Grinder Problem

[Bob Korves]

Is Norton not thought to be a good wheel? If not, what is?
Tim

Yes, Norton should be a good wheel. For some reason I thought this was an inexpensive import grinder, must have confused this thread with another. You still need to find the issue that is causing the problems. You might try installing just one wheel at a time and see what you get.

 

[C-Bag]

I have used the balancer shown in this link and have had very good results. Can't assume that a Norton wheel will be balanced out of the box.

Oneway Balancing System - Lee Valley Tools

www.leevalley.com

I went through a several month hell trying to balance the new wheels on a new 8" bench grinder. The wheels that came with it were Chinese and I thought a set of Nortons would be better,they weren't. Tried making a new hub, was tighter and truer but still to much vibration. I tried trad dresser and it seemed like it made it worse. I even made a rig to mount the wheel in my mill and use a diamond dresser to true the wheel, better but no cigar. Bumbled onto the Oneway and finally cured it. Not cheap, but not a cheap set up either. Had to do a couple of tweeks like soak the balancer bearings in solvent to take some of the grease out to make the bearings spin free. But now the grinder runs smooth as glass.

 

[tmenyc]

Thanks, Bob and others. I'll definitely shim up the other wheel tonight, see how it goes. But my shop is small and my time is very limited, so I'm pretty loath to invest in a balancing system I'll use once to maybe successfully balance a $20 wheel. Thus, my inclination is to sacrifice the perfect for the good, and if the shim doesn't do the job, get a different wheel and hope it's a good one. I will say that I'm a little reluctant to give Norton another shot, unless it's generally as good as the others. This time I'll know enough to check its roundness and bushing fit before I use it. Recommendations for brand?
Also, MSC sells a dedicated bushing for $5 or so. Is these things any good? Again, I can certainly turn this from delrin, but don't think I have 1" OD, would prefer to just move on this time.
many thanks.
Tim

 

[royesses]

My 8" Dewalt grinder was similar. I used Camel wheels with 1" bores. I turned 4 6061-T65 3" washers .250 thick with relieved centers so only the outside 1/4" of the washer touches the wheels. I made new nuts. I machined new bushings for the wheels out of 4130. My grinder also had a spacer between the inside washer and the outer motor bearings. The spacers were way too loose on the shaft and added vibration. I turned spacers that fit tight. Then I used those little circular price stickers between the washers and wheels to get the wheels to have as little side to side run-out as I could. I made a diamond tipped wheel truer to get the wheels true. Now I can balance a nickle on the grinder when it is running.

The washers that come with the import grinders are useless. They are not flat and typically the hole punched in them in out of round. The price stickers allow you to shim the wheels. I mount them on opposite sides of the wheel 180° apart. I use as many stickers as needed. Use a pencil to find the spot with the most run-out.

The diamond truer has a HD plastic pad that rides on the tool rest. The photo shows it before I milled it to leave an edge that rides against the tool rest. I glued and screwed the pad to the aluminum block.


Roy

 

[tmenyc]

Friends -- well, I did not take the course I thought I would take. Instead, after much video watching and reading, I decided the odds were in favor of the cheap flanges and plastic bushings being out of true, so I bought the Raptor machined flange/nut piece, and the improvement has been rather significant. Then, I removed the spark guard which I haven't been using anyway, and (ahem...) tightened the set screws on the Wen pedestal, which had also worked loose. Then I dressed the wheel much deeper than I normally do, perhaps can do a bit more this weekend. Now it's working wonderfully.
Thanks for all the help.

Tim