How fast your tracking wears off.

D

Dmitry.M

Joined
Jun 13, 2006
Messages
1,008
I had my grinder for about 5 years. I had to turn the tracking wheel and the drive wheel after 2 years because they became flat and did not track anymore. I had to repeat it about a year ago. My wheels are cast aluminum or some light alloy. There is not much left to turn them again.
So I was wondering if I make new steel wheels. Let's say 4140 or similar. Would it hold longer? The abrasive wear may actually wear hard material faster than a "rubbery" one. May be I should try polyurethane?
How long your wheels are holding?
 
I know some people over here who've had tracking problems with grinders, many of those problems were fixed with a bit of gaffer/duck tape.
 
What kind of grinder?

My wheels have lost that sharp edge on the crown, but not gone so flat as to lose tracking.

Interesting, I've not heard of that before

Do you have a high amount of belt slippage on the wheel?
Perhaps that woven fabric side of the belt is wearing the wheels prematurely because of slippage?

Does more belt tension make a difference in tracking ?
 
you can put a piece of 3/4" wide innertube in the middle of the wheel which will make the belt track straight again. you might have to double it up to make it work or you can even put a 1" wide piece over the 3/4" piece. it will last for several years and its an easy fix that works.
 
So just put a couple layers of masking or electrical tape on the center of the wheel? Does that go for tracking and drive wheels . Sorry just wanted complete clarity before I start taping.
 
My drive wheel is flat and always has been. My current machine is 3 years old, and the first thing I did when I got it mounted is to wrap a couple of layers of masking tape on the crown, and its still there.
If you are having belt slippage issues then that is a tension issue, not a wheel issue.
Thanks,
Del
 
I made my drive wheel with a full radius across the width of the wheel. I think it is an 8.4" radius. So far it has worked well but my machine is not a year old yet.
 
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