Before you make that decision, consider the size of the wheel as it now exists, and how large it was when it was new. As a wheel reduces in size, it acts softer and softer, so it may not serve you well. From the description, I can't help but think yours have seen better times.knudsen wrote:Is there any special technique to bring an out of round wheel back to life? I inherited an old Craftsman grinder from the early 70's and I have the original wheels with it. Wheels were pretty rough, clogged, rounded corners and the course had a "V" in the center. Probably my father's son messed them up when he was a kid Bought a couple of Weiler wheels locally for it, but don't like those at all. They are going back to the store to kill someone else. Dang things have a stack of plastic arbor size adapters and have to use them all to get down to 1/2" and it's sloppy. So I remounted the old Craftsman wheels and hit them with a dressing stick, the type described at the beginning of this thread. They are in a lot better shape now, but the coarse one is still out of round. Do I need to just keep grinding more off? They say type "N", if that matters to the fix. I've got a star type dresser somewhere if I can find it, maybe I need to use that? Or a diamond?
If you find the wheels are worth restoring to usefulness, a diamond is the best approach. If you apply it with a rest, you can bring the wheel round easily. You can do the same thing with a dressing stick, although it will not move wheel as quickly as a diamond. Again, use a rest (I rarely advise a rest be used) to keep the stick from bouncing, and to keep a constant depth. Remove small increments, so the wheel makes contact only at the high points. If you try to dress the entire wheel, while you may have success to some degree, it will come at the expense of wasting far more of the wheel. Remember, your sole purpose at this point is to get the wheel back to being round. Once it is, you can then dress it smaller, until you are satisfied with the surface.
A star type dresser is generally the best choice for preparing a wheel for grinding, because it leaves the wheel sharper than other methods, That's due to the method by which it dresses the wheel. They are an impact type dressing apparatus, which removes abrasive bits by hammering. The negative aspect is that unless it is in very nice condition, it will most likely perform poorly, making the process of rounding the wheel very difficult.
Assuming yours is in good condition, with tight rollers, it can be applied with a rest, but it will be the most tricky to use of the three options at your disposal. I'd recommend a diamond, either single point, or a cluster, then a dressing stick to prepare the surface for grinding.
Regards the adapters for the new wheel(s) you spoke of, that they're sloppy isn't really much of a concern. Their sole purpose is to get the wheel near center. Wheels should NEVER be a tight fit on the spindle, for if there's any issues with perpendicularity, the risk of cracking the wheel when the flanges are tightened is very real. However, unless the wheels are well suited to your intended purpose, I'd advise returning them. You will be very best served by making the proper choice for your intended usage. These may, or may not, be suited.
I'm sorry, but the type N you spoke of doesn't tell me anything. If there's a string of information on the blotters of the wheel, letters and numbers mixed, that may.
Harold