Grinder wheel bounce

[Jerry Ingraham]

Received my Woodcraft 1750 rpm grinder yesterday, mounted it to my grinding station, added my Wolverine jigs and think I'm all set to sharpen my tools. Crank up the grinder and see quite a bit of bounce, not wobble, but what appears to be an up and down motion. Not a huge amount but enough to bother me. I dressed the wheel but it seems to need more than that. Would the Oneway balancers take care of this? I'm sure this must be a fairly common set-up and the wealth of knowledge here can help me. Thanks.

[Don Baer]

Hmmm. Check to make sure that the wheel center hole is not out of round. It doesn't seem like a balance problem but what do I know.

[Jerry Ingraham]

I will check it, I haven't pulled the wheel off yet. I also believe that the left wheel runs smoother than the right, not sure about that yet.

[Andy Hoyt]

Take a close look at the washers (or flanges or whatever they're called) that abut the wheels. One of them might be less than wonderful.

[Scott Donley]

Hi Jerry, I have the same grinder and wheels and the same problem. I have the T style diamond wheel dresser that solved the problem but it required some very aggressive use. The wheel is now probably 7 15/16 and not 8 inch anymore. Good luck.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Jerry.....I had a similar problem with mine. The problem was caused by a bad nut holding the wheel on. The threaded hole in the nut was not perpendicular to the surface of the nut that binds the large washer to the wheel. End result ...only pressure in a small portion of the surface of the the nut....thus uneven pressure on the washer and the grinding wheel. IT actually allowed the grinding wheel to wobble.I was able to get a replacement nut at a local hardware store. Now the surface of the nut makes contact across it's entire surface and holds the wheel evenly and tightly.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Hi Jerry, I have the same grinder and wheels and the same problem. I have the T style diamond wheel dresser that solved the problem but it required some very aggressive use. The wheel is now probably 7 15/16 and not 8 inch anymore. Good luck.

I second Scott's observation. My Woodcraft grinder was bouncier than I'd hoped, but the t-handle dresser got rid of most of it. I'm guessing the Wolverine wheel balancing kit would help more, but the problem has been reduced to the point where I'm not ready to throw $60 at it yet.

- Vaughn

[Jerry Ingraham]

Yeah Scott, I have the same dresser but I didn't take it very far last night as I wanted to do some research first. Think I'll check the hub first and then see if i can true it up with the dresser.

[Frank Fusco]

I had a bad wheel from Woodcraft also. When I called, the customer service lady said that there is a disturbingly high percentage of wheels they receive that are either not flat or are non-concentric. They sent a return shipping label and new wheel in the same box. Most suppliers want to give good service and have happy customers. Make sure your wheel or grinder is at fault then call before doing any modifications.

[Jerry Ingraham]

Thanks everyone. I'm printing all your suggestions and will report the results on Monday. Have a great weekend!