Grinding with coolants

Spelunker · May 23, 2008

Hi all,

I have a guy in the shop(the supervisor of grinding) claim that adding coolant to the grinding operation(s) does nothing for improved quality of finish or wheel life. We do a fair amount of OD grinding as well as surface and thread grinding. Additionally, he said that a "rust inhibitor" would be just as good. I disagree.

I claim that adding coolants improves both wheel lif AND finish quality on parts. Am I off base????

What are some of your opinions and why?? Some of the "technical" info on the subject is rather "wordy" and I grow impatiant reading the "technical jargon". I would like REAL WORKIN' folks opinions on the matter in "shop speak"

Thanks in advance everyone.

Grinder_Sal · May 23, 2008

you are right...ive been in business for over 35 yrs and been grinding for over 42 yrs...using coolant increases wheel life...better finishes...better for the machine...etc...i have a complete grind shop...i.d./o.d. threads, surface, rotary, i.d. o.d. etc...i would never ever recommend running precision parts dry...you just dont do it

yoyo · May 24, 2008

It also depends on the materials. Some materials have manufacturers instructions on how to grind them. There are hardened steels that deform very quick when overheated and instructions request mist cooling.

aeb · May 25, 2008

I am new to this forum but have been grinding for 30 odd years mainly crankshafts but more recently cylindrical and centerless.Im not sure if you mean grinding dry or not using coolant,just water or with rust inhibitor added.
Firstly the only grinding I would do dry would be angle or bench grinding.
A few points to consider would be grinder burn,the job expanding due to heat giving inacurate size as well as grinding dust removal and collection.On top of this there would be air born dust etc.
If using straight water water you would soon have problems with rust and accumulated grinding dust building up in slides etc.
If as you mentioned you use a rust inhibitor there will be no real advantage other than stopping the machine and jobs rusting.
There are many options with coolants depending on the type of grinding you do,its best to get a rep in to put you on the right path

JSefers · Mar 25, 2017

Most certainly coolant does improve both finish and grinding wheel in my own experience last longer. Also the stronger is coolant the better. If you struggle to get the surface finish on a part then add more of that cutting oil which makes coolant stronger. In my own experience it does improve finish. Without it i had a job that came out straight covered in rust. Sounds unreal i know but it is true.
Hope i did answer your worries.
Thanks

CarbideBob · Mar 25, 2017

JSefers said:
Most certainly coolant does improve both finish and grinding wheel in my own experience last longer. Also the stronger is coolant the better. If you struggle to get the surface finish on a part then add more of that cutting oil which makes coolant stronger. In my own experience it does improve finish. Without it i had a job that came out straight covered in rust. Sounds unreal i know but it is true.
Hope i did answer your worries.
Thanks

I hope after 8+ years he is past his worries.

michiganbuck · Mar 25, 2017

My buddy Donny spent years in a good size shop where the owner would not allow coolant on his grinders..When Donny came to work with me and began using coolant he was amazed how much easier to hold size.

I worked in a shop where coolant was only used on Blanchards and diamond wheel grinding...go figure the shop mad a lot of money but suffered some from cool down time, but saved with quicker clean up..

Worked at a shop where the surface finish on one job required fresh water for the last few tenths.

Heat and burn are the most common reasons for adding coolant. But quick cool down can be also bad,,still I do some gauge work with only a hand spray just because it is quicker to clean the chuck... and some dry. Run some dry and wet work with a pause off one side or both for cool down, Ran one dry job cherry red and mostly melted away the take. ..(Yes some old timers say a wheel can heat blow up.) That is funny because I am an old timer.

*Supervisor of grinding? *likely he is a grinder hand so if you are not then let him have his way IMHO.

Reading the "technical jargon won't make one a grinder hand.

JSefers · Mar 25, 2017

I didn't realise this was that old.... lol

split tenth · Mar 26, 2017

49 years grinding to one tenth or less.Use the coolant.I worked in a place were we actually warmed the coolant to about 74 degrees so the part was close to size after blowing it off with an air hose.

michiganbuck · Mar 26, 2017

QT: [was close to size] As said by a true grinder hand...You don't say "on size" because the part that has a + or - .0001 will be reported "You were off 8 millionths on the part" by the inspector.. not you were on size or in spec..

jonathan2jones · Mar 26, 2017

So what does everyone have in their tank? For Cylindrical, surface, hard or soft materials, ferrous, non ferrous grinding what are you using?

cash · Mar 29, 2017

And this guy was a supervisor?

We use Houghton 767 which is a full synthetic. I have over 14,000 gallons between 3 central systems. it hold up for over 18 months before we dump and recharge.

Our rep comes in every couple weeks to take samples and send to the lab.

michiganbuck · Mar 29, 2017

Any (most) bigger work like grinding .020 or so coolant will cool the job and make it go faster with less chance of burn and swell up so easier to hold size and avoid warp.

Harder work and SS takes more pressure so most often coolant in needed.

Grinding dry for smalls and one-ups and light skim grinding may provide less clean up time an perhaps save time if having little chance of burn or swell-up..

[he said that a "rust inhibitor" would be just as good]? A coolant tank, flood or or mist of that would be much the same as coolant.

Some work can be done with a cold air spray..Cool parts during tool grinding, milling and drilling, chill roll and laser cutting applications

So likely depends on the kind of work and time allowed on the job..Slow is really good for overtime.

Bradracer18 · Mar 31, 2017

We run a couple % coolant to water. Basically enough to keep parts from rusting. I haven't tried much more than this, and don't think you would need to. We use synthetic coolant, and we filter it ourselves once or so times a year. I'm not sure coolant helps in surface finish, but the "liquid" part does. I can't say if its the coolant or the water, as I've never used water alone. Coolant is much easier than dry grinding.

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