Compare sitting, standing or kneeling
for:
Edging,
Productivity,
Storage,
Control,
Visibility and
Confined Spaces.
Edging
See brief video on
edging comparisons
Most stand up
grinders cannot edge grind effectively
because the wheels cause them to head
into the wall instead of along it.
There are some
expensive offset-arm, stand up edge
grinders ,
but they cannot follow the dips that are
often found along a wall.
They appear to be designed for a floor edge
that has already been flattened so they
are probably great if all you want to
do is polish edges that are already
flat.
Another problem
with offset
grinders is that they are slow because
they exert a low force on the floor,
they
cannot be used in overlapping circles,
and if they are used to grind a floor in
straight lines they will leave
shoulders.
Kneeling to edge
grind is a reasonable way to go -
you have lots of control
except that it is slow and physically
demanding to move sideways on both
knees while holding the grinder out in
front.
The smoothest,
fastest and easiest edge grinder is a
Situp N
Grind.
You can see everything and you have
complete control.
So if
you need to grind
into a dip you can do that immediately
and
to move you just push gently with
your legs and let the
stool move you backwards
along the wall in a continuous, flowing
motion as you float the grinder along.
Productivity
When you kneel
down to grind you
can move quite quickly... for a while
anyway.
The only problems are
physical ones
- sore backs, aching
shoulders, numb hands from vibration,
damaged knees and don't forget your
sensitive eyes are very close to the
action, but the biggest physical problem
is
exhaustion and
slow down for frequent breaks
... and exhaustion leads to
mistakes, which is something you do not
need on a job.
If you use an angle grinder with
a stand up attachment and two wheels it must be pushed
forward and then pulled backward.
It
only grinds in one direction so it is
only 50% productive.
Some stand up
angle grinder attachments can grind in
circles, but they lack the speed and
feel of a Situp N Grind.
To make comparisons
with a large,
stand up grinder that has a big motor
and still uses domestic power is not fair
-
because they are about two to three
times more expensive, but...
did you realise
that they are slower
and do not bite
into the floor or follow the dips as well
because they cut
too wide a path and their motors do not
have high torque
so you cannot put much
weight on them.
Then again, there
are the compact, stand up grinders where
the heavy motor sits on top of the disc.
These are quite productive, even close
to Situp N Grind performance, and they
are easy to use except for edging and
confined spaces.
The large
planetary grinders using the same power
source are very close to Situp N Grind
performance on softer concrete, but they
progressively fall behind as the floor
hardness increases.
This is because it is
difficult to beat
the tremendous torque of an angle
grinder, the 6,000 rpm disc speed and up to
22 lbs (10 Kgs) of weight on a 7"
(180mm) disc.
Situp N Grind
works 100% of the time with very
little physical effort. It is mostly
used in
overlapping circles and leaves only
minor shoulders, it has no safety problems,
you are close enough to see what you
are grinding and it will do the edges
beautifully.
All that makes it
much faster than any comparable grinder
design and about half to one third the
cost.
Storage
A kneel-to-use
grinder is the best for storage - no
question.
But a Situp N Grind
is the same width and length, just a
little bit higher. The side
handle can be quickly taken out and
stored alongside it.
Most stand up
grinders are a painful storage problem
with high handles on an angle so they
take up lots of space.
Control
Angle grinders
on a frame with two wheels and a long handle have
the least amount of control. They
generally cut a straight path leaving
straight grinding shoulders on the
floor.
Edge grinders with
the head on a long, offset arm are the next
hardest to control. They do not ride up
and down on the bumps easily because of
the long distance between the head and
the wheels.
Large head, single
and double grinders leave strong
shoulders as they are swayed from side
to side or moved forward and backward so
control of them is perhaps medium.
Planetary grinders
have good control in a single direction.
Situp N Grind has
excellent control in any direction which
can be changed in an instant to suit the
variations encountered on any floor.
Visibility
This is very, very
important to prevent going over floors a
second time because of missed areas in
dips.
Standing upright is a
little too far away for good visibility
even with lights.
Kneeling is great
for visibility, but not too safe for the
eyes.
Sitting to grind
is by far the best because you can see
everything very clearly so you will not
miss spots and your eyes are nowhere
near the grinding disc.
Confined spaces
Believe it or not kneeling to grind
is more difficult in confined spaces
than sitting to grind because of the
distance of the legs from the grinder
being held in
front of the body.
Stand up grinders are not suitable in
confined spaces such as bathrooms or
toilet cubicles because of the long
handles and their inability to move quickly in
any direction or to spin around and
change direction.
Probably a combination of a
kneeling handgrinder and a Situp N Grind would be
best.
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