Direction for bench grinder????

[Jim Hinze]

I have a double end mandrel, a couple of norton grinding wheels and a 1/2 HP 1750RPM motor raring to go... I just can't figure out what direction to have the grinding wheels spin, toward me or away from me?

Can anyone offer any suggestions?

[Don Baer]

Towards you.

[Mark Rios]

This is woodworking; they go the most dangerous way.








:D :D

[Jim Hinze]

Wow, that was quick.. thanks amigos. That's what I thought but wanted to be sure...

[Hoa Dinh]

Looking from top down:

- For grinding - toward you.

- For buffing or polishing - away from you.

[Jim Becker]

What Hoa said!

[Lee DeRaud]

- For buffing or polishing - away from you.That runs counter (no pun intended) to everything I've seen, including the video for the Beall buffing system.
Why would it be different for buffing/polishing vs grinding?

[Mark Rios]

That runs counter (no pun intended) to everything I've seen, including the video for the Beall buffing system.
Why would it be different for buffing/polishing vs grinding?


Cause buffing's not dangerous. If you slip while buffing, all you get is a shiny finger or two. If you slip while grinding, whatever you are grinding gets thrown back at you and stabs you. Then your arm gets ripped out of its socket and beats you to a pulp while it goes round and round.







(Sorry. Must be in a weird mood today)

[Lee DeRaud]

If you slip while grinding, whatever you are grinding gets thrown back at you and stabs you. Then you arm gets ripped out of its socket and beats you to a pulp while it goes round and round.Oh. I always assumed the rotational direction for grinding was picked so the sparks were directed down into the pile of sawdust at my feet.

[Hoa Dinh]

That runs counter (no pun intended) to everything I've seen, including the video for the Beall buffing system.
Why would it be different for buffing/polishing vs grinding?
I use my bench grinder for sharpening chisels & plane irons. My post reflects only to what I've learned in sharpening.

In grinding, you want the body of the chisel to act as a heat sink to dissipate the heat from the tip. You don't care much about rounding over the edge of the chisel because you're going to hone it any way.

In buffing & polishing, the danger of over heating it not that great. You want the wheel to rotate away so it doesn't round over the edge.

[Shiraz Balolia]

I have a double end mandrel, a couple of norton grinding wheels and a 1/2 HP 1750RPM motor raring to go... I just can't figure out what direction to have the grinding wheels spin, toward me or away from me?

Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Grinding: towards you ie.. rotating towards your foot. Counterclockwise on the right wheel and clockwise on the left wheel. Note that the locking nut on the right wheel is threaded right hand thread so it actually tightens with use. Left wheel will have a left hand thread so it also tightens with use.
Buffing: same. Almost all grinders and buffers come prewired this way.

If some choose to reverse their rotation, then they also risk having the wheels/buffs come loose as the nuts are being "loosened" with use.

Safety note: When starting up a bench grinder, stand aside. This is specially true in a shop that has more than one person. Reason is that if the wheel is defective, or one of the others in the shop has accidentally bumped one of the wheels with a piece of metal as they were walking by, the wheel maybe damaged enough to where it will disintegrate when turned on and the pieces will come flying out at your face.

[Bruce Wrenn]

In buffing, there is the danger of item being buffed catching on buffing wheel, and being snatched from your hands. Ouch!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

It is vitally important that the sparks from the wheels fly in the direction of your eyes. This is the new OSHA standard and is a built in safety feature which forces you to wear your safety goggles.

That just in from the department of redundancy department