Oneway wheel balancing system

[Nathan Hawkes]

First off, I apologize for not having pictures. Anyway it arrived last week, and was surprisingly easy to set up. Follow the directions, and its no problem. It took me less than 20 minutes to complete. After balancing, it is amazing how much longer the wheels spin afterward, due to being more properly balanced. There's a slight increase in noise of the grinder, due to the spinning nut/washers on the flanges which screw onto the grinding wheels, but it is pretty negligible, and I wear ear protection constantly while in turning mode. The difference in sharpening is pretty amazing. While overall noise is increased, the sound of the tools on the grinding wheels is noticeably different, and the tools come out with a VERY increased sharpness. The burr on a scraper is noticeably different, and the edge of gouges is noticeably "brighter"---the striations from the grit are more even.

It was worth the price.

[Michael James]

Nathan I have an el cheapo 3450rpm 8" wheel grinder and put the balancing system on them. Much improvement, but I was still not as smooth as I knew a grinder should be. Then I got the Don G truing device and OMG....Im there! If you think the noise is vibration related see if anyone around you has a truing system and try it. If not, buy one. You won't regret it.

[John W Dixon]

Nathan this is a timely post for me. What type of grinder are you using it on? I have a lot of vibration on my grinder and am looking for a way to eliminate it. I have thinking about upgrading grinder and getting the balancing system at the same time to see if I can improve my sharpening. Thanks for the review.

John

[Ryan Baker]

1) Truing tools (like the Geiger tool or the Wolverine truing tool) correct the radial concentricity of the wheel ... which is different than what the simple dressing tools do. You need a truing tool to make your wheels really run smoothly.

2) If your wheels have sideways wobble, you need to find a better way to mount the wheels square to the shaft. Your problem could be from the flange washers, the wheel bushings, etc. There are a variety of ways to address these issues, but you need to get the wheels running true.

3) Balancers (like the Oneway kit) correct for balance problems due to things like uneven density in the wheels. You normally don't need balancing if you have used a good wheel truing tool. The balancer can somewhat correct the balance of a wheel that has not been trued -- but that only makes it spin smoother. The surface is still not smooth, and the tool will bounce on the wheel. Note that the Oneway kit also serves as a really good way to mount wheels square on the shafts if your grinder has issues in that area.

[Bob Noles]

1) Truing tools (like the Geiger tool or the Wolverine truing tool) correct the radial concentricity of the wheel ... which is different than what the simple dressing tools do. You need a truing tool to make your wheels really run smoothly.

2) If your wheels have sideways wobble, you need to find a better way to mount the wheels square to the shaft. Your problem could be from the flange washers, the wheel bushings, etc. There are a variety of ways to address these issues, but you need to get the wheels running true.

3) Balancers (like the Oneway kit) correct for balance problems due to things like uneven density in the wheels. You normally don't need balancing if you have used a good wheel truing tool. The balancer can somewhat correct the balance of a wheel that has not been trued -- but that only makes it spin smoother. The surface is still not smooth, and the tool will bounce on the wheel. Note that the Oneway kit also serves as a really good way to mount wheels square on the shafts if your grinder has issues in that area.

Hi Ryan,

I have both the truing tool and the wheel balancers. If I am reading correctly, you are saying that I really don't need the balancers if my wheels being square on the shaft are not an issue? Sure wish I had know this a year ago when I purchased all this extra stuff. I may now remove the balances and use just the truing tool.

[Clint Baxter]

Be careful about removing the wheel balancers from your grinder. My old washers caused a large portion of my previous vibrations. If you have good backing washers for your grinder, you shouldn't have a problem removing the balancer. If not, like me, you're better off leaving the balancer installed, which provides you with the precision machined washers that are also necessary for vibration free grinding.

Clint

[Nathan Hawkes]

Great replies folks. I installed it on the Woodcraft slow speed 8" grinder, Norton 3X 80grit wheels. I should have been more specific about the noise I was referring to. The woodcraft grinder was not quiet when running before I added the balancers; the noise isn't vibration, its the motor itself vibrating. Its a cheap chinese made $100 grinder, not an old cast iron one. It makes noise, which completely disappears when you turn it off. The noise I'm referring to being different after adding the balancers is the whirring sound of the nuts and washers spinning in very close proximity to the wheel guards.
Ryan, concentricity is a really fancy way of saying "out of round". They are just much more accurate dressing tools. I don't have a "truing" tool, but get sufficient results with the diamond dressing tool I got from Packard. I've used it on the sides of the wheels as well to correct for the very slight sideways wobble of the wheels with good results. If you use the heavy, impregnated diamond dressers, not the cheap sintered ones, and very slowly cross the face of the wheel, you get very close to the same action. Not at all as precise as the others, but for down and dirty daily use, I think I'd use up one of the expensive ones quickly. I'm in "sanding mode" now, but I probably spend 20+ hours a week on average turning.

[Joshua Dinerstein]

I went thru this same thing trying to fix some pretty serious problems with my grinder. I found that balancer from OneWay was great on 1 side of my grinder. It got things down to a point where the sharpness was amazing. On the other side it was unsuccessful and getting rid of side-to-side wobble and it came up as a result really short on giving me a good grind on that side of the grinder.

I followed Don Gieger's advice on using little, probably 3/4", sticky dots and it is amazing. It got rid of the side to side wobble on that side of my grinder completely. I am still having issues with my grinder but they appear to be bearing issues and no longer wheels. I am awaiting a Trueing Solution to see if it will solve my current issue.


So on my right side I have a OneWay balancing system and it is going 100%. On my left I have the old original washers with sticky dots and except for a "ticking" feeling and sound as I grind, that I can't seem to dress out with my old T dresser, I am there.

I mention this mostly to answer the question of should the Balancer be removed. Why mess with what works? One side of my grinder works fantastically with one. So I will leave it there and enjoy the success. The other side did better without it for now so it is gone.

I would use what works, and once you get it working why take it off?

Joshua

[Roger Chandler]

A good thing to do, and it helps a lot is to get a drill bushing from McMaster-Carr, to go in the center of the wheel [especially the Norton wheels] as they have the plastic bushings and produce a lot of wobble and vibration.

the steel drill bushings [headless] [outside diameter 1", and inside diameter 5/8"] is the right size for most grinders. they make a huge improvement!




Drill Bushings and Liners
This product matches all of your selections.


Part Number: 8491A562 1-5 Each $9.60 Each
6-11 $8.17 Each
12 or more $7.20 Each
Type
Press-Fit Drill Bushings
Material
Steel
Steel Material Type
Case-Hardened Steel
Fractional Drill Size
5/8" (.625")
System of Measurement
Inch
Inside Diameter
.625"
Inside Diameter Tolerance
+.0001" to +.0005"
Outside Diameter
1"
Outside Diameter Tolerance
+.0015" to +.0018"
Length
1"
Length Tolerance
±.015"
Rockwell Hardness
C61-C65
Specifications Met
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)






© McMaster-Carr Supply Company. All rights reserved.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Thanks Roger! I didn't know those were available. I have another grinder that I've been meaning to set back up with some coarser grit wheels for easing the bevels of big gouges & scrapers--its a lot easier than with 80 grit!--that bushing will come in handy.

[Thom Sturgill]

+1 on the bushings. If you do NOT already have the OneWay balancer, try that first, then the 'dots' if there is wobble. If neither of those work, then the balancer or new wheels. I do not have the dresser yet, but it is on my short list. I expect to pick one up in Feb. if Don is at the Florida symposium again, and I have sufficiently recovered from holiday spending.

[Hilel Salomon]

Darn Nathan,

I have the oneway balancers but I was hoping that you would come, balance my wheels and then sharpen all my tools. You could do it in maybe less than a day....LOL
I'll be up in Gd's country over the weekend.

Hilel.

[Bob Noles]

Thanks for the sage advice Joshua, I think I will leave them on for now unless a problem develops after I true the wheels which will tell me I did not need them to start with

[Nathan Hawkes]

Darn Nathan,

I have the oneway balancers but I was hoping that you would come, balance my wheels and then sharpen all my tools. You could do it in maybe less than a day....LOL
I'll be up in Gd's country over the weekend.

Hilel.

I might be able to help you out a little.... Give a call when you're up- I have a fair amount of work to do but it'd be nice to take a break and hang out & chat for a while.

[Don Geiger]

I just want to add that if you are using a wheel with a 1" hole, such as the Norton 3X, the appropriate bushing is:

McMaster-Carr: p.n. 891A562 Steel Press-Fit Bushing 1" o.d. X 5/8" i.d. X 1" L, unit price $9.60 ea. plus shipping.

Don Geiger

A good thing to do, and it helps a lot is to get a drill bushing from McMaster-Carr, to go in the center of the wheel [especially the Norton wheels] as they have the plastic bushings and produce a lot of wobble and vibration.

the steel drill bushings [headless] [outside diameter 1", and inside diameter 5/8"] is the right size for most grinders. they make a huge improvement!




Drill Bushings and Liners
This product matches all of your selections.


Part Number: 8491A562 1-5 Each $9.60 Each
6-11 $8.17 Each
12 or more $7.20 Each
Type
Press-Fit Drill Bushings
Material
Steel
Steel Material Type
Case-Hardened Steel
Fractional Drill Size
5/8" (.625")
System of Measurement
Inch
Inside Diameter
.625"
Inside Diameter Tolerance
+.0001" to +.0005"
Outside Diameter
1"
Outside Diameter Tolerance
+.0015" to +.0018"
Length
1"
Length Tolerance
±.015"
Rockwell Hardness
C61-C65
Specifications Met
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)






© McMaster-Carr Supply Company. All rights reserved.