Arbor Balance

[Marc's Lapidary]

I have a grinder with 8x3 expanding drums on each side. I am thinking about removing the drum from one side and adding 2 wheels. Will this damage my arbour? Should I add washers on the lighter side to even the weight?
Thanks,
Marc

[Apehanger]

Personally, as an engineer, I don't think you are likely to do any damage.
I have a grinder installed in my workshop at home with a grinding wheel on one end and a stitched cloth mop (for polishing stainless steel) on the other.
I've been using this setup for many years without any undue noise from the bearings.
I'm sure the weight of the rotor more than compensates for any imbalance at the shaft ends.

[Apehanger]

Unless you're working with Lapis!
In which case I suggest you pack up all those horrible blue rocks and send them to me!!!

 

[lithicbeads]

   You don't hear much about people cutting lapis in the last few years. It is lovely to cut and appreciate.
    Your arbor should not have a problem as the forces we put on lapidary equipment are  not very extreme. However ,  when we buy used equipment  we often inherit very well used machinery that was in need of refurbishment when we acquired it.  In these cases the inherent problems with ancient bearings may soon be evident when we change wheel configurations.

[39don]

I'm no engineer but I run what I need with different wheel combinations and have had no problems. The biggest problem is wheel run out more so than balance being a problem. I believe this is caused by the wheel bushings not being concentric or the wheel spacers not parallel so I keep changing them around or machining more to correct the run out or something so minor I can live with it.

Don

[Rockoteer]

I agree with Don, its the runout that is worse than anything.  Like the plague...hard to get rid of.

TOG

[Marc's Lapidary]

Thanks for the advice! Now I have to decide what wheels to get.