Will the oneway balancing system work on a woodcraft slowspeed grinder?
Hi Creekers,
I have a question. I have been testing my grinder and my tools bounce on the wheel. I have dressed the surface and dressed the surface of the wheels. It is pretty clean but I can still hear a loosely held tool "bounce" on the wheel.
So I got online and looked at the oneway balancing system. I really thought it might help. But it said something to the effect of "the grinding wheel must have a 1" hole" then the bushings take it down to fit the 5/8th inch arbor on the grinder. I went back to the woodcraft website looking for the grinder and it is long gone. So I have no clue what the diameter of the hole in the grinder wheel is.
Since that grinder was pretty darn popular for a long time I figured someone might have done this before me. So does anyone know if the oneway balancing system will work on the Woodcraft slow speed grinder? Or do I need to get new wheels if I want to use one?
Thanks!
Joshua
Woodcraft Slow Speed Grinder
I read this post especialy Don's comments and decided since I was not happy with the way my grinder was performing and now I'm back up stairs with some questions.I have the woodcraft and mine has black splined plastic arbors that don't appear to want to come out easily.What kind of effort does it take to get them out.I found the drill bushings if they do ever come out cause now my wheels have a side to side wobble which is coming through as a vibration.
Second question,what kind of wheel,brand and color do most use on whatever grinder they have unless speed determines a particular wheel.I have the 80 and 120 white wheels that came on the grinder.
Thanx,Greg
Plastic bushing removal, wheel selection and mounting procedures
I don’t have the Woodcraft grinder, but I offer the following:
It is possible the bushings are glued in, but maybe not. To test this: remove the wheels and using wooden dowel of similar diameter and a small hammer, lightly tap the bushing and see if it moves. If it doesn’t; don’t force it.
If you aren’t able to remove the bushings, you will need to decide whether to re-use the existing wheels or buy new ones. I would first try using the wheels you already have as long as they are greater than 7.5” diameter. In this case remount the wheels and true them with a good wheel truing system as described earlier.
If you decide to replace the wheels, many have had success with the Norton 3X wheels I purchased from Packard. They can be purchased with a 1” hole. I used bushings that were 5/8” i.d. X 1” o.d. X 1” long.
As far as the grit is concerned, many turners benefit from having two different grits. In these cases I think and 80 and a 120 would be good choices.
When mounting wheels you may notice some side to side wobble. To minimize this:
1) mount the wheel to the axle and snug the securing nut.
2) Rotate the wheel by hand and observe the amount of wobble. If it is more than you want:
3) Loosen the nut and rotate the wheel on the axle to a different position and re-snug the nut. Test the wobble again. If it still isn’t satisfactory:
4) Remove the wheel and flip it 180°.
5) Re-snug the nut and test again.
6) Go through this process until you find a position that result in an acceptable amount of wobble. If you don’t:
7) Locate a point where wobble is at its maximum and use pieces of paper (not metal) to shim between the edge of the cup washer and the side of the wheel to counter the movement. A little bit goes a long way, so start with one piece and build up if necessary. I’ve had success using paper dots that have adhesive on the back (available from most office supply stores).
Be sure to tighten the nuts when you get done and replace the guards. The recommended torque on the nuts is 5 to 7 ft. lbs. If you don’t have a torque wrench in this range: hold the wheel still with your bare hand and use a wrench to tighten the nut. When the hand you are holding the wheel still with hurts, you’ve applied enough torque. My point is: don’t over-tighten the nuts.
Whenever you get the wheel wobble taken care of, then true both wheels using a good quality wheel truing system as discussed earlier.
I hope this information has been useful.
Don Geiger