Delta Diamond Extreme 4-1/2 inch Heavy-Duty Cutting Wheel for Metal, Rebar, Steel, Iron, and More with 5000+ Cuts (4.5" X 7/8"-5/8" Arbor)

When this cutoff wheel arrived, I was a bit skeptical. It was not as thin as I had hoped, and when I started using it I found it a little slower than other wheels I had used. The more I used it, however, the more it grew on me. I cut 1/2 inch mild steel and grade 8 bolts for over eight hours. I paused only long enough to cool the Dewalt 4.5 inch grinder down and get a drink o f water. I normally would have worn out or broken a dozen standard cutoff wheels in that time. A couple of times, when grinding in difficult to access areas, the grinder would bind or kick, as grinders will do in that situation, but each time, when I inspected the wheel for damage, I found none and could continue working. After a week of regular use, and no shortage of abuse including dropping it off the tailgate of my truck a couple of times, this wheel remains remarkably undamaged. I even got into some aluminum, which it cut pretty well and didn't load up too badly. When it did load up, I just hit some steel with it , and it was quickly back to normal. I have no idea what sort of bonding agent they use to bind the diamond coating to the steel wheel, but it is pretty amazing. I even committed the cardinal sin of using a cutoff wheel as a surface grinder on weld spatter and slag.Normally this is very unsafe and often causes cutoff wheels to shatter and throw off chunks at lethal velocity. (Yes, I wear a grinding mask.) But with this metal wheel, there was no indication of failure. I am not claiming this tool should be used as a surface grinder, I am just saying that I did it and the wheel is still in good condition. See included picture. There may be some precision cuts where I will use a thinner composite wheel in the future, but for the vast majority of my cutoff and quick grinding around welds, this is going to be my go to wheel from now on.

I burned my leg with flying metal sparks and shards but this blade kicked ass cutting a huge chunk of 1/4 thick steel that was about 10 feet in length. I thought I was going to need a cutting torch but this blade---combined with my Hitachi Grinder---did a great job. When I started, I had little hope that my plan would work but after making it 1/4 way around the steel tube I was cutting, I knew that I was going to cut all the way until the end. This blade is a little pricey but, wow, what a powerful diamond dust blade. I highly recommend this blade for grinder use. Just make sure you wear protective eye goggles, long sleeves and trousers to protect your legs as this kicks up one huge bunch of hot sparks of flying metal bits.

Used for cutting various diameter ductile pipe, cuts well, holding up well so far, one month of almost daily use. Great value for the money.

this looks to be a very heavy duty, long lasting blade, but I am a weekend fabricator, and for the money i was expecting a much nicer, more precise cut, the cut quality is ok, but still requires some clean up time on the grinder, there was less mess on the shop floor to clean up, that was nice.This blade clearly is more durable than traditional abrasive blades, for the expense i can buy lots of old school abrasive blades and just deal with the poor cuts and floor clean up.

I love this thing. it doesn't cut as fast as a super thin dedicated cutting disc, partly because it's thicker. but it cuts, and cuts, and cuts, and you can use it for jobs that are likely to bind or grab resulting in broken cutting discs and it won't break or bend. and it strips old paint and rust for weld prep faster and more reliably than anything else I've tried. I've used it extensively (at least a couple dozen cheap cutting discs worth of cutting) and the cutting edge looks like new. ground and cut a bunch of aluminum with it too - it gums up, but not near as bad as silicate, and a quick hit on some mild steel will clean it up for more use. not going to say it's great for cutting wood, but for some demo work where it was easiest to just go through wood and metal together - jobs a sawzall wouldn't work for - it did admirably.in short: if you're thinking to get one, just do it - you won't regret it. If I ever manage to wear this one out, I'll get another one in a heartbeat.

i have had a single blade of this for about 2 years now, i have used it to cut more than average amounts of metal and of various types, aluminum hogs it up a bit but take a break cut some steel and its fine again, it still works fine, might be finally reaching the end of its life and i will buy another eventually. my personal blade has cut through 1/2" steel, and about 6' of 3/8" stainless. it is the most useful cutting tool i have, the only better option would be a plasma torch which i do not have or a cutting torch which i also dont have.

It's more than I expected, these diamond blades are worth it, I have cut several 1/4 inch thick metal tubes and it is very even and seems like it will last for many more, they don't heat up or wear out like others. I really recommend them.

My portaband cuts much cleaner with a thinner cut, but I can't keep it true like a chop saw can. So, for now, it's worth having this even with hits very hot cut and width kerf.The center ring immediately popped out when I went to install it on my chop saw. Had to beat it back on with a hammer and then use a socket to drive it over the spindle of the saw to keep it from falling off again.It did cut though - although slowly compared to my portaband. Only used it for one work session, so I don't know how long it will remain in good cutting condition.Again, it's probably worth the money if you can get over the center ring falling off.