is best for use on metal? Exploding the pictures of that one I'm looking at, it appears to say 3450 RPM. That sounds pretty darn fast to me:laughing:

that rpm should work great

[Nickm]

I broke down and bought one today. But damn I wished I could have gotten on of the Ebay ones for 1/3 the price :(

[Nickm]

My instructions sucked ass :shaking: It was like one giant run-on sentence. You could hardly tell where one part stopped and the next started.

When I mount the belt arm to the mounting bracket, the arm was pointing slightly upward. After trying for about an hour, I realized it wouldn't line up properly.

The notches on the first bracket and second bracket didn't line up. If you line them up, it points upward. If you line it the other directions on the next notch, it points downward.

I was so frustrated after 90 minutes working on a 15 minute project, I gave up, went inside and had dinner.

It may work. But putting it together with little direction is a pain in the ass.

[beartj]

I haven't put mine together yet but it came with a bunch of directions. I can access a scanner but don't have one. I can scan them if it'd help? It may take a day or so for me to get around to it though.

[Nickm]

I haven't put mine together yet but it came with a bunch of directions. I can access a scanner but don't have one. I can scan them if it'd help? It may take a day or so for me to get around to it though.

Scan them if ya dont mind. Let me know if you need a place to upload them.

[Rowdie]

The Trick Tools Site has a video and PDF to down load to make the setup alot easier.

I was looking at the hardware store to see if the belts could bought locally. I'll I could find was the 4" x 36". :)Then it dawned on me that I could cut a belt in half. So that's what I did. Works great. Now I need figure out a 7" pad substitute.

[Indyguy]

I have one of these, unused, for sale if someone is interested. Won't be the ebay deal; but won't be too much more either. PM me.

[silveradoreb]

I got mine today. I havent had a chance to mess with it much. I think home depot has the norton belts in 2x36, I bought a couple for mine there but it is 4x36