How common are NEW chipped grinder wheels and is it a problem?

[Joshua Dinerstein]

So I am still fighting my stoOOOOOoooOOOOopid grinder setup.

To that end a few weeks ago I bought a OneWay balancing system and 2 new wheels from Hartville tool. I have ordered from them before and have liked dealing with them. I got things out of the box today as I finally had a chance to put it together.

The first wheel came out of the box and onto the balancer and WOW. It was out of balance. In the end things lined up nicely and it looks like it might really help. (I haven't mounted it onto the grinder yet.)

The second wheel came out of the box with a chip in it. A pretty good sized chip. It is about 1/2" around and at least a 1/4" deep. That has me pretty bummed. I know I can just dress and dress and dress the wheel until it has a flat surface again. But that will give me two very different diameter wheels. I contacted HartVille tools to see what they will do about it, but they aren't open today.

So I am thinking about what to do if they won't help me or do anything about it or ...

What would you guys and gals do? Would you just press forward and find a way to use it or would you insist on getting a replacement?

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Joshua

[Joshua Dinerstein]

I was just reading in another website that if it was from an impact, which I do don't have any clue about, then it could mean that it has hairline cracks and could explode. Which is a horrifying thought. Would you guys agree with that?

Thanks,
Joshua

[Wally Dickerman]

A new grinding wheel with a large chip in it is unacceptable and possible dangerous to use. I suggest that you contact the supplier about returning it for a replacement.

Wally

[Nathan Hawkes]

DON'T USE IT! A chipped or cracked wheel may have deep fissures you can't see that go into the wheel. They can fly apart at speed, injuring the user severely. This happened to me once, the seller replaced it without even needing the old wheel back. Its not worth the risk!

[Roger Newby]

Whenever you get a grinding wheel always suspend it from a dowel or something and lightly tap it with something like a screw driver handle. It should have a ring sound. If it goes thunk, you have a cracked or broken wheel. Return it and get a new one. Every time you start a grinder you should stand to one side until it reaches full speed just in case the wheel should break. Also, never grind in the side of a wheel. Hate to sound like I'm preaching but after 30+ years as a tool&die maker I've seen a few sandstorms from broken wheels.

[Josh Bowman]

A new grinding wheel with a large chip in it is unacceptable and possible dangerous to use. I suggest that you contact the supplier about returning it for a replacement.

Wally
You can do a kind of field test by "ringing" the wheel. We do this here at work. Basically while holding the wheel you thump it with a piece of wood, around the entire wheel. If you don't get a ring at each area, the wheel may have a crack in that area.
Anyway to the point. As Wally said, the wheel is unacceptable. Hartville tools are good people. They'll probably tell you to trash it and just send you another.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

OK. I will wait to hear from them. As I said I have enjoyed all past dealings with them I fully intend to continue to do business with them and recommend them and what not.

I was just disappointed today when it was bad out of the box. I am not sure that anyone wouldn't be disappointed in the same situation.

I drove around town looking for a replacement wheel so that I could get this finished and remounted today. Lowes had nothing. HF had nothing above a 60 grit grey wheel. HD had some Norton Gemini wheels but again only to 60 which is what i had. The bad wheel was going to be a higher grit.

Anyway thanks guys. I have no desire to die. Or get seriously maimed.

I will send an update after I talk with the guys at Hartville. I have sent off and email and hopefully will get a response soon.

Joshua

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Alright. Well I spoke with support/sales at Hartville today and they want me to send the wheel back. And then they will look at it and if is actually damaged they will send me a new one. I get to pay shipping back to them.

What is interesting is that because of it's size it appears I will need to use the largest flat rate box. Shipping with this box is $14.70. The wheel was on sale and was $20.

Seems just a wee tad ridiculous to me. I can and am willing to send the wheel back. I am never going to use it. it just means that my wheel when the new one finally comes will have cost as much as the 3x Norton blue wheel that I was trying to talk myself into.

Hartville tool has been good to deal with in the past. Enough so that I have whole heartedly recommended them. This strikes me as just kind of odd so I sent them another email asking for clarity on why they wanted it sent back etc...

Joshua

[Thomas Bennett]

Joshua, Hartville should send you a pre-paid shipping label, or a web site where you can download the label. If they do not have a 100% guarantee, they aren't worth dealing with.
I just had a product fail from Crafts Supply. I sent them a photo of the defective product. They sent me a link for a return shipping label and informed me the replacement was already shipped, within a few hours, no questions asked. This is how Hartville's competition handles these situatiuons.
Thanks for letting us all know this about Hartvilleand please keep us informed.
I hope you get your grinder up and running soon!

[Paul Singer]

I think I would ask to talk to someone further up the food chain. Mention the fact that the shipping would be too much for this item to return it and that this would be the last time you would be dealing with them. I purchased a grinder from WoodCraft a few months ago and the wheels both had severe wobbles. They sent me a whole new grinder and a prepaid shipping label to return the other one plus a $25 gift card for my troubles. Then they called me a couple of weeks later to see if everything was OK. I told them it was even though the new grinder still had a little wobble. A couple of weeks later they called and asked again and I told them about the small wobble which was acceptable. They then sent me new mounting washers. That is customer service.

[Michael James]

Joshua,
Your frustration is understandable. Grinders at full speed need a lot of respect and the outfit that sold it know that or they shouldn't sell that stuff. I'd be willing to ask them if shipping is worth your lifetime's investment in your turning equipment, and their portion of that, but get a manager if you draw the line in the sand. You are smart to seek the advice of the experience in this forum.
my .02cents.
mj

[neil mackay]

, Hartville should send you a pre-paid shipping label, or a web site where you can download the label. If they do not have a 100% guarantee, they aren't worth dealing with.
I just had a product fail from Crafts Supply. I sent them a photo of the defective product. They sent me a link for a return shipping label and informed me the replacement was already shipped, within a few hours, no questions asked. This is how Hartville's competition handles these situatiuons.
Thanks for letting us all know this about Hartvilleand please keep us informed.
I hope you get your grinder up and running soon!
[/QUOTE]

agreed, item shipped was faulty, send it back to them its their responsibility

[Tom Godley]

I have experienced quite a few bad wheels. I had an extremely frustrating problem with the Norton 3x wheels last year. I could not get a flat one. I had a problem with the finer white wheels also !

Don't know what the problem is -- Norton is having a lot of items made in China -- so I'm sure the relentless cost cutting has a lot to do with it.


To your problem -- Normally defective items are returned at the sellers expense.

[Tim Rinehart]

That's unfortunate, I would not have expected that of Hartville Tool. I think others experiences with online retailers is similar to mine...they assume you're correct, and they either provide a replacement with a return shipping label, or consider it shipper's damage and just send a new item, with no need to return item.
Heck...I have a CPO Makita planer that had a minor defect on it, likely from shipping, but mostly cosmetic. This is a $500 13" planer!! They sent me another planer out and I inquired about sending back original one sent...they said to basically 'arrange to dispose of it how you wish'.
Similarly...Woodcraft sent me some hourglasses that weren't up to quality expectations I had...I talked to customer service, and they sent out replacements with no expectation of returning originally supplied items. That's customer service.

What you're experiencing is a penny-wise, pound-foolish business model for customer service.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

OK. My 2 web site submissions, I would say email but it is all inside of their site so I can't really go quite that far, have gone unanswered. Which is just odd as in the past they have been excellent at responding.

So I got on to check my email and then to send them an email if there was no response. There wasn't so I wrote a long-ish but polite email about what was going on and what I thought of the fact that they hadn't/wouldn't respond. I then realized that I didn't even get and automated message saying that they had received it so it is possible they didn't even get the messages.

In writing the new one and attaching the old one I went thru the system looking for details on my old order. And I found that on the afternoon of the 13th, this last Monday when I called and sent the second message the 1st being on Saturday when I found the problem, they shipped me out a replacement wheel.

There seems to have been no charge associated with the wheel as far as I can see. There was also, however, no notification about what they wanted me to do with the return on the wheel. Are they still expecting it to arrive? Are they not? etc... So I emailed them my thanks for getting the new wheel out, my disappointment at no replies to my question and repeated the question about whether or not to send it back and if I do do I get paid-postage or do I have to pay it etc...

I will update this thread again when I have more details.

But while silent about it, Hartville Tool did come thru quickly with getting the new replacement wheel shipped out. That is much more what I have come to expect from them.

Thanks for the posts and replies!
Joshua

[Tim Rinehart]

Joshua, great news...and what we all really had expected from a good supplier like Hartville. I and others were surprised, and this is a good followup to here.

Hope things work out well with new wheel...the forums are sure full of overall negative reactions to bushings and the like...cheap manufacture, etc.

Thanks for followup and good luck with new wheel.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Well I was partly to blame for the mess but not entirely.

I sent the email I mentioned and they responded in great detail. There was some miscommunication on their part. They asked me to send it back and were clear that I needed too. So that part is on them.

Apparently after talking to the mgr the rep I spoke with tried to call me back and tell me that they had filed a claim with UPS and that I just needed to "hang onto the wheel in case UPS wanted to come around and look at it". Which is fine I can hang onto it without any problems. But I had forgotten to update my phone number when I updated my address after the move a year or so ago. So they were calling some poor lady who I have never met. That part is fully on me.

They also never got any of the "emails" i sent from their own website. Which just strikes me as odd. I work with computers for a living and so it kinds of makes me wonder when a system that is both sender and recipient looses a message. But OK. A technical glitch on a couple of messages from me in a row.

So the final score: 1 bad answer from them that they tried to correct, 1 bad phone number update from me, 2-3 bad messages from the "contact us" on their website, they sent me the new wheel the day I called about it and it should be here on Friday.

I have sense updated the phone number on their site. I was very pleased with how thorough the reply email was and the steps they followed to try and reach me even tho I didn't get any of the information. That great level of service is what I had come to expect from them.

So once again I would recommend them to anyone who should ask. I would also recommend that when you change your address after moving you make sure to change the phone number of file too. :)

Joshua