Grinder wheel - toss it? + recommendations

Scott H

Scott
User
I got a new bench grinder today (have not owned one before) and put it together. The grinder was shipped with the wheels attached but I took them off and did a ring test on both wheels on 8 points and they sounded OK based on what I understand they should sound like. When I spun it up I noticed the 80 grit wheel has more side-to-side "wobble" to it compared to the other wheel, so I took it apart again and started looking at it closely. I noticed it is crumbling around the arbor hole. Like little chunks came out just from poking at it with my finger.

So I guess my questions are:
  • I should toss this wheel right?
  • Is this a symptom of anything I might be doing wrong? Overtightening? The grinder was shipped with the wheels attached...
  • Does anyone have a recommendation for what wheel to get instead (grit + type)? Arbor is 5/8" if that matters.
I mainly need this for regrinding the bevel on plane and chisel irons. The other wheel is a 120 grit white aluminum oxide.

Pictures of the arbor hole:

IMG-9125.jpg IMG-9124.jpg
 
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Scott H

Scott
User
I hear good things about CBN but they look like a bit of an investment. I am not sure I am going to be grinding frequently enough to justify the cost right now. Maybe something to look into down the road.

@Phil S Thank you, that is a very generous offer. I am going to make a couple calls and see if they're willing to replace it. I may still just do an online order as I have become a bit of a hermit this year thanks to the covid situation. But in any other circumstances I would not be hesitating to take up that offer!
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
I hear good things about CBN but they look like a bit of an investment. I am not sure I am going to be grinding frequently enough to justify the cost right now. Maybe something to look into down the road.

@Phil S Thank you, that is a very generous offer. I am going to make a couple calls and see if they're willing to replace it. I may still just do an online order as I have become a bit of a hermit this year thanks to the covid situation. But in any other circumstances I would not be hesitating to take up that offer!
Klingspor ships! Need I say any more? You will find for plane irons, and chisels, the 120 grit will do most of what you want
 

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Toss it, not worth the effort could use it as a hand stone but really it is probably better tossing.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Toss it for sure. Good wheels are not terribly expensive. A failing wheel can kill you.
I have shifted to CBN wheels so I have 8" wheels if that fits your grinder. I am in NE Raleigh and they are free


FREE?
 

SabertoothBunny

SabertoothBunny
Corporate Member
Throw the wheel away, it is severely damaged and too dangerous to use. Consider CBN, they last seemingly forever and don't wear unevenly. Go to Products to enhance the WoodTurners experience as they sell the CBN wheels FAR cheaper than anyone else does.

They sell the Spartan 8" CBN wheels in pairs for $199 (which is the price of one wheel most other places), I got the 80/350 set and they are AMAZING. It is the same set that my turning mentor (retired turning pro) uses as well over in Asheville. Be sure to get the balancing washers as well because they properly center the wheels so there is almost no vibration. When I had regular white stone wheels I had a fair amount of vibration, with the CBN and the proper washers I have basically none.

Consider the Wolverine sharpening jig to accompany they grinder as well if you don't have it yet.
 

Rwe2156

DrBob
Senior User
The wheels that come on grinders are usually crap.

Norton wheels are very good.

IMO you don't need CBN wheels unless you are an avid turner.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
side to side wobble is sometimes caused by a badly made flange or a defective shoulder on the grinder shaft.
Swap a few things around and retry.
 

Scott H

Scott
User
Just to learn how to do it I played around with swapping around the wheels and flanges, rotating them, etc and got the wobble down significantly (just turning the wheel by hand not under power.) So it was not the arbor hole condition alone that caused the wobble. But I am going to toss the wheel regardless.

@SabertoothBunny I also have noticed that the white wheels throw a ton of grit powder everywhere so maybe that in combination with the fact CBN are better machined and won't explode at speed will get me to save up. I am not really anticipating doing turning in the near future but I am definitely looking at replacing the tool rests already. This is a Rikon 80-805 and the left rest has a divot for drill sharpening and the right one is flat but it has more flex than I'd like & isn't perfectly square to the wheel.
 

Scott H

Scott
User
@SabertoothBunny Actually one more question, which are the balancing washers on that site? I see they have "machined aluminum" ones and "self-aligning spherical washers." I am assuming it's the self-aligning spherical?

EDIT: Never mind, I spoke to Ken on the phone, I got it sorted out. The self-aligning you always want and the machined ones are if you want to use a Spartan wheel or other 1" wheel and keep the guards on, to space it out from the shoulder so as not to hit the guard.

 
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bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
There are a lot of aftermarket work arounds for dealing with the inadequacies of an inexpensively made bench grinder.
To put things in perspective, look up the prices of a Baldor 8" grinder with cast iron tool rests.
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
There are a lot of aftermarket work arounds for dealing with the inadequacies of an inexpensively made bench grinder.
To put things in perspective, look up the prices of a Baldor 8" grinder with cast iron tool rests.
Recently on GSO CL was a used for $600, which was a bargin.
 

Scott H

Scott
User
Thanks for the input everyone. I was originally planning on just getting a Norton wheel, but I ended up ordering a single 80 grit Spartan CBN wheel. Probably overkill, but now that I know it's OK to run a grinder with just one wheel, the price point is worth it to me to never have to worry about it ever developing cracks, and not having it spray abrasive grit everywhere.

I am really mainly interested in regrinding the bevel/changing primary bevel angle on chisels and plane irons, repairing damaged chisels or plane irons, being able to add significant camber to irons, maybe making irons for homemade planes. Basically, stuff that would try my patience/stamina on a coarse bench stone because it is a lot of metal to remove. I suspect just having one coarse grinder wheel will be fine for me for a while since I can do the rest on my stones.
 

bob vaughan

Bob Vaughan
Senior User
I suspect just having one coarse grinder wheel will be fine for me for a while since I can do the rest on my stones.

Excellent strategy.
Shape it with the grinder and sharpen it with the stones.
Light quick passes against the wheel and heating won't be a problem.
 

SabertoothBunny

SabertoothBunny
Corporate Member
@SabertoothBunny Actually one more question, which are the balancing washers on that site? I see they have "machined aluminum" ones and "self-aligning spherical washers." I am assuming it's the self-aligning spherical?

EDIT: Never mind, I spoke to Ken on the phone, I got it sorted out. The self-aligning you always want and the machined ones are if you want to use a Spartan wheel or other 1" wheel and keep the guards on, to space it out from the shoulder so as not to hit the guard.


I just got the aligning washers for my 8" slow speed Rikon grinder and have had no issues.
 

mdbuntyn

Matt
Staff member
Corporate Member
You'll be surprised at how well the 80 grit CBN works, when compared to the 60 grit (that I'm assuming) came with your grinder
 

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