A while back, I posted on my new toy, an 10" Milwaukee bench grinder (3/4" arbor). I replaced both bearings, so she sings beautifully now. I've been looking at different wheels available.

It came with some basic 8" ferrous grinding wheels, but I wanted to expand. First, I got a wire brush wheel. While it works as it should to remove rust/junk, the balance sucks. Getting hit by wire pieces is no fun, either.

I got introduced to convolute/deburring wheels at work and would love to get one. Are these things typically as expensive as I'm seeing? A Norton 8x1x0.75 is nearly $250!! The 10" just get nuttier.

Does anyone have some sources for such wheels? They do not necessarily have to be name brand, so long as they don't kill me. I'm looking all over major dealers like MSC, as well as smaller places, too.

Any other useful accessories for this tool?

There's a lot of energy in those spinning wheels, PPE is a must, long sleeves, eyepro, etc. Never, ever, wear a tie while operating a grinder.

One of my favorite wheels is a felt buffing wheel. Properly dressed, it can quickly put an unmatched shine on tarnished metal, or the sharpest cutting edge on a knife or other tool.

+1 on proper safety when using one. One thing I don't see many people do: When you start a bench grinder, stand to the side rather than in front of it, just in case a wheel comes apart.

I thought about buffing wheels, but most of the stuff I'm dealing with, I'm not really going for pretty. Still, I wouldn't mind having one.

Search on eBay for Scotchbrite wheels in the size you need. There are all sorts of deburring wheels and other machine tool stuff there for a fraction of the new retail prices.
Cratex rubberized abrasive wheels are handy and good quality too.
Also get a high quality brand wire wheel. As you’ve seen, the cheap ones can be dangerous.
I bought a second used grinder just for those type of wheels. They work great for lots of tasks.
Just be sure to get quality for stuff that spins that fast and can hurt you.

I probably use the wire wheel brush on my grinder more than any of the others. Balance should never be an issue with a properly made wheel. Also, I always wear gloves and safety glasses when using my grinder

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Search on eBay for Scotchbrite wheels in the size you need. There are all sorts of deburring wheels and other machine tool stuff there for a fraction of the new retail prices.
Cratex rubberized abrasive wheels are handy and good quality too.
Also get a high quality brand wire wheel. As you’ve seen, the cheap ones can be dangerous.
I bought a second used grinder just for those type of wheels. They work great for lots of tasks.
Just be sure to get quality for stuff that spins that fast and can hurt you.

.
I've seen scotchbrite wheels work magic in the shop.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
I probably use the wire wheel brush on my grinder more than any of the others. Balance should never be an issue with a properly made wheel. Also, I always wear gloves and safety glasses when using my grinder

No gloves for me, something else to get snagged. I do wear safety glasses and a face shield. And button up and tuck in any shirt that has buttons/snaps.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

No gloves for me, something else to get snagged. I do wear safety glasses and a face shield. And button up and tuck in any shirt that has buttons/snaps.

The gloves I wear when using the grinder are calf skin, tight fitting, I've never had a problem with snagging. If I'm going to be there for some time I sometimes also wear a heavy canvas apron that sure keeps your clothes free from crap.

The convolute wheels work great but are just expensive. Scotch and Norton are the major brands. Check all the MSC sales flyers, and if you have an account with them there is a significant discount off regular pricing. Travers also has them and sometimes puts them on sale. They also can be found on Ebay. At least you can run them down to little nubs so they last for a long time.