Maintaining Your Lap Grinder Wheel Head

Maintaining Your Lap Grinder Wheel Head

MAINTAINING YOUR GRINDER IS YOUR FIRST GOAL

Your lap grinder is probably one of the most used, most dependable, and sometimes most expensive piece of coldworking equipment you purchase. Making sure you keep that investment in top shape is your number one priority for long term consistent quality usage of your grinder. The main part of your lap grinder that you need to pay attention to is your wheel head.

This is where your disks attach to and is the main working area of your grinder. So the magnetic disks will adhere well to the plate, the top plate of your lap grinder is made from mild steel. Steel will rust in moist environments and coldworking is definitely a moist environment. That's why it's very important to take steps to keep rust buildup on your wheel head to a minimum.

The more rust develops on your wheel head, the more likely it is that it will cause raised areas on your diamond disks giving you an inconsistent grind from your disks. It can also interfere with the magnet's ability to hold your diamond disk onto the wheel head effectively. Over time, it can also irreparably damage your wheel head so it might need replacement.

In all, it's much better to follow some simple housekeeping routines to keep your equipment in top shape. Our video above will show how to clean off a wheel head that has developed rust buildup and then how to paint the wheel head to keep it rust free for months at a time with very little intervention on your part.

ADD A SIMPLE DAILY ROUTINE

While painting your wheel head every few weeks or months is a great way to keep the rust to a minimum, it can also be something that is not always kept up to date because it's not part of your everyday routine.

If you work best with a daily routine, it's simple enough to keep your wheel head clean and dry at the end of every day and then just use WD-40 to spray down the wheel head each day. This will work great for keeping your wheel head from rusting even if you don't use your grinder on a daily basis. In our video above, we'll show you how to use a Scotch Brite pad to clean off any rust that has developed on your plate and then use WD-40 to keep it clean and pristine everyday.