Another Grinder Question

[Corey Hallagan]

:cool: I know, another dumb newbie and a grinder question. I have the Woodcraft slow speed grinder. The fender on the thing makes me have to sharpen one of my larger skews in an unsafe way, I basically have to slip it under the fender and then lay it down, back it out, slip it back up and under all why running. It raises the pucker factor tremendously. I decided to take remove the wheel and unscrew the fender and rotate it back one set of holes. Assembled it together again and I got a bad wobble and vibration that wasn't there previosly. Tightened it up as much as I could and still wobble. Unassembled several times and retightened, still to much wobble and vibration, it is very noticeable on startup and powering down. So I tried and moved the fender back to the orginal configuration and I got most of the vibration out of it, slight amount still there but I could sharpen ok with it.
So what do you guys think the problem might be, does the finder have to stay on or in the orginal configuration? Did I damage the stone in some way? Coarse grit side is just fine. Ok, end of dumb newbie question.
Thanks,
Corey

[Cecil Arnold]

Corey, most of the time a wobble is an indication of the back side washer not being true. I had that problem on my Delta VS grinder and when I replaced the back washer with the one from the Wolverine balance kit it went away. Don't have any idea about the "fender" is that the tool rest or what?

[Corey Hallagan]

I had a funny feeling that the back washer is the problem, however, the washer isn't a flat washer it is one of those contured washers and it fits in a groove. The fender as I call it, others might call it the cowling that goes around the stone. But I think you might be right, the washer isn't sitting right but don't know how to get it perfect :(
Thanks
Corey

[David Fried]

Corey,

I also have the Woodcraft slow speed grinder. Mine wobbles noticably as it gets up to speed and slows down. Seems better when it's running. I've never touched the shrouds around the wheels. Sounds like a common problem.

Dave Fried

[Cecil Arnold]

Mine was contoured also but the one from wolverine was flat. Before I replaced the OEM part I used some card stock to shim the wheel. It took quite a bit and I never got it exactly right but it did take a lot of the shake out.

[Corey Hallagan]

Cecil, what comes in the Wolverine Balance kit besides the washer?
Thanks,
Corey

[Andy Hoyt]

Corey - if it's just the shroud/cowling/fender that's in the way maybe you could hack some of it off providing enough clearance allowing you to do the skew more safely. Just nibble away at it with a dremel or drill a series of holes and then hit it with a bonker til it busts off.

[Lee DeRaud]

Heh. When I took that turning class, the grinder in the Woodcraft store classroom had the shrouds removed completely...I think Corey just told us why.

[Cecil Arnold]

Corey, the Wolverine is a little pricey, but you get two replacement hubs that fit the center of the wheels, the washers, and a balance beam for balancing the wheels. Once the washers are on and the wheels balanced the grinder should not move. If your grinder uses what I call a lock flange (thing screws on then one or two wings fold down to lock it) you will have to replace it with a 5/8" nut since the lock flange gets in the way of the balancing screws.

[Corey Hallagan]

Thanks Cecil, if that is also what you have to have to true the stones up then i will have to eventually get it anyway. It does have just a regular like arbor nut on it.
I know one thing, I sharpened that skew once like that which was stupid, then a second time which was idiodic, I am NOT doing it a third time. I will remove the shrouds or cut the handle down or something :)
Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it!
Corey

[Bernie Weishapl]

Corey I had the same problem and removed the shrouds. I got my skew caught on the shroud. I shut the grinder down before I tried to move it. The guys at woodcraft said they take thiers off. Sure enough in there shop they had I think 4 of them and all had the shrouds removed.

[Corey Hallagan]

Thanks Bernie, I am hoping it will be easier to see if that washer is good and centered as well.
Corey

[Bob Noles]

I know one thing, I sharpened that skew once like that which was stupid, then a second time which was idiodic, I am NOT doing it a third time. I will remove the shrouds or cut the handle down or something :)
Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it!
Corey

Only took me once Corey :D

Bob... still trying to decide if he likes the skew or not :eek: :D

[Jim Becker]

Corey, the Wolverine is a little pricey, but you get two replacement hubs that fit the center of the wheels, the washers, and a balance beam for balancing the wheels.
And it's worth every stinkin' penny, IMHO. It will take a nice grinder with decent wheels and make it a precision sharpening center with nearly zero vibration and a lower noise level. The wheels will stay truer longer, too. I wasn't inclined to buy the balancing kit for a long time, but once I did a few months ago, I was figuratively kicking myself in the backside for not doing it years ago!

[Mike Ramsey]

Mazing so many of us have the same balance issue with the same
grinder! I think you all have read my rants about having to buy
a balancing sytem for a new grinder...just aint right.... I think
Ken F. posted about a fix for his not long ago. Yep right out of the
box the right side, fine side had vibration, ended up ordering a
new norton wheel to fix my problem! Sturbornly refusing to buy
a balancing system.. The wc grinders, weebles & wobbles but they
don't fall down!!!

[Corey Hallagan]

Yes it is strange that so many problems like this. I like the grinder all right. I did get it to have very minimal vibration and i did take the shrouds off.

Corey

[Mike Ramsey]

Glad it's going good for you Corey, thought about removing the shroud
on mine also but just didn't know for sure ifin that was a good thing.
Have just been sharpening the skews free handed.

[Joe Melton]

Well, I'll join the chorus of folks that have had problems with this grinder. I discovered, after truing the wheels, that one was just too far out of balance. My grinder sits on a small tabletop that is mounted to a grinder stand, and things I set on the table would walk off when the grinder was on. I investigated the oneway balance system, but it only works on wheels with a 1" hole, and the stones with the woodcraft grinder are less than that. I finally replaced the bad wheel with an Israeli made one I bought somewhere, and it is better now, but not perfect.
You can take one wheel off at a time and see if the grinder vibrates with that wheel off to see which wheel is causing the problem. Of course, you could have two bad wheels.
Truing a wheel with a diamond point or another tool doesn't necesarily balance it.
Joe

[Randy Meijer]

Two thoughts come immediately to mind. The first is that since the wobble wasn't there when you started but is there now, the likelyhood is high that it is something you have done in the reassembly process and not a flaw of the machine.

Secondly, the manufacturers don't normally put extra stuff on their equipment especially if it is unnecessary.......issues with the bean counters and the bottom line, you know. Probably doesn't happen all that frequently; but if you ever have a wheel come apart, you will almost certainly be sorry not to have that shroud in place!!

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Corey..........My new Woodcraft slow speed grinder ....the fine wheel wobbled right out of the box. Turned out the hole and thread in the nut were not perpendicular to the face. Thus only one small area on the nut made contact with the compression washer for the wheel. I ended up getting a standard 5/8" nut at a hardware store for a temporary replacement. I still need to get a real replacement for it. The new replacement nut makes contact across it's entire surface of it's face with compression washer and the wobble is gone.