Hmmmm, on my grinder - advice?

[Nick Boyd]

I have a six inch 1/4 hp 1800rpm Baldor - for years - Couple of years ago i changed/put on. two dway cbn 8 inch wheels on it thinking I was getting away with something - the grinder takes about 7-10 seconds to get up to speed - I never timed it, just know it takes longer....I havent spend lots of time turning; betting i might of used that rig (with the cbn) less than 30 times. Now i am freed up and going to turn lots more and now realize that the grinder may be stressed and i hate to fry a baldor. I also noticed that when I leave it on, and come back after, lets say 10 minutes, that the baldor may be warmer then I expected but I never felt it when running the 6 inch white wheels to know if its too warm. Is yours? When it gets up to speed it is smooth going.

Do you think I am stressing it too much; I am even wondering how it would react to cbn 6 inch cbn wheels, they can be heavier then the originals too - yes?

Think I should have to a get 3/4hp 8 inch grinder? Whew, the baldors 8100w r expensive......looking at peoples thoughts on grinder brands, it will be difficult to downgrade.....amd I won’t be giving up on cbn....

 

[Charlie Knighton]

congratulations on being freed up....no advice ......using slow speed grinder with one grey/blue wheel and one white wheel....biggest thing is proper setup of distance/angle on any grinder....suggest Kirk DeHeer video

 

[Dennis J Gooding]

The D-way wheels have a much larger moment of inertia than the usual ceramic wheels so it takes longer to get them to get up to speed. Once up to speed, they will not cause any more heating than ceramic wheels. I am a bit surprised that your 1/4 HP grinder is able to get up to speed as fast as it does. I am running D-way wheels on a 1/2 HP grinder and it takes about the same amount of time to get up to speed and has worked reliably for more than a year. The Baldor may be conservatively rated.

 

[Zach LaPerriere]

Boy...that sounds underpowered to me. Granted, Baldor is probably rated conservatively whereas Taiwanese grinder may be generously (over) rated.

I have D-Way wheels on a 1/2 hp grinder and more D-Way wheels on a new Rikon 8" 1 hp. The Rikon speeds up way faster. I manually spin the 1/2 hp to get it started because it starts so slow. The Rikon 1 hp is great, and for those on a budget, I recommend it. I would personally steer away from the smaller Rikon...I just don't think the cost savings is worth it.

 

[JeffSmith]

I’m in the same boat as Dennis - 1/2 hp grinder w/8” D-Way cbn wheels. Been running them for 4 or 5 years now without a problem. It does take a while to spin up, but then I’m not in that big of a hurry these days. I used to give them a little ‘pre-spin’ and it did start up a little faster...without the noise of getting up to speed, but I guess I just got lazy...

 

[Paul Grenier]

I bought the 1hp Rikon slow speed and 2 CBN wheels to go on it as an upgrade from a 1/2hp Delta stone wheeled grinder. The difference in how quickly it gets up to speed is amazing. I also bought 2 sets of spherical washers to mount the CBN wheels with and they are fantastic.

 

[robo hippy]

I have the D Way wheels on a 3/4 hp Baldor, well actually two of them... I stepped up from the old blue no name grinder that Woodcraft used to carry. Lots of power. That kind of weight is way too much for your little Baldor and will burn it up. If you are on a budget, the Rikon grinders are a good deal. Their 1/2 hp grinder is a bit under powered for the heavier steel wheels, but it will work. The 1 hp Rikon has as much power as the Baldor grinders. It is louder than the Baldor, but I don't know of any other grinder in that price range that works as well. The smaller Rikon seems to do well with the aluminum hubbed wheels from Ken Rizza/Woodturner's Wonders.

robo hippy

 

[Nick Boyd]

Thanks all believe I just found a good deal on Baldor 8 inch 3/4hp

 

[robo hippy]

Nick, I have an article up on my web site about mounting CBN wheels on my 8 inch Baldor grinders. It might help. I had 5/8 inch thick spacers machined to push them far enough away from the grinder so I didn't have to grind the pin in the axle off. Standard store washers didn't work because they are really uneven...

www.robohippy.net

robo hippy

 

[Nick Boyd]

Nick, I have an article up on my web site about mounting CBN wheels on my 8 inch Baldor grinders. It might help. I had 5/8 inch thick spacers machined to push them far enough away from the grinder so I didn't have to grind the pin in the axle off. Standard store washers didn't work because they are really uneven...

www.robohippy.net

robo hippy

RH, I checked out your site - informative re above, thanks

 

[Nick Boyd]

Re baldor 8100w & cbn Bummed out - I did not realize you can’t just remove the wheel covers as the inside part is a keeper of bearing guts - thinking about returning the grinder

 

[Steve Worcester]

Re baldor 8100w & cbn Bummed out - I did not realize you can’t just remove the wheel covers as the inside part is a keeper of bearing guts - thinking about returning the grinder

I have 2 wheels on the 8100W and they fit fine inside the covers. What kind of problem do you see it presenting?
Personally, I want the covers on for safety