Dressing grinding wheels

I have an 8" slow speed (1725 rpm) grinder from Woodcraft and the T handle diamond dressing tool. The *1#&% wheels are out of round by

1/16" and no matter what I do I can not dress them round. The wheels also do not run true. I suppose it is like the bounce on a bowl. Once started, one must make an entirely fresh cut to get the bounce out. But how does one start a new cut? Would a single point diamond work, and if so where does one buy one of those?

Paul Gilbert

Reply to
Paul
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Paul, I have the same grinder/dressing tool combination. Because the reforming process of the dressing tool is abrasion, not cutting, you hold the tool against the wheel, approaching it in a radial direction, not 'cutting' it in from the side (if that's what you are doing).

The secret for me to remove out-of-roundness is a light touch. Don't let the dressing tool follow the contour of the wheel. If it does press firmly against the wheel, and is allowed to move along the out- of-round contour, it removes material at both the high spots and low spots, but doesn't much even them out. I hold the dressing tool firmly, moving the flat face of it slowly into the wheel, letting it contact just the high spots. At the same time, to clean up any grooving, I move the tool side-to-side, always keeping the tool steady in the radial direction. As the high spots wear off, I slowly move the tool inward to catch more of the high areas. After a short while, the tool contacts more and more of the wheel, and eventually the wheel is round and flat again. Works every time.

Bob

Reply to
Bob

Ok.. going to assume from your description that you're more experienced in this than I am, but the obvious questions first:

Are they properly installed? Have you tried changing switching them just for giggles to see if they like the other side better?

I use a single point dresser in my bowl gouge jig.. Seems to work best for me...

I have also had bad bushings/adapters, usually the plastic ones that adapt for shaft size, so now I pop them out of new wheels and use the old ones that were already running true...

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

Paul The problem with the newer grinders is that to cut cost, the metal disks that are supposed to keep your wheel true and square to the shaft are now stamped out disks, rather than thicker precise fitting machined disks, so now you have wobbling wheels and your grinder is shaking, pretty hard to then get a nice round wheel, and even if you did get it round the grinder is still vibrating, Oneway makes a balancing set, doesn't come cheap but works great, though your wheels need a 1" opening in your grinding wheels for the set to fit.

You can try to get the metal disks straightened out and if you can, then round the wheels, I have both the T handle and single point dresser, I don't know why, but the single point gives me the best wheel surface, I can't say anything about rounding the wheels as they are round and balanced and I have no issues with it, I use a 10" low speed grinder (1725rpm) and a old Stanley 8" high quality 3450rpm grinder also, and if it was not for the humming of either one, you wouldn't know they where running, both are standing loose and never move. So fix one thing first, the wobbling, then tackle the other, that should get you there.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo

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Reply to
l.vanderloo

here's what I do - note that none of this is "approved wood working procedure" because it does not require buying lots of expensive accessories - you can do this, or do something else

1, I get a cheap diamond saw cutting blade - typically a dollar or two on sale at HF - a worn out one would be fine
  1. resting blade on the grinder tool rest, slowly approach the face of the wheel (with the grinder running) and let teh diamond blade cut the wheel round.
  2. repeat on each side of the wheel to remove the wobble - brace the diamond blade somehow of course

this works cheaply, quickly, and effectively. you don't need a fancy balancing thingie or anything

note that you want a light touch, and that you should be careful cutting on the sides of the wheel lest they explode on you

Reply to
Bill Noble

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