This month’s blog was written by Louise Petty, an online course author for High Speed Training, a UK-based eLearning company that offer a variety of health and safety training courses.

If your work involves the use of abrasive wheels then you’ll know how important it is to follow safe working practices at all times. A large part of this responsibility includes ensuring that your grinding wheels are kept well-maintained and in good repair so that they continue to remain safe to operate. If your wheel becomes worn down then it’s important that the disc is replaced with a new one – but how often should you repair or replace the grinder spindle that the wheel is mounted on?

Grinder spindles have the capacity to become damaged just like any other piece of equipment, in which case they’ll need repairing or rebuilding straight away, but this should not be an issue for equipment that is used and maintained correctly.

If you follow best practice and regularly maintain your centerless grinding machine then the spindle should never need replacing. With that in mind, here are our top tips to helping your spindles last longer:

Never overload the spindle and use an abrasive wheel that is heavier than the design parameters

• Ensure that the maximum speed of the spindle is marked on every grinding machine so that users can easily compare the speed marked on the wheel with the speed of the spindle.
• Ensure that the abrasive wheel fits freely (but not loosely) on the spindle. If it grips it tightly then heat can be generated during operation which can cause the spindle to expand or the wheel to crack.
• Never over-tighten the nuts. The nuts should be tightened just enough to stop the wheel from moving out of position between the flanges.
• Make sure that the spindle is long enough and threaded to a sufficient length so that when the wheel and flanges are mounted there is sufficient thread for full engagement on the spindle. The thread must extend inside the flange but not into the hole of the wheel.
• Check the bearings regularly to make sure they’re in good condition.
• Always ensure that the spindle speed is reduced to its original value before fitting new wheels.
• Ensure that the abrasive wheel is balanced by the manufacturer. After use, ensure that wheels for off-hand grinding are trued so that they aren’t used off balance as this can result in damage to both the wheel and the spindle.

Does your grinder spindle need some TLC?  Contact us for assistance.  GCH Tool Group houses the world’s largest inventory of new spare parts and components for centerless, ID, OD, double disc and surface grinders.