CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

John K Jordan

Did you get the wheel from Woodturners Wonders? He sells an inexpensive spherical washer set that aligns the wheel and makes sure it runs true. I didn't notice any problems when putting CBN wheels on my two Rikon grinders. What is the width of the wheel at the hub? BTW, I run the wheels without the guards. Some people modify or build new guards to fit the CBN wheels.

Removing grinder wheel nuts can be tricky since the threads are different on each end (the left side left-handed thread and the right side the normal right-handed thread) and there's usually nothing to hold the shaft. Are you turning the nut in the right direction? I generally put a wrench on the nut, hold the wheel steady in one hand, and whack the wrench with a mallet or piece of 2x4 (in the correct direction, of course).

JKJ

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

jorge

Cindy Drozda is making me the spacers, problem solved. so I still cannot dismount the second wheel, seems that using a visegrip would marr the perfect shaft.

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

jorge

Thank you John, I'll try that

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

jorge

John,

When I took the guards of a lot more shaft gets expose, so the flange and washer kit, the flange fits just so, and the whasher goes in past the threads, 3/8" gap. I got the wheels from Cindy and she will make me what is needed.

Whacking it did the trick, the other wheel is off. Thank you!

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

Tom Gall

As JKJ mentioned make sure you are turning the nut in the correct direction...RH or LH. Is it the right or left wheel? Try putting a wooden wedge between the wheel and the bench/table/(whatever) to hold the wheel in place. Make sure you put in the front or back....depending on which way you want to turn the nut. Don't use vise grips or pliers. Keep in mind that the nuts do not need to be real tight.....even finger tight will work (sort of!) because the nut tightens opposite the direction of the wheel. Maybe a little squirt of WD40 might help if there is any rust present.

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

John K Jordan

Glad it worked for you! This method relies mostly on the inertia of the wheel and motor holding things in place to give the sudden impact to the wrench a chance at turning the nut before the rest catches up. Another thing I always do for the future is lubricate threads when I assemble anything. Some worry that lube might allow connections to loosen unintentionally but that has been proven in the laboratory to be not the case.

Does Cindy carry the spherical washers? If you see any side-to-side wobble in the installed wheel that washer set will probably fix it. The occasional problem comes from less than precision tolerances. The spherical washer set has two washers with curved surfaces that seat together and allow perfect alignment. Ken Rizza has them for about $5 a set, I think.

I did have trouble mounting a CBN wheel on my Tormek which I solved by replacing the stamped stock washer with a precision ground washer.

JKJ

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

Reed Gray

I have had to put the vice grip type C clamps on wheels to get the nut loose, more than once, especially if they have been on for a while. The wheel guard or bench can stop the clamps from rotating. Note here if they are the old style aluminum oxide style wheels, I probably would not use them again due to the possibility of them cracking and being unsafe. I do keep my wheel shrouds on. The dust from grinding floats around the shop like wood dust.

I got to chat with Ken Rizza at the Oregon Woodturning Symposium last weekend. The reason you need the concave/convex set of washers is because the nuts are generally not machined flat, pretty much like the stamped washers. Never considered that. No problems with it on my Baldor grinder, but bigger problems on my 1 hp Rikon grinders. I now have several sets of the washers.

robo hippy

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

jorge

Reed,

I decided to go without the guards because they were on the way of the jigs.

I manage to get them out without clamps or vise grips. The CBN wheels were made in Austria and just spinning them buy hand, there is no wobble, very smooth and the flange and washer are machined, very nice. The Rikon must have been made late on a friday, it had vise grip bites in both ends of the axle had to put some time dressing them with file first and the sandpaper, and coated them with renaissance wax before assembly. That said, It ran smooth with the AO wheels, so it will be very smooth with the CBN wheels.

Yes the dust is a consideration, although I have a good dust collector, I think i will have all the grinders in a small room with a squirrel cage to send all the dust out rather than having it fly around in the shop, and yes I will wear a respirator. That little room was to be the office, but thinking of getting a Mac laptop, then I just can go sit in a screen porch.

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

jorge

I will get the washers, thanks for the heads up.

Re: CBN wheels and Rikon grinder

jorge

John,

Don't know if Cindi carries the spherical washers, but she carries a precision made flange and washer, made by the same outfit that made the CBN.

I coated axle and flange with Renaissance wax and spinning by hand those wheels run very smoooth. One is 80, the other 180.

All my tools will have to be re-ground, the blue wheels are now 5 3/4" so going to the 8" will change the geometry, hopefully back to where it should be.

Down the road I will get a 600 and use the 80 occasionally on the spindle.

steel dust

John K Jordan

I first noticed how it floated in the air when I found black steel dust stuck to magnets on the back side of my bandsaw at least 10' away. Since then I've watched it float in the air with a bright light. I wonder what the iron does to lungs, turn into iron oxide and enrich the blood cells? Then there is the manganese, silicon, chromium, molybdenum, and vanadium.

JKJ

Re: steel dust

mikeee12345

Most foods are lacking trace elements these days anyway.

Re: steel dust

jorge

John,

Of course it is something to consider,

a though has crossed my mind that a little section of the shop meant to be the office, just a desk a chair and the computer, make that space into the sharpening area, a bench with 3 grinders and a dust collector to vent the grinding dust directly out and spare the main room of those particles. Sounds good or there are more considerations?

Re: steel dust

John K Jordan

I would love to have space for a sharpening room. Could even use a strong fan to blow stuff outside and not worry about the air exchange when heating/cooling. Would have to be close to the lathes for those who sharpen often.

Re: steel dust

Mike Stafford

I have noticed the little piles of metal dust on the floor below and behind the grinder as well. Haven't noticed it floating in the air but I haven't been looking for it.

Most of the time when I am sharpening or turning for that matter I have a high velocity fan in the window between the lathe and the work bench where I sharpen exhausting air from the shop. When I am sanding I can see the sanding dust being sucked out the window. Perhaps the metallic dust goes with it.

But I must say I am concerned that I may be depriving myself of essential micro nutrients as Mikeee suggests. Sure hope not as I need all the good stuff I can get.

Re: steel dust

Mark Wollschlager

I park some rare earth magnets ( salvaged from hard drives ) around the exit areas of the grinder. They are in small plastic bags so that I can relieve the magnet of it's metallic load periodically.

It does not catch everything, but does cut down on the grinder debris in the area.

Re: steel dust

John K Jordan

>>>But I must say I am concerned that I may be depriving myself of essential micro nutrients as Mikeee suggests. Sure hope not as I need all the good stuff I can get.

Mike,

We should contact Doug Thompson and the other tool makers and ask them to immediately start putting essential vitamins and antioxidants in the tool steel.

burning steel dust

John K Jordan

>>>I park some rare earth magnets ( salvaged from hard drives ) around the exit areas of the grinder. They are in small plastic bags so that I can relieve the magnet of it's metallic load periodically.

It does not catch everything, but does cut down on the grinder debris in the area.

Mark,

I don't know if you saw it, but I posted a few months ago about my experience with magnets under the CBN wheels. I do that as well and a strong magnet will catch a lot. It makes a very furry ball of the finest steel dust.

I was sharpening on a 600 wheel which produces almost no sparks. There was a large fluffy ball of steel dust on a magnet just below and slightly to the left of the wheel. Before walking away I glanced down and saw an orange glow from the fluffy ball. A tiny spark had ignited the steel and it was burning deep inside the mass. I carried it outside and put it out.

Anyone who has set fire to a variety of things in their misspent youth probably knows how well fine steel wool burns. The dust from the CBN wheel was much finer than even 0000 steel wool and burned very well but without the attention-getting sparks typical of steel wool.

Now I check the magnet when done sharpening and clean it off far more frequently. Although my grinders are on stainless steel tables, they are fastened to pieces of plywood and there are other combustibles near. It would be a shame to burn the shop down over sharpening a skew....

JKJ

Re: burning steel dust

Mark Wollschlager

Good point.

I guess that I just don't let the metal dust build up on the magnets to any significant level.

Sharpening and cleanup are all part of the turning tasks for me.

Re: steel dust

mikeee12345

They could also add some Artsy Fartsy smelling scents to the metal so it smells nice while grinding and makes your shop smell like a Mountain Spring Meadow, it's so inspirational.