Aluminum vs composite grinder wheels

autogateman

autogateman

Rod Braud
Joined
Jan 6, 2017
Messages
180
My 2x72 is made from Oregon Blade Makers parts. I have the composite wheels, but notice the higher end grinders have aluminum. OBM sells both styles. I asked him what the difference in performance was, and he said the composite 'lightning' wheels out perform aluminum in every aspect. I'm skeptical. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks
Rod


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My grinder is about 2 yrs old and has OBM composite wheels. I run it about 2 to 3 hrs a week actual grind time and have never had any issues. I even use my 2" platen wheels to grind on. For the cost, I'll stay where I'm at.

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I don't like that the 2" platen wheels are crowned. I switched my platen to use 3" rubber contact wheels and feel that tracking is improved. That's my only complaint. Still have a fiber tracking wheel on one grinder and a fiber drive wheel on the other.
 
kuraki said:
I don't like that the 2" platen wheels are crowned. I switched my platen to use 3" rubber contact wheels and feel that tracking is improved. That's my only complaint. Still have a fiber tracking wheel on one grinder and a fiber drive wheel on the other.
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Kuraki, I agree about using rubber contact wheels on your platen. I switched to 2" rubber wheels a long time ago and I think they run smoother and track better with less run out or belt wobbles. Also you can use them to make a swedge on a curved clip point knife with a little practice by going real slow and being careful not to grind too hard at the tip. Again, this is just my opinion. Larry
 
The plastic wheels are cheaper
They are just caster wheels or some other application re-purposed
I would question straightness, roundness and balance.



I dispute that a heaver wheel will consume horsepower
It will take "more power" to spin it up to speed, but it's a belt grinder not a race car
My VFD is already set with acceleration and deceleration times to wind up and wind down in a controlled way.


Once it's turning, it will keep turning.
In fact the heavier it is, it will act as a flywheel and help to smoothy maintain speed against the drag you apply to the belt.


It's marketing spin.
If they have to rely on that, I have suspicion and mistrust.
 
I don't believe that is correct. The nylon wheels that OBM sells are purpose made. They are not castor wheels or other wheels repurposed.

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12345678910 said:
The plastic wheels are cheaper
They are just caster wheels or some other application re-purposed
I would question straightness, roundness and balance.



I dispute that a heaver wheel will consume horsepower
It will take "more power" to spin it up to speed, but it's a belt grinder not a race car
My VFD is already set with acceleration and deceleration times to wind up and wind down in a controlled way.


Once it's turning, it will keep turning.
In fact the heavier it is, it will act as a flywheel and help to smoothy maintain speed against the drag you apply to the belt.


It's marketing spin.
If they have to rely on that, I have suspicion and mistrust.
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They are definitely not casters I can tell that. I also don't know what they would have to gain by pushing them since they also sell the aluminum ones.


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My OBM platen has aluminum and i wish i had contact wheels for it. I have an older Square Wheel that IIRC has an 1.5" and 3" wheel on top and bottom respectively and after using both I much prefer contact wheels. It adds much more versatility to the flat platen setup.

I liken it to glass platen liner vs steel.
 
I ordered a set of wheels from a maker on eBay. They shipped from his shop in Poland last week and are arriving today. I will report back.

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I've been using those lightning OBM wheels for a year with zero wear. My 2" contact wheels are not crowned that I can see. I was asking a question about wheel diameter and mentioned that their lightning wheels were working well. Their response was they use them on all their grinders. Those guys have always given me the impression as straight shooters.


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I am very pleased with these wheels. I wasn't displeased with the OBM wheels. Except that the OBM wheels do NOT have a sleeve between the bearings. The wheels I just got have that. Also the new drive wheel has the hub set to one side, so the hub and set screw are centered on the motor shaft. The OBM drive wheel is symmetrical, and while I never had an issue, the motor shaft only just made it to the center of the wheel and the set screw. They are solid nylon wheels over aluminum hubs. The tracking wheels have been balanced as evident from a hole drilled into the side on each. In the pics I have my OBM drive wheel in place, as I intend to put these new wheels on the new grinder and I don't want to wrestle with getting the drive wheel off. I did swap it out to test and my grinder tracks exactly the same with both wheel sets. The whole set was $83 including shipping. They came fully assembled with bearing spacers and bearings.

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are these hard plastic wheels, or can they be used to grind on? i take it you found a 6'' drive? either way that's a good deal. having bearing spacers is definitely a good thing.
 
5" is as big as they go. It's a hard nylon material similar in hardness to the OBM wheels I've been grinding heavily on for over a year with no sign of wear.

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I do plan on getting a small wheel set in softer material in the future.

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Sleeves between the bearings are not a must but def make it easier for mounting as you don't have to worry about over tightening. I have OBM aluminum wheels on my platen and use nylon insert nuts and haven't had an issue in almost a year since I mounted them except the initial set of bearings I had one go out and a whole new set was sent to me free of charge. It was not due to over tightening that it went out. But yes a sleeve would make them better.
 
From a precision view, sleeves between bearings allow the spindle (bolt with typical 2A threads ?) drawn tight thru the bearings a higher rigidity.
Its not alot mind you, on machine like these grinders most probably never notice, but rigidity is added.
 
Guys , sorry for off topic.......... but what do you think about this micarta for wheel ? I intend to make them for my grinder ? Here we make belt pulley from this material and they last for years ........

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Natlek said:
Guys , sorry for off topic.......... but what do you think about this micarta for wheel ? I intend to make them for my grinder ?
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Nothing wrong with Micarta grinder wheels. Obviously you have facility to bore & true them.
Btw, My 7hp. furnace blower is original micarta pulley & motor too. Runs about 4 hr./day. Coming on 90 years this fall !
 
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