Hand cranked grinding wheel used dry?

[JohnPW]

Hello all,

Is it OK to use a natural grinding stone dry without water, would the stone wear excessively? I won't be overheating the blade if used dry.

It's hand cranked, 340mm diameter with metal trough/container. there 's a drain hole at the side next to the bottom, not on the bottom itself.

I'm a bit reluctant to use water because presumably it's not a good idea to leave water in the trough all the time with the stone in the water, and draining the water after each use would be a bother. And also there's some paint flaking which mean the trough would go rusty.

Pic with a no 4 for scale.

 

[AndyT]

Spot on!

Yes you need water, yes you need to drain it out, no you don't want it all to go rusty!

I think the problem if used dry would be glazing of the surface rather than excessive wear, but it's not the way they were meant to be used.

 

[JohnPW]

I suppose the ideal thing is to mount the wheel on a frame or modify the trough so that there is space under the stone to put a tray of water which you simple remove after each use, like the removable water tray on a Tormek.

 

[Mike.S]

Might be worth checking what metal the trough is made from, in case it's something non-rusting, like the stainless steel one the very similar grinder in the Youtube video I was watching yesterday. Unfortunately, I can't remember which one (but it was a stainless steel trough)!

 

[Cheshirechappie]

That's a belter! You don't find those lying around just anywhere - and it looks in very good nick, too. Designed to be used either-handed, as well.

Best used with water, both to keep the edge of whatever you're grinding cool, and (as AndyT said) to prevent glazing and 'loading' the wheel with ground-in metal particles. You'll find that over time, even draining the water off after each use, you'll get a buildup of sludgy silt in the bottom of the trough - an amalgam of ground metal and broken off wheel particles. Better the water takes it there than floating in the air getting in your lungs, though to be fair, the chances of a health-affecting build-up from only occasional use are pretty slim (full-time grinders are at some risk - hence stringent rules on extraction of grinding dust in commercial and industrial settings).

If you save up grinding jobs for a session now and again, the filling up and draining of the tank need not be too onerous. Bit of a faff for a quick one-off job, though.

 

[Racers]

I fitted a short lengths of hose to mine and a clip to hold it upright, so all I do to drain is lower the end of the hose into the sink.
I also fill it with the hose.

I believe the stones can go soft if left standing in water for a long time.

Pete

 

[dickm]

Why not just drill a hole into the base (or just up the side of the tank) and put a wooden or similar plug in while it's in use, then let it drain afterwards? Of course, you could go all fancy and drill/tap a hole and put a proper tap in there! Beautys like that usually had drain holes anyway - sure you haven't missed it?

 

[matthewwh]

Ashley Iles have a separate reservoir and a large capacity hand cranked pump on theirs. When you need to use it, you pump the water in, when you're finished you turn a tap on that drains it back into the reservoir.

The simpler alternative would be to do the same thing with a bucket. Pour it in, use the grinder, drain it back into the bucket.