so i bought a ryobi 6" bench grinder (i know we should buff our knives at 1800 rpm but for $45 i can quench more often and use the 3600 rpm machine...i know other guys who use it fine) i ran it with the included 36 and 60 grit wheels and it was smooth.. then i took the guards off and mounted a 6" ryobi buffer wheel on one side and nothing on the other side.. also ran great... then i added a grooved felt wheel to the other side and now the whole thing dances all over the workbench and shakes the bench to hell too! even after screwing it down same problem minus the dancing haha

any ideas??
thanks

Make sure the wheels are centered on the madrel.

Matt McMicken wrote:
ill try that


is it a problem that the felt wheel has a bigger diameter than the cotton? it shouldnt since the cotton runs fine by itself

I have the same problem with a cheap one I bought. It worked fine for a while and then went out of balance. I just use the buffer on one side. I figure for the price to get it fixed I could buy another.

Eric- so you only use the cotton wheel and no grooved felt wheel?

justincase289 wrote:
I have the broke buffer in my truck that I do m daily sharpening on. I don't know what you call the one thing I have on it. I have other buffers and sanders in the shop that I use to make a new knife sharp.

(the wheel I use, I think is yellow on the sides)

justincase289 wrote:
There's your problem. the wheel gets off center and you have vibro buff.
You should be able to find a bushing at a good hardware store.

Bill Adams wrote:
the felt wheel has a bushing so it fits snug :/ and i checked the diameters and both cotton and felt wheels are 6"

Bill Adams in gray

There's your problem. the wheel gets off center and you have vibro buff.
You should be able to find a bushing at a good hardware store.

Might be a bent shaft.

As I recall, Little Jeffy bought a mail order Baldor with a similar problem - I think he returned it to the seller and it now resides in a place hithertofore thought anatomically impossible to attain.

Tom Stovall, CJF wrote:
the cotton wheel works great on either side as do the 36 and 60 grit whels it is only the grooved felt wheel thats squirly

justincase289 wrote:
Then throw out the piece of shi.... Won't be the first thing you'll buy that don't pan out.

Off topic but what compound do you guys use for sharpening?


on topic..the wheel is out of balance somehow.

i use a green compound i dont know the details on it, they just sell it as green compound at our supply house. it works well

and thanks.. is there any way i can balance it or find out where it is out of balance?

justincase289 wrote:
I also just use the green compound for sharpening, it's the least abrasive or "final" stage of compound. My supply house also has the black and white I think the black is the most course and the white is the medium.

As far as that wheel goes, your best bet is probably just to throw it out. However, if you're determined to save it, you might use some kind of compass to make sure it is round and not oblong. If it's oblong, cutting it back to a round shape may help but, you'll probably end up doing all that just to throw it away anyhow.

David

Try to return it for a refund. If it is out of round, it is dangerous.

The green compound is more course than the white. It works well on sharpening the edge. Courser than green is grey, which will polish the blade, and even courser is the black, which will take out deep scratches, and heat your blade up rapidly. The white is quite fine, and is OK for removing the feather on the back side of the edge, but is quite inefficient for actually sharpening.

I use a diamond stick for the initial edge touch up, then the green compound on a sewn cotton wheel.

Regards