Oneway balancer

[Cliff Holmes]

I recently got a Oneway balancer and just tried it out on my Norton grinder wheels. Wow, what a difference! The grinder runs so silky smooth now.

I also found that I have a seriously whacked-out wheel. It's so out-of-balance the Oneway can't fix it. It's probably not even worth returning, by the time I pay to ship it back to Hartville. I wish Amazon carried them.

[Tom Esh]

I recently got a Oneway balancer and just tried it out on my Norton grinder wheels. Wow, what a difference! The grinder runs so silky smooth now.

I also found that a have a seriously whacked-out wheel. It's so out-of-balance the Oneway can't fix it. It's probably not even worth returning, by the time I pay to ship it back to Hartville. I wish Amazon carried them.

I have a few wheels like that so I made up some additional weights (capscrew, nut, and washer) for the Oneway. I usually sharpen at low speeds but I don't think it's possible except by sheer luck to find an 8" wheel (including premium brands) that's balanced well enough to run 3600rpm smoothly without the Oneway.

[Cliff Holmes]

I made up some additional weights

I think I'll file that under "duh" :( Sometimes the mostly blindingly obvious things escape me ...

[Ryan Baker]

Yeah, it's not unusual to need to add more weights to get things balanced.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Cliff,

Have you "trued" up the wheel since you balanced it?


If not, that might help it too.

[Jim Becker]

When I got my OneWay balancing kit, I also had one older wheel out of four I was playing with that I couldn't get to run true...which was fine since I was only using them to learn the balancing technique while I was waiting for the new Norton 3X wheels I ordered from a different vendor arrived. The balancing system made a huge difference for me...quieter running, less "heavy" dressing, etc. Highly recommended.

[Peter Quinn]

Wow, timely post. I just put together a sharpening station this weekend with a Woodcraft slow speed grinder, and I was thinking it would be nice if the wheels ran a little smoother. I considered buying new ones though the oem are white aluminum oxide. Where are you guys buying the oneway balancers, and do you recommend a particular brand or grit of stone for chisels and plane irons?

[Rick Erickson]

Any recommendations for balancing a wheel without the OneWay system. I bought a Woodcraft grinder and their diamond wheel (that sucker wasn't cheap) and the wheel wobbles like crazy (probably 3/32" each side). It has a 7/8" hole and the OneWay requires a 1" so I don't think it will work. I'm starting to wonder if the wheel is OK and my grinder is messed up. Being new to grinders can anyone recommend steps to take to test the grinder for 'true-ness'?

[Frank Drew]

In my experience, wheel dressing can take the wobble out of grinding wheels unless you have the bad luck to have gotten one that's totally fubar, or have a no account grinder. But it's been a long time since I bought a new wheel (or a grinder, for that matter); maybe they've gotten a lot worse in the meantime.

[Ryan Baker]

Any recommendations for balancing a wheel without the OneWay system. I bought a Woodcraft grinder and their diamond wheel (that sucker wasn't cheap) and the wheel wobbles like crazy (probably 3/32" each side). It has a 7/8" hole and the OneWay requires a 1" so I don't think it will work. I'm starting to wonder if the wheel is OK and my grinder is messed up. Being new to grinders can anyone recommend steps to take to test the grinder for 'true-ness'?

Is that wobble side-to-side or radially? If it is side-to-side, the problem is most likely the grinder, not the wheel. Machined inner washers may help. It depends on the situation. The Oneway kit sometimes helps a bit with wobble issues as a side benefit (because of the machined hub), but that isn't what it is designed to correct. It won't work with the 7/8" hole anyway.

Another trick you can try is to loosen the wheel, rotate it a little, and tighten it up again. Sometimes you can find a location that runs a little smoother.

No doubt grinding wheels seem to be getting worse these days. The low-end grinders are getting pretty cheaply built as well, and many have wobble problems that are the fault of the grinder more than the wheel.

[Cliff Holmes]

Have you "trued" up the wheel since you balanced it?

Yes, both before and after. But the wheel's just that wacky, it's going back to Hartville today.

[Rick Erickson]

Ryan, it is side to side. Can I simply buy some washers with 5/8" holes and stack them up on the inside of the wheel? I've put three different wheels on it (A diamond, Norton 3x, and factory) and they all wobble side to side.

[Ryan Baker]

Ryan, it is side to side. Can I simply buy some washers with 5/8" holes and stack them up on the inside of the wheel? I've put three different wheels on it (A diamond, Norton 3x, and factory) and they all wobble side to side.

Look carefully at the way the wheel mounts to the inner washer on the spindle. The hub of the wheel needs to be truly perpendicular to the shaft. If the center of the wheel is perpendicular but the edge still wobbles, then the wobble is in the wheel and there isn't much you can do except replace the wheel. However, often the hub of the wheel sits at an angle either because the inner washer (which is usually stamped) is not flat, or because the whole thing doesn't seat squarely against the shoulder on the shaft.

Moving things around a bit and remounting sometimes works, or at least helps. Replacing the stamped washer with some flatter ones sometimes works. (Oneway has machined washers, which often seat better than other ones.) In my case, I use the Oneway balancing kit hub to seat on the grinder shaft and hold the wheel square. It just depends on the specific problem with your model grinder -- some are easier to fix than others.

Put the wheel on a flat surface (like the top of a table saw) and see if the surfaces are at least close to flat (or just check with a straight edge all over). That should give you a good idea if the wobble is from the wheel not being flat or not being mounted square to the shaft.