De Walt

[Waka]

I'm in the process of re pointing some brickwork on the house, knowing it's a messy job I searched for dust extraction ket that I could fit to my grinder when using the routers type mortar rakes.Found the kit I needed and it stitched to the grinder a treat, I knew it was too good to be true, the mortar rakes were useless, only lasted one brick.

So back to the drawing board. In the mean time I did a few sq metres of brick with grinding disc, worked great but what a mess. Went on the internet again a noticed the screwfix have a De Walt grinder specifically for mortar raking with a disc and it has dust extraction. Arrives tomorrow so I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Grahamshed]

Plan on doing mine as soon as we get 2 dry days in a row ( 2026 ? )
So I will look forward to your review.

 

[MMUK]

FWIW, I use 4.5" diamond wheel mortar rakes and a home made depth stop on my Makita

 

[Grahamshed]

FWIW, I use 4.5" diamond wheel mortar rakes and a home made depth stop on my Makita

Sounds like the way to me but we will see what the Dewalt is like.

 

[Waka]

Pick there De Walt up later today so should get a test run this afternoon. New tool, excitement all round.

 

[Waka]

Well, threw machine arrived and like all De walt machines it was made to a high standard. It cam with detachable handle, and a blade.
The blade was the two blade type with a few mm separation between the two blade, this was the first thing that caused me some concern, because when busing this a thin sliver of mortar is left in the gap.
The dust extraction port looks robust although when turning the machine over most of the blade is exposed. The is a depth stop built into the front of the machine which will be very useful, and the hood separates to let you insert the blade.

I was surprised that it didn't task long to get the hang of using the machine, the problem I found initially was the supplied blade, as mentioned it left a sliver of mortar between the bricks, not a problem if it all stayed there because just inserting a rake removed it easily. But I found that bits were breaking off and blocking off the dust extraction port. I overcame this by putting in a solid diamond blade that is 6 mm thick, therefore everything that you take out is just dust, much better result.

The dust extraction I used was an Axminister tow motor version of the Camvac, this worked just fine.

Overall view: I found that 80% of the dust is removed through the dust port. Am I pleased with the purchase, yes I am. I guess its one of those tools that you post on e-bay when you've finished with it, unless yu do this sort of thing for a living then I don't see the sense in letting it clutter up the shop.

 

[Grahamshed]

Sounds interesting Waka. Any pic or link for it. I am having trouble imagining what it looks like.

 

[Waka]

Sounds interesting Waka. Any pic or link for it. I am having trouble imagining what it looks like.

Here's the link

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dwe461 ... 10v/25598#

It says 110v but I've got the 230V version.
If you want some detailed pic's I could take some tomorrow.

 

[Grahamshed]

OK, thanks
Apart from dust collection ( which actually counts for a lot ) is there any great difference between it and a small angle grinder ?

 

[Waka]

OK, thanks
Apart from dust collection ( which actually counts for a lot ) is there any great difference between it and a small angle grinder ?

Not really, although this one is marketed specifically for mortar raking.
I started using my other grinder and what a mess that makes, so it's the dust extraction that makes it special.

 

[Waka]

Just had a thought, I'll be passing near Oxford on Monday and coming back that way on Wednesday. If you get yourself a cutting disc you would be welcome to try it out for a day or two.

 

[Grahamshed]

Nice thought Waka but I am going to be a bit tied up for the next while.

many thanks for the offer though.