Pro tip: Stop fighting with rusty hooks, use a wire brush wheel on a grinder

For years I was spending 20 minutes per hook with a hand file trying to clean up old lifting hooks on job sites in Houston. Now I just throw a knotted wire wheel on my 4.5 inch angle grinder and hit them for 2 minutes tops. The difference is night and day, especially on those old manitowoc hooks. Has anyone else switched to power tools for hook maintenance?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandra_sullivan848d ago

Those wire wheels can also hide cracked hooks under all that shiny metal.

thompson.xena8d ago

Bring up the safety issue, but I'm coming at it from a different angle. @sandra_sullivan84 is right about hiding cracks, but I've found wire wheels can also whip those little metal bristles loose at like 10,000 RPM and they stick right in your forearm. I always wear a thick welding jacket over my regular work shirt now when I'm cleaning hooks with a grinder, saved me a lot of trips to the urgent care for splinter removal.