The Importance of Maintaining your Grinding Wheels

To understand how important it is to dress grinding wheels, you must first understand just how grinding wheels work. A grinding wheel is an abrasive cutting tool. It rotates quickly while in use and is very similar to a saw. However, a saw blade is only sharp along the edge. A grinding wheel has small sharp grains distributed over the surface of the wheel. Dressing grinding wheels is important maintenance.

When you press another material to the grinding wheel, its surface is gradually worn away. The results range from subtle to dramatic depending on the wheel and its intended use. Grinding wheels come in different materials. The surface material of the grinding wheel will decide what items it will work on. For example, aluminum oxide wheels work well on many steels, wrought iron, annealed malleable iron, and bronzes. Silicon carbide works well on rubber and stone.

Grinding wheels come in various shapes, including cup, dish, and cylinder shapes. The shape of the wheel typically changes over time with use. When you notice that the wheel's shape is different from that initially displayed, it’s time to discuss the matter of dressing grinding wheels. You have options available to you such as diamond dressers for grinding wheels and aluminum oxide dressing sticks. Each has its own distinctive features.

Grinding wheel dresser diamond tools are an extremely hard and efficient option. Diamonds are best known for their sparkle and elegance, but they also have a durable quality that makes them ideal for dressing tools. The hard diamonds score and reshape most dressing wheels very quickly and efficiently. A diamond dresser for grinding wheels will work with nearly any material. Choose the dresser design that’s best for your desired finish and get to work returning your grinding wheel to its former glory.

Aluminum oxide dressing sticks are a good option as well. Aluminum oxide is often used to dress tools made from diamond. The diamonds are easily sharpened with aluminum oxide. If the tool you’re working with is itself diamond, opt for this type of dressing stick to keep it maintained.

Dressers come in many shapes so you can restore any type of grinding wheel easily. A chisel dresser creates a fine contour. Plunge dressers are best for a concave radius. Grit dressers have broad even faces for fast dressing on a large surface. There’s a tool for any grinding wheel so you can always keep your surfaces in top shape. Plan to use your dressing tools often and your grinding wheels will have a long life span.