Get off a stubborn grinding wheel with no tools (to speak of).

[cognitdiss]

Ok so I borrowed the lever arm from an HF (Hossfeld type) bender and an old strap, but a rebar bender (the 3 knuckle type) or some uni-strut or really any other scrap would have worked fine too, you are basically just making large filter wrench.

If you layer the straps around the knuckles (cross bars) correctly they will self tighten against themselves, making a very frictive belay, and because they pad the wheel you won't put a scratch or a gouge on the wheel. Made a really annoying task really easy.

Maybe if I taught a shop class or ran a busy production shop I would make a purpose built tool, but since I only need it a couple of times every other year I will stick to this kluge.

[Philip Davies]

May I ask whether you change a grinding wheel after about six months? I was surprised to learn from an engineer that he still had the original wheels on his home shop grinder.

[cognitdiss]

I don't think they have a best-by date?
Most home wheels never need dressing, biggest reason why they never get changed.
I think I have one at home that has a wheel on it that dates with the machine, from the mid 50's.
But, if you grind lots of hard stuff like tungstens you might want to dress it every once in a while.
But a sure fire way to have a grinding wheel get changed, or at least loose a bunch to dressing, is to grind something non-ferrous on it. Super numbskull maneuver.
And my green wheel shrinks before my very eyes when shaping a tool.
This time, I needed a new grinder for the workplace, and wanted to swap the vitrified for a wire wheel. Boy was that thing on tight, but the strap wrench couldn't care less.

[Philip Davies]

I don't think they have a best-by date?
Most home wheels never need dressing, biggest reason why they never get changed.
I think I have one at home that has a wheel on it that dates with the machine, from the mid 50's.
But, if you grind lots of hard stuff like tungstens you might want to dress it every once in a while.
But a sure fire way to have a grinding wheel get changed, or at least loose a bunch to dressing, is to grind something non-ferrous on it. Super numbskull maneuver.
And my green wheel shrinks before my very eyes when shaping a tool.
This time, I needed a new grinder for the workplace, and wanted to swap the vitrified for a wire wheel. Boy was that thing on tight, but the strap wrench couldn't care less.

Thanks. I realised you had an industrial set up. I have bought cheap bench grinders, have only ever ground steel, sharpening, in a home workshop, but have found the wheels supplied do not last very well. Once the diameter is reduced to about 5”, the rests are too far off, so a new wheel’s needed.

[cognitdiss]

I wouldn't call my setup industrial per se. I do have two basic dewalt bench grinders in my work-shop, an 8" and a 6".

The 8" has the coarse factory stone on it, the images were of me removing the fine stone to install a wire wheel. This way I can round corners, chamfer bar stock, dress and clean threaded rod, clean rusty steel for a weld, and clearance the steel out of the way when repurposing lathe tools. This grinder has plenty of oomph for what I need, esp for the wire wheel.

The 6" has both factory stones removed, replaced by a green stone on one side and a 150 grit diamond on the other for sharpening drills and forming & sharpening the tungsten carbide on lathe tools.

Yes if you are sharpening carbide (my low budget way) you will need a green wheel, telescopic shims to fit the wheel to your arbor, and a cheap flat diamond dresser. Diamond wheel is nice for better surface finish w/ lathe tools.

I don't sharpen on anything else any more. But the green wheels do not last forever, and make silica dust, so plan to deal w/ that if you go this route. Personally, this is my current ideal grinder setup, at work or at home.

Somehow I manage to go through grinders faster than my wheel supply. If you lived in the area I would drop off a large fraction of my stash of vitrified and still have a functionally infinite amount of grinding wheel life on hand.

[Jon]

Congratulations cognitdiss - your grinding wheel removal method is the Tool Tip of the Month for April 2024!

Nice technique for removing a stuck grinding wheel without damaging it.

Some more good tool tips from April:

How to Machine the End Face of a Block Without a Square Reference by Mook
Tip Collection by Occasional machinist
Zero Clearance Fence for the Table Saw by Make Things
Single Jaw F-Clamps by Make Things
Spring Clamp Storage Rack by HENRY!
Holesaw Relief Cuts by Make Things

cognitdiss - we've added your Tool Tip to our All Tool Tips of the Month winners post. And, you'll now notice the tool tip award in the awards showcase in your postbit, visible beneath your username:



And, you'll be receiving a $100 cash prize, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and prize choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

Congrats again