Makita Turbo Wheel

    Grinding concrete is a necessary task for most flooring contractors and many remodelers.   Concrete is rarely as flat as you think.  Before you can install a nice level flat tile job you will most likely need to grind off some high points.  If the concrete floor has been treated with a sealer you also will need to grind the top surface off so that you can get a good bond with your thin set mortar. 

 

  There are many other situations where it is necessary to grind concrete as well with repairs, patches, setting of walls and cabinets.   

  

  I’ve never met anyone who enjoyed it.  It has always been noisy, backbreaking dusty work.  I have done more floor grinding in my 30 years of construction and restoration than I ever care to talk about.  On big jobs we have rented floor standing grinders.  On most though I have used my Metabo 2,300 watt 7″ grinder with a pearl abrasive shroud and cup wheel.  I never thought about changing my combo up because it works.  Plenty of power, dependability and it is pretty good at catching the dust. 

 

  The Home Depot sent us this Makita 7 inch Diamond anti-vibration grinding cup wheel ( part number A – 96425) to see what we thought of it.  This one is the 24 segment turbo wheel which aids in airflow to the dust extractor.  It his engineered for improved performance and less vibration.  It  is perfect for paint / sealer and adhesive removal as well as concrete surface preparation.  It is made for both fast material removal and a quality finish.  It is designed to reduce chatter.  This will keep the wheel firmly planted on the surface for most efficient removal of the material. 

   

  This is even more important when you are using cordless tools.  When using a battery with a finite amount of energy you want to do everything you can to increase efficiency.  I had the wheel and dust collection guard mounted up on my old 15 amp Makita grinder and I was ready to go with it but then we received the brand new X2 36 V cordless XAGU 12 right before our testing began.  I could not resist using the new cordless grinder instead. This was the perfect opportunity to test out several different items as a system.

 

  It doesn’t always work out for us to test every single tool on a job site within the time allowed for our review.  We were really glad to receive these items just in time to do some concrete floor surfacing  around a stool flange and some other plumbing on a small sub grade restroom job.  The floor was one of the roughest concrete finish jobs I have ever seen.  The floor was all over the place on depth.  Some places had over 1/2″ drop on either side of the trowel marks. 

  

  We first used my old Makita with no dust collection just for fun.  Within almost six seconds there was so much dust that I couldn’t even see.  Even after one minute there was still dust in the air.  I opened the entry door and ran a blower to get all that airborne dust out of our work area.

 

  

  We then used this new Makita set up with the cordless XAG 12 grinder running the A 96425  turbo cup wheel in the 195386-6 dust extraction wheel guard on the VC 4710 extractor.  I ground the rough concrete for a solid 20 minutes on a pair of 6.0 amp hour batteries with only a few small puffs of dust when I lifted the edge or ground over a drain hole. The Makita wheel is quite nice to use.  It is the smoothest diamond cup wheel I have ever used.  Like I said before I am used to a Pearl abrasives wheel but I have used many others as well.  There was no chatter.  The vibration reduction design really makes for a nice operation.  The diamond segments are arranged like the veins of a turbo which create air flow.  It works very well with dust extraction.  Hence the turbo designation of the wheel. 

 

  The same design of these pieces is also available for the smaller XAG03 and XAG10 cordless grinders as well as most of the corded grinders. 

The wheel is part # A-96403 

The shroud is # 195236-5

 

We have actually been using these for the past year.  This setup is for smaller areas and detail work.  It has plenty of power for doing a bathroom sized room or a smaller kitchen.  It is easier to handle one-handed and requires a lot less effort to do the same job.  It is slower though so use your own discretion.  The dust extraction is every bit as good.  Either way you can’t go wrong. 

 

  Next time I need a diamond cup wheel I will not hesitate to order another Makita turbo wheel. 

 

Buy at The Home Depot

For more info visit

http://www.makitatools.com

  • Anti-vibration design engineered to keep the wheel planted firmly on the surface for more efficient material removal
  • Turbo rim design for fast material removal and a smooth finish
  • Innovative design reduces chattering for an improved operator experience
  • Use with Makita dust extracting surfacing shroud for a cleaner work environment
  • Hubbed design for quick wheel changes; 5/8 in. – 11 arbor
  • For paint and adhesive removal as well as concrete surface preparation