Al A.
Aluminum
- Joined
- May 14, 2006
- Location
- Dracut, MA
I have a small KO Lee B300 T&C grinder. The wheels on this machine mount right on the shaft, which is straight, using flanges similar to a bench grinder. There are no separate hubs that go on and off with the wheels. There is no obvious mechanism for balancing individual wheels, and that balance would be gone once the wheel was removed from the machine anyhow.
I am obviously no expert but the machine seems to run VERY smoothly and seems pretty much free of any detectable vibration by just mounting a wheel and flipping the switch.
I use this pretty much for it's intended use as a tool sharpener, occasionally to make a special cutter, and for a bit of very light duty small area surface grinding. I do ring the wheels, stand out of the way when spinning up, install guards, wear my eye protection, store the wheels carefully, etc. All the standard safety stuff.
So my question is really, does this (lack of balance provisions) matter that much? I seem to be able to do what the machine is intended for and even the original manual includes no discussion of wheel balancing. I mostly ask because of the amount of discussion wheel balancing gets here and on other forums and such, though admittedly that generally relates to surface grinders.
For context, this is used in a hobbyist type environment, I am not a tool making shop nor am I making aerospace parts, etc.
As a related matter, I seem to see a fair bit of discussion about balancing wheels for bench grinders. In my limited experience, I think I have only seen problems with imbalance related to cheapo grinding wheels. Once I tossed those crummy grey things that came on my bench grinders (took me years...) with decent quality wheels, excessive vibration has not been a problem. I have a balancing fixture that came with a bunch of "stuff" I bought once, but have not found occasion to use it in years. Just curious if I am overlooking something and would like some input and discussion from guys who know a lot more of this than I.
Thanks,
Al
I am obviously no expert but the machine seems to run VERY smoothly and seems pretty much free of any detectable vibration by just mounting a wheel and flipping the switch.
I use this pretty much for it's intended use as a tool sharpener, occasionally to make a special cutter, and for a bit of very light duty small area surface grinding. I do ring the wheels, stand out of the way when spinning up, install guards, wear my eye protection, store the wheels carefully, etc. All the standard safety stuff.
So my question is really, does this (lack of balance provisions) matter that much? I seem to be able to do what the machine is intended for and even the original manual includes no discussion of wheel balancing. I mostly ask because of the amount of discussion wheel balancing gets here and on other forums and such, though admittedly that generally relates to surface grinders.
For context, this is used in a hobbyist type environment, I am not a tool making shop nor am I making aerospace parts, etc.
As a related matter, I seem to see a fair bit of discussion about balancing wheels for bench grinders. In my limited experience, I think I have only seen problems with imbalance related to cheapo grinding wheels. Once I tossed those crummy grey things that came on my bench grinders (took me years...) with decent quality wheels, excessive vibration has not been a problem. I have a balancing fixture that came with a bunch of "stuff" I bought once, but have not found occasion to use it in years. Just curious if I am overlooking something and would like some input and discussion from guys who know a lot more of this than I.
Thanks,
Al