Balancing Grinding wheels

[Mike Stephens]

I bought 2 new Norton 3x 8" wheels for my grinder and can't get one balanced. Part of the problem is definitely the crappy bushing they give you with the wheels.

If any you Creekers out there have any good tips I would sure love to hear them.

Mike

[Scott Conners]

I've heard of many who turn a new bushing out of hard maple or similar, instead of those silly nested plastic ones. Of course the best solution is probably the Oneway precision balancing system, but it costs as much as a good wheel and I'm still saving for it...

[Mike Stephens]

I've heard of many who turn a new bushing out of hard maple or similar, instead of those silly nested plastic ones. Of course the best solution is probably the Oneway precision balancing system, but it costs as much as a good wheel and I'm still saving for it...

I'm in the same boat. I wanted to order the Oneway balancing system but just don't have the ducats. Was hoping for the poor mans solution. I may have to make my own bushings. You would think a wheel like Nortons 3x would come with a least decent bushing.

[Thom Sturgill]

A little CA to glue the pieces of the shims together helped me alot.

[Richard Madison]

Always try the simplest thing first. Loosen the nut and rotate wheel 90 degrees relative to the arbor. Retighten. Worse, repeat, 90 degrees more in same direction. Good suggestions about improving the bushing too. Maybe do that first.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

A layer of painter's tape at a time to shim up the bushing? I do that when turning, I wouldn't see why it wouldn't work.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Return the wheel you can't get balanced, shouldn't be a problem, some wheels are just bad and they know that, grinding wheels are not things to screw around with, get another one.

[Tom Godley]

I have been very disappointed with the Norton wheels -- I have had to return quite a few in both the 8" and larger.

The ones I had all came from Mexico -- and the plastic bushings are junk (I like the glue idea)


I noticed last year that a lot of the Norton 4 and 5 inch cut off wheels for the handheld grinders are all made in China-!!

[Mike Stephens]

[Jim Becker]

I use the OneWay balancing system with my grinder and coincidentally, Norton 3x wheels. SMooooooooooooth....

[Mike Stephens]

I use the OneWay balancing system with my grinder and coincidentally, Norton 3x wheels. SMooooooooooooth....

Jim it's on my wish list but right now you are only rubbing salt in an open sore.

[Kieran Kammerer]

Jim,

For turning tools, what grit and grade Norton 3X wheels do you recommend?

Thanks,

Kieran

[Jim Becker]

Kieran, my personal preference for the "fine" wheel is 100 grit. I don't like 120 grit wheels. My shaping wheel is a 60 grit. This combination works well for me.

[Kieran Kammerer]

Thanks Jim,

Do you recall off hand if the wheels were K or I grade. It looks like Norton recommends the K for turning tools and the I grade (both are blue, 3x wheels) for chisels, etc.

Thanks again,

Kieran

[Frederick Rowe]

Mike - Maybe a long shot here, but I have found that sometimes a wheel might be balanced, but still cuts poorly because it is out of round. The tool bounces on the slightly oval wheel resulting in an uneven cut. The bouncing may be mistaken for out of balance. The best solution is the not so inexpensive truing tool from Oneway.

A shop made alternative is to clamp a nail to the grinder's tool rest so that it just barely touches the wheel. Rotate the wheel by hand and find the high spots. Mark with black marker. Next, move nail over so that you cover the width of the wheel and continue the process. If the high spots are extreme, return the wheel. But if not, gently remove material from the high spots with file. Carefully apply slight pressure to the wheel and turn the wheel by hand just until the ink from you marker begins to be abraded.

When you have removed the high spots, then the wheel can be balanced. Good advise given in another post to try rotating the wheel 90 degree relative to the washers. Mark both the 12 o'clock position of the wheel and washer before you rotate them so you can determine their relative positions later as this is a trial and error method.

Remember, don't try to true the grinding wheel while running if using my shop method. You'll only make the wheel smaller and possibly exaggerate the out of round condition. Remove material sparingly and always in a gentle radius.