Wheels and brushes on bench grinder


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Old 11-13-10, 04:26 AM
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Wheels and brushes on bench grinder

After all these years of using them, I just bought my own bench grinder. It came with 2 abrasive wheels (fine/medium grit).

I mainly will be using the grinder for cleaning and polishing corroded/grungy parts, though. I"ve picked up some coarse and fine brush wheels, but of course they are much thinner than the wide grinding wheels.

Is it OK to use ordinary washers (1/2" holes) that will slip right over the arbor on the grinder so that the brush wheels will be centered? the tool came with no instructions/drawings, and I'm usually good at figuring out the obvious, but am not sure wherther a "special part" is needed here.

Another thing: when loosening the arbor bolt on one side to change a wheel, the arbor bolt on the other side moves with it (naturally). How do I get a grip on one side while I am tightening/loosening the other side? There's got to be a simple answer to this, but I haven't figured it out yet.

BTW, It uis easy to see why so many people have TWO bench grinders installed with their favorite 4 wheels installed!
 
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Old 11-13-10, 05:31 AM
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First make sure that your wire wheels can handle the rpm's of your grinder. Make sure to wear good gloves and NO loose clothing or long hair that can get caught in the wheel. I have seen two very horrible injuries when using a wire wheel without a fence or work platform and the part catches, pulling the part forward and snagging a baggy shirt sleeve in the wheel.

You can get wire wheels with the correct size arbor so you don't have the spacer problem. Since you already have the wire wheels I would try to stay away from standard washers as spacers if possible. The hole in arbors and spacers is a much closer tolerance to insure that they are centered without much slop. Standard washers have an over sized hole which would make it almost impossible to get them exactly centered and might cause some vibration that could be bad for the bearings in the motor. You can get precision washers or worst case you can look in the special hardware bins at your home improvement store for washers with a smaller outside diameter to minimize any imbalance.

When changing a wheel I usually hold on to the wheel on the other side (I don't put a wrench on the other wheels bolt) to prevent it from turning.
 
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Old 11-13-10, 06:53 AM
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Centered how?

From your post I get the impression that you are concerned about them centered in the wheel guards, not concentically about the arbor. If that's the case, 1/2 fender washers will do for a 6 inch grinder, but try not to stack too many together or they'll slip. If a lot of shimming is needed, cut one out of the appropriate thickness plywood and glue a piece of thin rubber sheet to the side that'll contact the wheel. This method works for me every day.
 
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Old 11-14-10, 04:35 PM
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Ahy more advice?

thanks for the info.

I used one of my wire wheels today using 1/2" fender washers(3 of them) with good results (no slipping that I noticed).

I gather that the arbor nut does not necessarily have to be torqued down too hard. I can't budge the nut on the left wheel by just holding the wheel on the right side, so I've got to do something to hold the right side firmly enough. So far, no luck.

I'm trying to be cautious with this efficient but potentially dangerous tool. I've heard not to use gloves (or any other loose clothing) as the wheel may snatch them with predictable results. I've watched others hold small parts under a wire wheel with their bare hands but I'd be nervous doing that. I hold parts firmly with a pair of pliers, trying to avoid angles that would allow the brush to 'grab' the par I'm cleaning.

Your practical tips are appreciated... any futher tips or cautionary advice?
 
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Old 11-14-10, 06:53 PM
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always wear safety glasses, wires can and will fly out of the wheels and one in the eye will ruin your day, I have had them stick me in the face plenty of times but thanks to good safety glasses no eye injurys, you really should wear a face shield but most people will not because of the hassle factor in puting it on and taking it off every time. yes use pliers preferably good locking pliers to hold everything unless it is big enough to allow a good grip away from the brush. I have had bolts fly out and chip windshields in a vehicle parked in the line of fire. will get your attention right now.

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.
 
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Old 11-15-10, 06:30 AM
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wire wheels

Flip them over once in a while to make sure the wires don't take a set in one direction and to take advantage of the sharp chiseling action. Good luck.
 
 

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