Grinders

by **NKT** » 29 Jun 2006 18:25

I've just spent 30 minutes trying to get a new cloth polishing pad onto the fast side of my wet wheel. Turns out it is far too thick for the guard to go back on it. I had to spend ages drilling a larger hole through the middle, as cloth tends to close up. It was still a hell of a job to get it onto the spindle.

Obviously I'm careful, but are there any unexpected dangers to having a polishing wheel without a guard on it on the bench?

I may well rig it to a board to increase stability as well, since the designer just stuffed the huge wet wheel on the other end, and it tends to tip over in use! Bolting it down is difficult, since how, then do you add or subtract water? The gap for the plug on the bottom is tiny so you can't get to it, and the big wheel is on the back, making the other wheel un-usable unless you turn it around or walk around it. But it looked great in the shop. :roll:

by **Shrub** » 29 Jun 2006 20:49

Well the tank is either a oil tank or a catch tank for water and water isnt actualy hel in it,

Without a pic its hard to tell but personally if useing water i would use a washing up liquid bottle to squirt it on the wheel and use the tank as a catch tank, when its full stop spraying rhe water,

Mops are often used without the guards as they themselves can turn into a hazard especially if the mop grabs the guard with a stray bit of cotton etc,

Dont use too much polish and dont press on them too much at all, the way to use a mop is to polish under the centre so if somthing goes wrong you can just drop the work and it will flick away from you so if clamping down make sure the wheel isnt too close to the bench,

by **cL4y** » 30 Jun 2006 20:00

and whatever you do,if you have a platform just before the grinding wheel,DO NOT have it within like 3 mm if the wheel (well thats what it says on my black & decker)and after prolonged use on the side of the wheel(yes i also know it works better) it will wear down,from grinding 2 picks and a tension wrench,mine was REALLY worn down.

by **Shrub** » 30 Jun 2006 20:08

Im not really sure what your saying there?

Are you commiting 2 serious errors?

You SHOULD have the tool rest WITHIN 3mm of the wheel,

You should NOT grind on the side of the wheel EVER,

Regardless of waht your black and decker instructions say or what you think they say the above 2 rules must be followed for safe grinding.

by **cL4y** » 30 Jun 2006 20:11

WHOA man calm down,and sorry i meant the corner,even if that is still wrong.

my bad.

by **p1ckf1sh** » 1 Jul 2006 4:45

cL4y wrote:WHOA man calm down,and sorry i meant the corner,even if that is still wrong.

I don't think Shrub was agitated at all, but when someone posts about "grinding on the side", this absolutely has to be corrected. One day someone might come along, read this long forgotten thread and take your approach to his new grinder, resulting in something painful or worse.

I do not have any clue how many people actually take up the usage of power tools when they are lured into the locksport community, but I did and I am glad for lots of advice regarding power tools that would not have come naturally to me.

Regarding the front rest, wheel guards, whatever you guys call them, I like to have them close, and I'd tend to think that is how they are supposed to be. On one side I actually grinded a slot into the guard and adjusted it to roughly 1mm clearance after that. This now gives me a rest that actually reaches a bit around the corner of the wheel for added support. Kind alike this:

Code: Select all: ....WWWWW.... ....WWWWW.... ###.WWWWW.### ###.WWWWW.### ###.......### #############

W=Wheel
#=Tool Rest
.=nothing, air, space, clearance...

It's outta proportion, but the clearance front and side is equally about 1-1.5mm. Works fine.

by **cL4y** » 1 Jul 2006 9:05

its just this is what my grinder looks like.(according to your key)

WWWWW
WWWWW
WWWWW
WWWWW
WWWWW
........................
===========
===========
===========

exept the "=" is the platform.

and if you didn't notice,i did correct myself,i said the corner (even if that is still wrong,for the 2nd time)

by **Shrub** » 1 Jul 2006 9:38

The tool rest should be as close as possable so nothing can slip between the rest and the wheel, it also should be slightly above centre,

If somthing jams in between the wheel and rest again a break up can occur.

by **cL4y** » 2 Jul 2006 19:31

yeh i know that,sorry but from what instructions have told me, it can't be too close,as the wheel can rub up against it.

by **Shrub** » 2 Jul 2006 19:34

Well the wheel should be balenced which means that it will be the same measurement from the spindle all the way around so if its nearly touching then it will be the same all the way around,

Get a piece of A4 paper, fold it in half, then half again, then half again, put that between the wheel and the rest and push the rest up to it, tighten the rest then rotate the wheel by hand to remove the paper, that should be a good spacing guideline for you.

by **Shrub** » 2 Jul 2006 19:38

As a side note the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) were goign to ban the sale of all grinders to the public for home use, that was around 6 years ago and was due to the number of accidents, more problems arise when a wheel dresser is supplied with them as they need to be used properly as well,

The lack of instruction you get with them and the training required to correctly use and dress one can not be put across in an instruction sheet that gets thrown away with the box,

They obviously havent stopped it however,

Before i left (i worked for them for just over 15 years) i did a lot of test apparatus for them to test bench grinders but left before i knew the outcome,

by **NKT** » 3 Jul 2006 7:35

Just to add, from my experiance, modern wheels in good repair are amazingly tough and safe. People do really stupid things to them, and they survive. Other times however, the disc blows itself to bits, fragging the work and the users' hands and face...

Learn how to use your power tools safely, not just your drill or your grinder, but all of them.

A bench grinder doing 3000RPM has an edge speed of about 24 meters per second (53mph) and is (far) harder than your teeth.

Despite the number of references to them on these boards, brass magnets don't exist, and many stainless steels are barely attracted to even a strong magnet.

A bit of swarf in your eye at those speeds might well be enough to blind you instantly if you don't wear glasses, and if your pick somehow gets caught and flung at those speeds into your eye you would be both extremely unlucky and likely dead.

Obviously, these aren't everyday occurances, and as long as you follow the safety rules and avoid modification of your machine tool, they just about can't happen.

The toolrest/guard should be close enough to the wheel that it will not allow your work to slip and go down into the system - this alone stops things grabbing and being thrown back at you. The side and top covers are there to help prevent accidental contact with the wheel. The eyeshields are there to stop swarf and sparks from hitting your eyes.

by **Shrub** » 3 Jul 2006 8:32

My upm,ost fear is that one of you guys go get a grinder and start pick making, all on our suggestions, then somthing goes wrong and your maimed, then its my and the others at fault for telling you without also telling you the dangers and then LP101 gets pulled into disrepute for having the advice on the boards.

Becuase of that i will always be the voice of doom on such things.

by **NKT** » 3 Jul 2006 10:01

Hey, I out-Doomed you on this one. I was the first person to mention "death by impaled on a pick".

And let's not forget the nailgun! :lol:

by **Shrub** » 3 Jul 2006 11:35

Good but no cigar, i mentioned a pick in ones head on another post a long time ago maybe even this thread but without re-reading it im unsure,

Nail guns!!! :lol:

now dont get me started

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