3M polishing wheels

[Z3K3Y]

I work at factory and in one section they make stainless steel enclosures. the welds are grinded and then polished with a light grey 3M polishing wheel , i believe they start out at about 6 inches in diameter. but they are often tossed in the trash once they are about 4 inches in diameter. ive seen so many of these tossed out . but never asked about taking them home... would they still be useful after the industrial use? . they are 1 inch inside hole diameter, they use them with an air die grinder. but i was thinking of using them on bench grinders.

 

[rustyzman]

We use 3M or Standard Abrasives (3M really) convolute deburring wheels in the Machine Shop all the time on bench grinders. Both the 6"x1x1 and 8"x1x3 light grey wheels. Hard 9SF or Extra Hard 10SF. I think they might call for minimum 3" washers on the 6" ones, but at 4" they still have life left. Given the price of those wheels, I like to use them as far down as practical on the grinders. We change them when the body of the grinder finally gets in the way of the work piece. They run about $100 each. Double check the specs on a new one to make sure it is OK on your grinder, but if you can get them for free, by all means do so! Think about a dust collection system with them, they make a mess over time.

 

[dr_clyde]

Yes, you can use them on a bench grinder. I use one on a bench grinder to deburr parts.

I use them right down to a nub, they are very expensive.

 

[Z3K3Y]

ive never looked at pricing them out. but i bet we toss about 5-6 per week, i actually picked a few out of the garbage last week and set them aside till i can get proper clearance to bring them home. ill be talking to my lead on monday to see i can save these from the land fill. thanks for the responses