robgraham wrote:
Oh dear, sweet naivity strikes again ! I changed the the wheels on my
6" machine some years ago and never thought about it any more than
being a standard maintenance task. What skill is required of an
'expert' and what should I have attempted to do ?

And what is a 'buy and spew grind stone '?

Rob


You are probably right, 99 times out of 100 you can get away with just
bolting on a new disc, however in industry it is law that anyone
changing a grinding wheel disc must first complete a 'safety in the use
of abrasive wheels course', every firm using grinding wheels requires a
list of personnel deemed competent to change discs and carry out
maintenance on the grinding machine. The main areas of concern are disc
design speed, cracked or damaged discs, blotters and spacers and
balancing. i would suspect that when buying a new bench grinder the
discs will be fitted to match the machines caracteristics, although
personally i would still check the discs for cracks caused in transit.
By far the biggest cause of 'bursting' of grinding wheels is misuse i.e
grinding the wrong material, forcing the work, incorrectly adjusted
tool rests or grinding on the wheel edge. As already mentioned a
grinding wheel can totaly ruin your weekend if something goes wrong, i
seem to remember that,depending on the machine, grit particles can
leave the wheel at 200 mph, so the correct eye protection should always
be used, never just rely on the guards fitted to the machine