8" Wire Wheels for Bench Grinder

[chrisnazzy]

I've got a small Baldor set up as an 8" buffer. It works well for polishing small parts.

I'd like to pick up a pair of 8" wire wheels to change out on it for cleaning parts. I figure one coarse and one fine. I'd also like them to have a decently wide face and it would make things easier if they came with the bushings to make them work on my Baldor's 1/2" arbor. It would be a bonus if I could find quality made in the U.S.A. wheels but tried and tested quality is more important in this instance.

I've been looking online a bunch and the more I look the more confused I get. These will be run without guards and I do wear a face shield and proper PPE but I'd like some that aren't throwing wires after a couple minutes of use. I also see brass vs. carbon steel and don't know which would be best. The vast majority of work performed will be cleaning and de-rusting parts from these.


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[davewo]

I have one of these: Lincoln wheel

It's not US made, but it was the widest I could find and actually a pleasure to use (because of it's width). I always wear an old denim shirt with an apron, face shield and mask if I'm cleaning rusty material. The wheel is actually pretty good at retaining the wires, but wires will always fly off especially with no guards.

 

[rlitman]

I wouldn't ever run a plain wire wheel without a guard. Wires will shoot out in every direction.

What about an encapsulated wire brush? Those last much longer, and don't shoot bristles.

 

[Alaniho]

All Pferd wire brushes are made in Wisconsin and quality is excellent

https://www.pferdusa.com/products/brushes.html

 

[Mark in Indiana]

I wouldn't ever run a plain wire wheel without a guard. Wires will shoot out in every direction.

Rlitman is correct about the shrapnel. However, a properly shielded wire wheel is cumbersome to use when cleaning vise body surface areas. I have a make shift guard on the wire wheels for little stuff like a rusty screw driver. But for big stuff, the guard comes off and I wear PPE (glasses, face shield and sleeves). Clean up is with a HF magnetic sweeper.

Regarding wheels: I use 2 coarse, breaded, 8" wheels, stacked on the right shaft and 1 fine, 8" wheel on the right shaft. Occasionally I'll turn them around when the wires look like they're bent. The wheels are Norton brand that I bought from Amazon 3+ years ago.

 

[rlitman]

You’d heft a vise around your bench grinder’s wire wheel? I just use an angle grinder with a wire wheel for those jobs. I put on my welding leathers, and look like a cactus when I’m done.

Breaded wheels, yum. Gotta love autocorrect.

 

[Snap_cap]

All Pferd wire brushes are made in Wisconsin and quality is excellent

https://www.pferdusa.com/products/brushes.html

Thank you for posting that link.

 

[lilredex]

Don't know what kind of wire wheels you guys are using, but this one has been in use for around thirty years, and no loose wires have ever left it, as far as I know. Would not have it any other way. Face protection is always used and I have never felt any porcupine quills from it.

 

[Davefr]

That looks like a pretty small bench grinder to be running 8" wire wheels. Wire brushing requires lots of amps. IMHO you need about 8 amps to run 8" wire wheels and the wider the brush face the more power you need.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I use whatever brand wire wheel they sell at the Ace Hardware down the street. They don't cost much, and I can get to the store and be back home in ten minutes.

 

[gtsgarage]

8" Wire Wheels for Bench Grinder

Man did I have a wire fly off and imbed itself in my hand. So deep. That was a good lesson on safety around wire wheels. Good gloves and eye protection are a must.

 

[chrisnazzy]

All Pferd wire brushes are made in Wisconsin and quality is excellent

https://www.pferdusa.com/products/brushes.html

Thank you for this! Pferd is one of the many brands I see but I didn't know they were made in the USA.

Rlitman is correct about the shrapnel. However, a properly shielded wire wheel is cumbersome to use when cleaning vise body surface areas. I have a make shift guard on the wire wheels for little stuff like a rusty screw driver. But for big stuff, the guard comes off and I wear PPE (glasses, face shield and sleeves). Clean up is with a HF magnetic sweeper.

Regarding wheels: I use 2 coarse, breaded, 8" wheels, stacked on the right shaft and 1 fine, 8" wheel on the right shaft. Occasionally I'll turn them around when the wires look like they're bent. The wheels are Norton brand that I bought from Amazon 3+ years ago.

Thanks Mark. I wear a UVex face shield, big welding gloves and an apron. I think the advantage of no guards with wire wheels is being able to wear the big gloves because I wouldn't get near one of my grinders with gloves on with the guards properly installed.

You’d heft a vise around your bench grinder’s wire wheel? I just use an angle grinder with a wire wheel for those jobs. I put on my welding leathers, and look like a cactus when I’m done.

I'm not envisioning taking the vise body or dynamic jaw/slide to the grinder. I too use an angle grinder or drill with a wire wheel fir that but for all the small parts I'm trying to come up with a better system. I'm too restricted on a 6" wire wheel with the guards installed and I'm kind of over clamping them in another vise and using a drill with wire wheel. I figure with two open wire wheels on the Baldor I can get alot done faster.

That looks like a pretty small bench grinder to be running 8" wire wheels. Wire brushing requires lots of amps. IMHO you need about 8 amps to run 8" wire wheels and the wider the brush face the more power you need.

I thought so too but I was surprised with the 8" buffing wheels. I polished some Parker jaws which I understand are pretty hard and it didn't even slow the little Baldor.
Eventually I'm going to pony up and get a bigger Baldor for wire wheeling and buffing. Another member here and friend of mine crotalusatrox picks them up occasionally and restores them. Here's before and after of one he just finished.


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[IdahoMan]

Thank you for this! Pferd is one of the many brands I see but I didn't know they were made in the USA.


Thanks Mark. I wear a UVex face shield, big welding gloves and an apron. I think the advantage of no guards with wire wheels is being able to wear the big gloves because I wouldn't get near one of my grinders with gloves on with the guards properly installed.



I'm not envisioning taking the vise body or dynamic jaw/slide to the grinder. I too use an angle grinder or drill with a wire wheel fir that but for all the small parts I'm trying to come up with a better system. I'm too restricted on a 6" wire wheel with the guards installed and I'm kind of over clamping them in another vise and using a drill with wire wheel. I figure with two open wire wheels on the Baldor I can get alot done faster.




I thought so too but I was surprised with the 8" buffing wheels. I polished some Parker jaws which I understand are pretty hard and it didn't even slow the little Baldor.
Eventually I'm going to pony up and get a bigger Baldor for wire wheeling and buffing. Another member here and friend of mine crotalusatrox picks them up occasionally and restores them. Here's before and after of one he just finished.


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Pretty. Are there video-tuts or YT channels?