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got flood coolant working, how to clean machine afterwards?

metalmagpie

Titanium
Joined
May 22, 2006
Location
Seattle
I got a 6x18" K.O. Lee last year. It took me a long time to find it, but I got a working hydraulic grinder which included a full-on wet kit. I've been using it for months now, but only dry. Today I finished setting up the flood coolant system and used it grinding some parts. Yesterday I did some of the same parts and had problems with thermal runaway. The flood coolant solved that problem. Mechanically it works great. Drains back to the sump without losing a drop.

After finishing the job, I squeegeed off the mag chuck. Normally I'd use my shop vac to clean up the grinding swarf. Today the end of my table was a sludgey mess. I have never been trained on using a grinder with coolant. How do you clean the machine after using it?

BTW I'm using a Blasocut soluble oil which seems like good stuff.

metalmagpie
 
usually the hose from the pump connects to the wheel nozzle through a slip joint arrangement. You grab the hose end and pull up to detach it. Then you have a little nozzle with a valve you can wash everything off with.
 
I tend to run the wheel for a bit to dry it, then use the coolant nozzles to wash the grit off the chuck and the left hand side of the table. I help it along with a 2" paint brush if it isn't washing off easily. If you've had enough coolant, there shouldn't be that much 'mud' left on the table.

After that, I use an old credit card to 'scrape' the coolant off the 8"x24" chuck (Car windscreen scraper would be good for a larger one). Once that's done, I run the hydraulic feed back and forth for a few minutes to get all of the coolant off the table.

Lastly, I dry the chuck with a rag and leave the rag, or a drier one on the chuck to catch any drips that might come off the wheel, guard or coolant nozzles.

Next time I use the grinder, the chuck is clean, dry, oil and rust free. :)
 
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Don't let a wet wheel stop, spin it till it's dry. You DO NOT want to turn on a wet wheel that has been sitting idle. I have heard horror stories about wheels blowing up, both surface grinder and angle grinder wheels for working with stone, when first turned on with wet wheels.
 
Although a warning here may be simple and obvious ^^^^^ This. ^^^^^^
And never start the coolant with the wheel stopped for the same reason.
The problem is soaking the stone in one area and now it is out of balance and the heavy part wants to leave the machine.
When washing down the machine avoid the wheel. A few splashes are ok but don't wash the inside of the wheel cover with a wheel mounted.
Aluminum core diamond/cbn wheels or steel plated ones this not a problem or worry.
On mine often I just leave it until the sludge is 1/2 inch deep and then clean.
Have a kitchen faucet spray handle tapped into the coolant line on some and regular lawn hose spray nozzle on others but I rarely use it.
When I had a full crew it was part of shift shutdown to wash it down, wipe down the outside and windows but I have become... what is the word..... lazy.
Bob
(on the other hand if you want some excitement ignoring this may dirty your shorts.)
 
So the goal is to wash the "mud" down to the coolant tank?

That's why the proper coolant tank has sediment shields or baffles. The heavy stuff settles in the first one, the second will get the rest and the third is where your pump pick up is.
That's the way the Brown and Sharpe coolant tank is on the grinders produced in the 60's anyway.
 








 
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