Need feedback on Bench Grinder and Wheels

[Sal Kurban]

Hello Folks,

A friend bought the two speed Woodcraft 8" bench grinder and I bought a Ryobi from HomeDepot. We then bought 80 and 120 grit A/O CGW Camel brand blue wheels for turning tools. Both grinders wobble with original wheels and with the new wheels. It seems the CGW wheels wobble more due to the plastic bushings being loose. To give you an idea, the grinder sounds like an aircraft and would require hearing protection when it spins @3600 RPM.

The wheels also seem to be off center due to the loose bushings. Are there wheels that have 5/8" arbor without bushings? We have not dressed the wheels yet because doing so would void any warranty or prospect of returning them.

Thank you in advance for your feedback,

Sal.

[Gordon Seto]

We have not dressed the wheels yet because doing so would void any warranty or prospect of returning them.

Woodcraft has a 90 days satisfaction guarantee. Woodcraft would not hassle you if you have dressed the wheel. They would cheerfully exchange it or give you full refund. We are not paying Baldor price here, the QC is not as consistent either. Plug the grinder in and take a test before you leave the store; that would save you a trip just in case. For $80 with couple decent AO wheels, they are good value.

[Glenn Hodges]

I have been using my slow grinder from Woodcraft for about 7 years, no problems with it, and I am very happy with it. I think I bought my last wheels from Craft Supplies.

[Gordon Seto]

BTW, my Woodcraft slow speed grinder lasted only about 3 years. The original wheels still have a lot of life left. It made a grinding noise from the motor. For the price of a new one, it is not worth having the motor repaired. I got the heavy duty (100 pounds) slow speed Delta to replace it. The $200 Delta came with 1 gray wheel that is not suitable for HSS tools. It is a better, stronger, steadier grinder than the WC; but it is not 2½ times better. It is still not a Baldor. Hope this will have a better life to make up for the price.

[robert hainstock]

Bought mine on tsale in Aug, 07. No problems so far; But I agree with he who said plug it in at the store if you can. Apparently quality control is not high on the gottadoit list in China.
Bob

[EDDIE GLAZE]

I Have A Delta 8" High Speed Grinder, Also Equiped With Oneway Weel Balansers. 5 Years Old No Problems So Far. I Highly Recomend The Weel Balancers, They Eliminate Vibration, When Weel Is Properly Balanced. And You Also Get A Nice Smoth Finish On The Tools.

[M Toupin]

To answer your question, abrasive wheels need to be trued with a diamond dresser after installing them. Wheels aren't perfect out of the box.

Mike

[David Wilhelm]

I've got the 8" slow speed had it a couple years now and love it. Got mine on sale I think for $70.00. The wheels ran true and smooth that came on it. I hung and short tool in my 120 and need to replace it the new wheel when installed didn't. Here's what I did. I removed both cups and cleaned the shaft, filed and sanded the hole in each cup for a smooth fit. Installed new wheel and dressed the face. She's smooth as silk now and it took less time than it did to sign on to SMC, read these post and write this all down.

[Victor Stearns]

I purchase and am very happy with this grinder. Dressing the wheels will make a lot of difference. If you are still unhappy with a possbile imbalance issue, you could purchase a wheel balancing system. I think our friends at ONEWAY, i.e. Wolverine have one.
Victor

[Steve Trauthwein]

None of the composite wheels are balanced as manufactured. Dressing may help some but I find that the wheel balancing system takes the guess work out of it. To check the grinder take the wheels of and run it with just the shaft. My guess is it will just purr. This will pin point your problem. If the grinder howls without a load on it, then take it back.


Regards, Steve

[Jerry Allen]

Sal,
I just got an 8" WC slow speed. The first one worked fine, but I could not get the lateral wobble out of the left wheel. After messing around for awhile, I noticed the the step on the left shaft was not perpendicular where the inner flange sits. I sent it back and WC sent me a new one within the week. The new one is much better, but not perfect. Like David said, take it all apart and clean up the shafts, and make sure the step on the shaft is clean. I had to file mine a little to get the inner flange to seat right. Like others have stated, grinding wheels are cast and not perfectly round or exactly even in thickness. It is expected that they must be trued when installed and first used. Not only when you first install it but from time to time during use. The 8" wheels are large and heavy. Removing and replacing them can result in a slight wobble. Before re-truing, you might find that checking for dirt on the shaft and flanges, flipping the wheel 180 deg., or just rotating the wheel some on the shaft can improve the balance.
I have never seen a wheel without a nylon bushing on inexpensive bench grinders. I don't think the mfgrs want the wheel in direct contact with the shaft, and the bushing absorbs shock between the wheel and the shaft. Some of the bushings are a little looser than others. Until the wheel is clamped tight between the flanges, the bushing and wheel can move realtive to one another. Make sure you get the flanges tight, past hand snug. I use a small rawhide mallet to tap a cresent wrench while holding the wheel still. Don't go nuts, just a small tap will do! I alway wonder why there are not flats on the shaft or a shaft lock, but maybe they don't want folks to overtighten.
I have heard the same complaints on Delta 8" grinders. I have a few cheap 6" high speed bench grinders and the problems with out of round and wobble have never been as pronounced. Makes sense since the diameter is smaller and the wheels are thinner.

[Sal Kurban]

Thanks to all of you for the feedback. It seems this is almost a universal problem and some tweaking with the wheels and truing them will be necessary. If this does not do it we will try a wheel balancing system.

I was hoping that grinding wheels with a single 5/8 plastic bushing do exist but I guess they do not. The CGW wheels come with a 1" hole and there are three busings to reduce it to 5/8".

Does anyone have any experience with the CGW Camel brand (Made in Israel) blue A/O grinding wheels? Are the any good?

Sal.

[Jerry Allen]

I have a couple of Camel 6" white alum oxide wheels. They are good and were about $10 from an industrial supply store. Don't think they will get much use now since I got the 8".
My 8" wheels on my WC are trued and running great. That first cleanup and truing is critical. Don't worry about the plastic bushings. That's just the way is is. Once the wheels are tight and trued, they should be fine.