Hot take: People keep using the wrong grinding wheels for stainless and it drives me nuts

I was on a job at the Merck plant in Rahway last Tuesday and saw this new guy burning through stainless flanges with a standard aluminum oxide wheel. He left blue streaks and warped the surface, had to rework three of them. Why dont guys just grab a zirconia or ceramic wheel for stainless, they cost a bit more but save you an hour of cleanup. Anyone else run into this on site?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_henderson614d ago

Held back a laugh when I read this. I've been using straight aluminum oxide on stainless for twenty years and never had a problem as long as you don't lean on it like a gorilla. Most guys just push too hard and blame the wheel. If you keep the pressure light and move steady, you won't blue anything or warp it.

tara_palmer14d ago

Wait, you seriously haven't changed your wheel in twenty years?