Wire wheel on a grinder

[rick carpenter]

I'm probably gonna get roasted for this but here goes nothing. I have a 8" grinder with an 8" brass wire wheel. I couldn't get into everywhere needed on cleaning a 3/8" speeder wrench with the guard on. I took off the guard, cleaned the speeder, put the guard back on. Next, a little touch up on some hammers. Same problem, not enough access with the guard on. So what's the accepted practice?

Looking at several grinder threads here, most show wire wheels with guards but some are without.

 

[930dreamer]

I'd hate to have a tool get caught in the wheel, rather have everything in place.

 

[spotco2]

Some of mine have guards and some don't.

It's up to you. I've had some pretty big things get caught in a wheel and snatched out of my hand on a wire wheel. I've also had some not so big things get caught and slung across the shop like a bullet.

It's your safety so do whatever you feel is right.

 

[CWP1616L]

Look into getting a Scotch-Brite wheel for your bench grinder. They make old rusty tools look shiny new again.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

Look into getting a Scotch-Brite wheel for your bench grinder. They make old rusty tools look shiny new again.

I like this suggestion. I have wire wheels for my 8" grinder and I hate them. They always un balance the grinder too I find.

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2

 

[454ragtop]

I take the guards off when installing a wire wheel, pretty unlikely one would explode. Shedding wires on the other hand.....
Jim

 

[aka Larry]

Look into getting a Scotch-Brite wheel for your bench grinder. They make old rusty tools look shiny new again.

Damn, I never thought of that. Sounds like a great idea though. I use my wire wheel quite a bit.

 

[Davefr]

Same problem, not enough access with the guard on. So what's the accepted practice?

Looking at several grinder threads here, most show wire wheels with guards but some are without.

Use a Dremel for hard to reach areas. There's no way I'd remove guards using wire wheels.

 

[Thumper68]

I have used wire wheels with out guards for as long as I can remember. In fact when I was a kid the grinder we had didn't have a guard or a tool rest. Just make sure that if a part/tool does get pulled out of your hand that it isn't going to be tossed at anything or anyone, IE point it at a wall or something that can take the hit without damage.

 

[deter]

Just use good quality wire wheels. I bought a cheap one at some point. loaded it up and started using it. For the next 3 hours I was picking wire pieces out of my arms

 

[thebeekeeper1]

I leave the guard on, then use a wheel on a drill for recessed or hard-to-reach areas. I'm really good about always using a full face shield though. Google the pic of the eyeball with a wavy wire sticking out to see why.

 

[jakemac]

If you think taking the guard off your grinder is dangerous, try dodging shrapnel from this contraption. I've had to pluck wires out of my forehead like a beauty queen prepping for a pageant. I've sent all sorts of implements of destruction bouncing in every conceivable direction while cleaning things up. Not to mention that I need to pull the belt to get the motor to run. But, for $5 I've gotten 25yrs of good service out of it without having to swap out grinding wheels.

 

[Coach James]

jake, when I was about 7 years old(1970), my dad used the motor from a washing machine to make a bench grinder. It looks like your set up except the wheel and stones were attached directly on the motor shaft. He still uses it today.

Coach

 

[jakemac]

My bench grinder (still in storage from a move, 4 years later and I still haven't built my shop benches) is similar. It's a stand alone table with the motor mounted on a hinge underneath so the weight of the motor keeps the belt taught. When the old motor went, I replaced it with an old washing machine motor. That one needs a nudge on the belt to get it going as well.

 

[crerus75]

I have a wire wheel that's just a GE 1/4 or 1/2 horse motor with an arbor on the shaft. No guards, no shields, nothing. OSHA would have an aneurysm, and it tosses chunks of paint, rust, and scale far and wide, but it is incredibly handy because you can access the wheel from any direction. It isn't powerful enough to ****** things out of your hand unless you happen to catch a sharp edge head-on. You can also stall it by hand, which is occasionally annoying but IMO safer than a 5-horse motor burying your workpiece in the wall next to your head.

 

[nine4gmc]

I have used wire wheels with out guards for as long as I can remember. In fact when I was a kid the grinder we had didn't have a guard or a tool rest. Just make sure that if a part/tool does get pulled out of your hand that it isn't going to be tossed at anything or anyone, IE point it at a wall or something that can take the hit without damage.

This is my experience, I have had the same 6" plastic bench grinder with a wire wheel on one side and a buffing wheel on the other for 24 yrs with no guards or rests, I use welding gloves, long sleeve shirt, safety glasses and a safety face shield every time I turn it on. Can't tell you how many times something has been snatched out my hands and launched high velocity, be safe or use a dremel for the tight spots. Right tool for the job.

 

[jakemac]

............ Can't tell you how many times something has been snatched out my hands and launched high velocity, .........

If you're smart, you learn to stand to the side and not directly in the line of fire.

I'm rarely smart, and have the scars to prove it.

 

[Major Ramifications]

The guard is to contain a bonded grinding wheel if it comes apart.
I find the guards to be dangerous on a wire wheel, as things (hands) can get grabbed between the wheel and guard and wired away. Without a guard, your hand just skips off.
But don't let a shop rag get near that unguarded wire wheel.

 

[EOC_Jason]

I have a full face shield hanging next to my bench grinder. Usually I just wear the regular safety glasses but having chunks of crud flying off and little wires isn't exactly something I want to get in my eyes... It's bad enough picking those wires from my shirt & jeans...

I have a guard on my wire wheel, but the motor is so weak I can stop its rotation pretty easy.

 

[justanengineer]

The guard is to contain a bonded grinding wheel if it comes apart.
I find the guards to be dangerous on a wire wheel, as things (hands) can get grabbed between the wheel and guard and wired away. Without a guard, your hand just skips off.

^^^This. Not sure why so many use guards or tool rests with wire wheels, its just plain dangerous IMHO as described above and bc you are then pushing a part into a wheel which will grab it and launch it AT you. The proper way to use a wire wheel or buffer is to use the bottom of the wheel, not the top, so that if parts are snatched from your hand they will be launched AWAY from you. As far as the safety police/OSHA is concerned, most industrial buffers dont come with guards and commonly have a wire wheel on one end and a buffing wheel on the other.

Work smart, be safe, and dont listen to most of what you hear on the internet as this thread once again proves.

 

[HAP]

+1 on the 3M Wheel.

Here is waht did on mine. The de-burring wheel is the best solution IMO.

R,
HAP
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170645

 

[Major Ramifications]

^^^This. Not sure why so many use guards or tool rests with wire wheels, its just plain dangerous IMHO as described above and bc you are then pushing a part into a wheel which will grab it and launch it AT you. The proper way to use a wire wheel or buffer is to use the bottom of the wheel, not the top, so that if parts are snatched from your hand they will be launched AWAY from you. As far as the safety police/OSHA is concerned, most industrial buffers dont come with guards and commonly have a wire wheel on one end and a buffing wheel on the other.

Work smart, be safe, and dont listen to most of what you hear on the internet as this thread once again proves.

I went around and around with the safety department at my old job on this very subject. I left the wheels open in our shop, they wanted them "guarded".

 

[rickhigginshtbr]

If you think taking the guard off your grinder is dangerous, try dodging shrapnel from this contraption. I've had to pluck wires out of my forehead like a beauty queen prepping for a pageant. I've sent all sorts of implements of destruction bouncing in every conceivable direction while cleaning things up. Not to mention that I need to pull the belt to get the motor to run. But, for $5 I've gotten 25yrs of good service out of it without having to swap out grinding wheels.

that thing looks so dangerous.... I want one.

 

[lilredex]

Been using this one for a long, long time........use a face mask and a little common sense.


screenshot studio

 

[91bronc300]

No guards on my wire wheels.

 

[X1 Mike]

I have used wire wheels with out guards for as long as I can remember. In fact when I was a kid the grinder we had didn't have a guard or a tool rest. Just make sure that if a part/tool does get pulled out of your hand that it isn't going to be tossed at anything or anyone, IE point it at a wall or something that can take the hit without damage.

^^^^This^^^^

You do it the same way I do. I don't understand the fascination with guards and safety equipment when the best safety equipment sits on your shoulders. I have had grinders grab parts just like you describe and they just get harmlessly flung to the floor. Back in the 90's in the machine shop we didn't have to use guards on our surface grinders. I would test the dress of my wheel quite often by laying my finger on the wheel itself. I would just point in the direction of wheel rotation on the lower quadrant and never got a scratch. Probably did it thousands of times. I also rarely wore safety glasses because I was smart enough to control my sparks and have them go the direction I wanted. We had a row of highly skilled surface grinders and not a single guy wore safety glasses or used wheel guards.


I really can't think of any other reason to have a guard on than to redirect the projectile back AT you instead of letting it fall harmlessly.

 

[e-tek]

I'm probably gonna get roasted for this but here goes nothing.

Well Rick, I might get roasted too - but I don't particularly care - LOL!!!

But seriously, I take the guards off everything I own. By taking the proper precautions and wearing the right safety gear, you can actually use the tool to it's capacity, without trying to work around guards.

 

[TwoInch]

etek, have you had a 4.5" cut off wheel come apart on you with one of those grinders? or a regular abrasive wheel? 3" wheels are even worse, 20,000rpm?


you can be the safest guy in the world. some of its out of your hands. a cut off wheel shard can literally gore you, and if it gets you in the right place, you could bleed out in minutes. just saying.

 

[X1 Mike]

etek, have you had a 4.5" cut off wheel come apart on you with one of those grinders? or a regular abrasive wheel? 3" wheels are even worse, 20,000rpm?


you can be the safest guy in the world. some of its out of your hands. a cut off wheel shard can literally gore you, and if it gets you in the right place, you could bleed out in minutes. just saying.

I have had cutting wheels come apart on me. On a surface grinder we had two choices for cut off wheels one was reinforced and the other was not. The reinforced one would heat up more and have more chance of warping a workpiece as well as cutting half as fast as the unreinforced wheel. I could easily plunge cut within 0.010" of finish size with a unreinforced wheel. I would regularly cut hardened tool steel an inch and a half deep. The downside was I would average at least one exploded wheel a week. I knew where the wheel was going to go when it exploded and took that into consideration. Physics always works.

 

[theknurl]

i use wire wheels, Scotch Brite wheels and rag wheels on my 3,600RPM Baldor......and have for 30+ years

without guards......buffers don't have them

 

[autopts]

I found it can be disastrous to remove a end guard on a up scale grinder. Time flies and years past and they are long gone. I sold a delta about 3 years ago that I had taken the right side guard off. Three years later and I still have not found it. This Baldor has a 12" x 2" Weiler Tru-Lock wire wheel on it and the end plate will never come off. This 1215W which runs on single phase is for sale. That's just a peek.

 

[Plombob]

Look into getting a Scotch-Brite wheel for your bench grinder. They make old rusty tools look shiny new again.

I have one on my grinder. Here's the problem. You can't do a quick job if you want a fine finish. They will polish one section of a tool to a mirror gloss and the next side will be mottled. You have to use a light touch and be patient. If you do it right, the tool looks fantastic.

 

[theknurl]

This Baldor has a 12" x 2" Weiler Tru-Lock wire wheel on it and the end plate will never come off. This 1215W which runs on single phase is for sale. That's just a peek.

that wire wheel is about unuseable.....

with a tool and shield......no wonder it looks unused