Exploding grinding wheel 😵. Repairing damaged live center.

This week we repair a damaged but very well designed live center that was about to hit the trash can. We also have a very close call when one of my grinding wheel comes apart at 3600 RPM. Thanks goodness for wheel guards. You can do all the safety checks and try to do everything to the book but sometimes stuff happens. Stay Safe.. Happy Holidays
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[@thomasjake3920]

My dad provided for our family as a machinist/tool & die maker. One day in the mid 60's, I was already home from elementary school and he surprised me by coming through the door much earlier than he normally would. He simply said, "You came really close to becoming an orphan today." Someone had changed a belt on the tool post grinder to the high speed position and my dad did not realize that he was not the last one to have used the lathe & grinder. The wheel lasted just long enough for my dad to understand it was spinning too fast. There was no time to shut the grinder off before the wheel exploded. He was bruised badly on his abdomen. His first reaction was to use his military training to treat himself for a possible chest wound, expecting to have a punctured chest cavity. Thankfully the injury was not a penetrating wound and we were able to have him with us until he passed at the age of 91. RIP Sam

[@tonyfowle6757]

This bloke is the Bob Ross of metal work

[@swanvalleymachineshop]

loading the stone up like that is usually unlikely to end well . Bloody lucky you had that guard ! Good warning for a lot of untrained hobby guys getting bigger machines , they bite & rarely give a second chance .

[@arnearne12345]

OMG YEEESSS that bearing setup is what you get when engineers are told "this has to be rigid but still move easily and yes also adjustable no compromises"

[@arnearne12345]

@@ralphgesler5110 the pnly time something is "over engineered" is when the functinality built in hampers the ease of use of the tool most multi tools walk this line

[@4486igi]

made in germany...

[@N.Cognito]

It scares the scrap out of me seeing people not showing grinders the respect they deserve/demand. That wheel guard you made is worth more then any other item in your shop. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.

[@haydenc2742]

And to think that wheel wasn't even a high speed wheel...imagine one that turns much faster coming apart in your face!!!!

[@Ron_EZ]

You know it's a good video when they pull out the "Old Spice" 🤣🤣🤣

[@Chris-bg8mk]

When I was in the trade school phase, machine shop 101, an old guy came in to tell the story about his clothing getting caught in the lathe. Pulled him in right quick. We all rolled our eyes as kids do. Then he took off his shirt to show us the scars. These days I’m fairly safety conscious. So glad you’re ok Steve! Would you consider pulling out the hoodie strings? Happy holidays! ❤

[@nealdietz7063]

I See 🐶 Puppy Got Gelis when you started spreading the Strawberry 🍓 Jam on the Bearings..

[@barkere51]

This guy is the Bob Ross of Machining.

[@haroldbell1097]

As a retired safety advisor and engineer in the UK, I get very frustrated with the number of You-tubers that set a bad example to non-professional engineers by using angle grinders without the guard fitted. I hope that they learn something from your video and realise s just how dangerous grinding wheels can be. You set a good example of the care needed, examining and ringing the wheel and the use of a guard

[@1982jeepcj8]

There is a reason I refer to them as DOOM wheels, I always treat them as they are trying to kill me.

[@motivatedpeon]

Most of the guys are using angle grinders like if they had universal healthcare. 😬

[@samrodian919]

@@motivatedpeon no amount of universal healthcare can help a bloody great hole in the head lol

[@fiorevitola880]

I am a retired engineer as well and I could not agree with you more!

[@larryholloway2869]

ok safety sally

[@bostedtap8399]

Safety equipment saved you that day Steve, others have correctly diagnosed the cause, every day a school day, remember to wear the school uniform. Nice refurbishment. Thanks for sharing

[@Tinker001]

Dang! Steve, Having read the title, I was watching for it as soon as you fired up the grinder. & I still damn near needed a change of shorts myself. Glad that's all you needed.

[@laurancemoseley3407]

The Bob Ross of machining keep up the excellent content 👍👍👍👍👍👍😁😁

[@markwood5382]

First time I have ever seen a grinding wheel come apart = SCARY.

[@randywl8925]

That's a great reminder everyone needs reminders for situations like this because it's better for one people to tell the story so others don't have to and I mean others with "consequences" You did a great thing showing people that guard you made it may make them be creative and buy or build something their own and use it. 👍

[@edo8697]

Cutting a radius with a grinding wheel introduces a side load to the wheel, which is one of the most common causes of grinding wheel failure. There are "cup" and "dish" wheels designed for a side load what will make this operation much safer. Having the correct wheel around for this type of operation may seem costly but well worth it for safety. I am glad you use guards - always a good call. Whenever side wheeling I always wear a safety face shield- save me more than once.

[@doctwiggenberry5324]

I like the way you use your brain instead of your bill fold to fix things. A good lesson for all.

[@bcbloc02]

One of the dangers of grinding without coolant. I have had similar happen to me. What happens is the work gets to the point where the heat makes it rapidly grow. With the work growing and the wheel growing it grabs and boom. The 2 times I have shot parts out of my surface grinder that is what happened. It is what made me change my coolant nozzle so that I was always getting the coolant to the grinding interface. Before on small parts which are the worst about changing size it just kind of sprinkled on the part as it passed by but really wasn’t cooling while the grinding was happening. Glad the incident was not too bad.

[@bearsrodshop7067]

Glad you added this in a comment. I will put this in my memory bank for sure. Best too you over the Holidays Brain.

[@SteveSummers]

I considered heat being the issue but wrote it off due to not having ground but a very short time and it cutting free. It very well could have been heat build up and part growth. Very good point. I don't know what happened unfortunately . I think it may have been a combo of both the wheel having a weak spot that me ringing it didn't catch and heat 🤔 . Hope you are having a Merry Christmas and staying warm. That cold start video you did was pretty good. If that rig will start at these temps it shouldn't ever have issue 😄👍

[@hilltopmachineworks2131]

I am glad you did not get injured. It warmed up to zero degrees today. It was -12 here yesterday. The wood stove in the shop was struggling to get the shop temp higher than 50.

[@joep041188]

Merry christmas and stay warm!

[@TomokosEnterprize]

All the best for 2023 to you and yours Steve. Is it ever nice to work with a bench vice that has been cared for. All too often they have been beaten to death or worse. It is a rare thing when one of these stones that are designed to handle some side pressures come apart like that. Defiantly a tightener of ones toosh for sure. Side grinders that have been dropped are a different story. I have an one inch scar on my L knee from one of those. The belt did bring memories of me taking one of my Mary's plain cowboy boots for a needed seal repair. Even the new pair I acquired to replace it was met with distain, LOL. I am sure glad you are ok. Now you have a live center with lots of tool clearance for the tight fitting insert holders. Time well spent. Take care eh.

[@halsnyder296]

Wow… great that you had that guard!!

[@russellstarr9111]

When the Old Spice came out, I automatically whistled the theme song. When I left for work Thursday morning, Dec 22, 2022, it was -8F with the wind blowing about 20 MPH. Brrrrr!

[@thomream1888]

Merry Christmas Steve, Noel, two- and four-legged kids! Thanks for this year's entertainment.

[@jpackard2723]

Sheeesh guys we can "armchair" that wheel forever... It happened, and things do happen often too FAST to react... He was prepared for the unexpected ! He built a guard sometime in the past out of Schedule 80 ! ( do any of us have schedule 80 guards ? I'll be looking at ALL of mine and thinking about upgrading.) Secondly he LEFT that in the video so we can ALL pay attention and learn in our own shops ! KUDOS Steve !! and Merry Christmas to you and your family including all the furry ones too !

[@hutchjohnson2184]

Hmmm. A how-to for a making a non-welded wheel guard for the typical stripped garage sale grinder might have wide interest. Glad you showed that near disaster!

[@stumccabe]

Thanks Steve - the exploding grinding wheel is a good lesson for all your viewers! I'm pleased that the temperature today in south west England is 52 degrees F! Merry Christmas to you and your family.

[@scroungasworkshop4663]

Great job Steve and as an amateur machinist I really enjoyed this video. I don’t think my Chinese centre has any bearings in it😂. I’ll bet the goose that ground the end of that live centre wasn’t the person that payed for it. It’s 9:30 pm on Xmas eve here on the east coast of Australia and we’re expecting clear, calm skies and 30c /86f tomorrow so it may be a trip to the beach after Xmas lunch. Merry Xmas to you and your family and I hope Santa is kind to you all. Cheers Stuart 🇦🇺

[@SeanBZA]

Birds and the furry denizens of your forest would also enjoy a nice bit of suet and nuts as well with that cold, plus some shelter as well, in the form of some nice boxes out of the wind to huddle in.

[@charlescompton4495]

Thanks for sharing...well, the video but not the storm. We didn't have more than flurriies but did have a tick bellow zero yesterday and right at zero this morning. Good save on the center. Greg

[@robertschauer376]

Thank God that you had a wheel guard Steve. That was almost a really bad day

[@SolidStateWorkshop]

Beauty! Teterboro is said “Teeter-burrow” in case you were wondering.

[@RustyInventions-wz6ir]

Wow. Nice work sir

[@brianrhubbard]

That safety fender saved your ^$$. I literally know people who remove those guards on there grinders. Thanks for not editing that out.

[@garychaplin9861]

A very relevant illustration of what can and does go wrong. I had a tool post grinding wheel shatter in almost identical circumstances a few years ago. Ring tested it and it shattered shortly after I had applied a slightly heavier load than normal. The broken chunks of wheel wedged and shattered the cast iron guard and pieces of wheel and guard hit me in the face and broke my safety glasses. I got a lot of facial bruising and lacerations and a fair quantity of wheel fragments in the left eye. I was working alone at the time and had to switch off and then grope my way to the house and first aid supplies. It was not fun. My left eye took over eighteen months to get back close to normal, which wasn't great to begin with. I consider myself lucky to have only suffered minor permanent damage. I strongly concur with Steve's advice re guards and standing out of the line of fire. I now also wear a face shield when grinding as it seems to be a natural human action to unconsciously align oneself with the grinding wheel.

[@opieshomeshop]

In my safety video. Exactly that. Same thing happened. Norton disk.

[@kimber1958]

THANKS STEVE MERRY CHRISTMAS AND STAY WARM.

[@LetsJeep]

Best practice would be if you go back and regrind that 60deg point to the center line of all the bearings it naturally spins on while assembled. To repoint live centers we rarely disassembled them. We would use a 3/16 thick O-ring near the body as a belt on the exposed spinning member to slowly spin the center while sparking out against the grinding wheel. That could often make even cheap live centers better than new with zero detectable runout. Better bury them grunders too. Those stains will never come out! 🤭🤣

[@MrMojolinux]

Somebody like Steve, would compulsively want to disassemble, clean and re lubricate this potential trash bin center, discovering what made this Live Center "tick" before attempting any regrind.

[@grntitan1]

I had a 10” grinding wheel on a pedestal grinder explode on me a couple years ago. Still have a nice scar on my leg from it. A piece went clean through my shop pants. Big chunk of the wheel hit my steel toe boot. Pieces of the wheel went everywhere in the shop. Made a believer out of me. I do my grinding on a belt grinder when at all possible.

[@bobbyvance6622]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the Summers family!!

[@edpopelas2844]

Whoa! That was an eyebrow raiser! Happy Holidays to all the Summers young and old. Stay safe and thanks for all the entertainment!

[@j.b.6855]

Its amazing what a little time and care can do to keep something working like it was designed to do. In this throw away world of to day its nice to see someone take the time to keep things working.

[@michaelstockdale]

Hope you and Elizabeth have a very Merry Christmas! May God bless you and your family in the year to come!

[@-thatzupraguy-13]

Hey hey :) there is a new video up! I was already sad that this weekend is christmas,and we might not get a new video. Thanks for posting and merry merry christmas to you Steve and your whole family.I hope you have some wonderful days.

[@stefanobertelli2650]

Steve I think the reason your grinding wheel exploded on you is because you're climb grinding, in other terms the center of your wheel is below the center of the part you're grinding. Under those circumstances if the wheel grabs on the part, there is no room for it to go anywhere. Similarly to what you do when you dress the wheel, you never put the diamond dresser before the wheel but always ahead of it. I think the fact you where actually form grinding with a large surface area to grind increased the forces to the point that the wheel tried to climb, and as soon as it happens things get worse and worse. Glad it didn't happen with the second wheel but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened again. Good job on the regrinding 👍

[@WillemvanLonden]

Underware changed....Very This Old Tony-like. I like that.

[@angelarichards3588]

Phew thank goodness for the guard. Looks to me like increased diameter due to the taper, applying too much side stress to the wheel. But I'm in my living room in England and you were the one observing. Merry Christmas to to all in kentucky

[@randythomas8589]

another great video Steve thank you

[@silverbullet7434]

Merry Christmas everyone

[@silasmarner7586]

The guard worked very well.

[@stuartlockwood9645]

Merry Christmas Steve and family, stay safe, stay warm, have a good time, best wishe's to you all, Stuart Uk.

[@cannon440]

You are the poster child for why people despise hands!

[@SteveSummers]

Ok

[@donmittlestaedt1117]

Wheel breakage is no joke.Where I worked in the 1960s, 1 man injured, 1 man dead in separate incidents of cylindrical grinder wheel breakage. Both were attributed to drive dogs coming loose. Each happened in a split second. Both had wheel guards in place. the death occurred when the machinist was struck in the head by the work part and arbor. The injury was to the shoulder and arm by a diesel engine camshaft.

[@HexenzirkelZuluhed]

Good case for the guard!

[@stephenperry5849]

Merry Christmas and Happy New year to your whole family.

[@JBroezel]

Hey Steve, very nice job to saving a very nice piece of machinery. Both my Dad a his brother where excellent machinists and toolmakers. I learnt a lot from them and still love watching skilled people like you saving old but beautiful tools! So happy you are caring for safety also! Take care and have a pleasant time with your family 👋

[@Dudleymiddleton]

7:49 If you slide a heavy case or crate down a staircase, do it at a slight angle to prevent it bumping every step - a similar principle!

[@robertschauer376]

Merry Christmas! Looking forward to new adventures in '23

[@Uncleroger1225]

Happy Saturday Christmas Eve Steve, Cora, and Grits! Always informative and inspiring. I have become a much better amature machinist because of you and other U tubers. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Your guift to all of us is beyond measure. God Bless!

[@SteveSummers]

Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄

[@JPRD2379]

Wow ,I really never saw a grinding wheel explode! I'm sure the numerous safety experts on this channel have their own explanations and admonitions on how to use grinders and tools (after the fact of course) You were totally honest showing the scene which you very well could have cut out.Glad you are ok and you've probably figured out what happened and moved on.Have a Merry Christmas ,Steve!:)

[@geoffmorgan6059]

Not being but an old man with neophyte machining experience, especially with grinding equipment, the old timers always told me to never load the grinding wheel in two axes (directions) at the same time. I.E. cut the longitudinal to diameter before trying the radial cut-still scary. Those old hands had seen it all. Cheers!

[@JPRD2379]

@@geoffmorgan6059 That makes a lot of sense, especially after I had to think on it-and especially maybe little bit too much load from side -perhaps turn work for 'front on 'grind.

[@mdouglaswray]

Every day is a chance to be safe. GREAT JOB! Glad the only casualty was some linen. Stay warm! We had -20°F last night here in Longmont, CO.

[@SteveSummers]

We didn't get quite that cold here but anything below 0° is no fun. Stay warm and happy holidays to you

[@mathewritchie]

Here in Perth Western Australia I need the air con to sleep at night.🥵

[@Blue_4-2]

Man I jumped when that wheel broke! And I'm sitting way over here, LOL! The slo-mo really showed the importance of a wheel guard. Glad you are safe! Merry Christmas! ⭐🙂👍

[@jerrellkull5347]

Merry Christmas Steve, Elizabeth and family. Y'all take care.

[@jonk6092]

Happy Holidays

[@wmweekendwarrior1166]

Good stuff

[@rrabbit1960]

That is a nicely built live center! Merry Christmas to you, Elizabeth, and the rest of your family-furry four-legged ones included!

[@MaturePatriot]

A very well built live center! I had a good one that I rebuilt, but unfortunately it was lost during the fire, with everything else. I liked your ideas for replacing the point with carbide. Thank the Good Lord you weren't hurt. Guards are a must for grinders. I learned that in highschool back in '69, when another student took too heavy a cut. Overall a very good, entertaining, and educational video.

[@JimWhitaker]

Good work and a good demo for safe working. Merry Christmas and a Good New Year to you and your family.

[@retromechanicalengineer]

I had a bench grinder wheel burst at work and I can confirm that my underpants looked like the starting grid at Brands Hatch. Not a pleasant experience. Merry Christmas from Dean at Retromeccanica, Oxfordshire, UK.

[@tomnugent845]

Merry Christmas to you, Elizabeth and all your family. Really have enjoyed watching your videos over the past year and looking forward to next year.

[@waynespyker5731]

I caused a grinding room panic early on in my apprenticeship staying after work to true a new set of tires mounted on my 1/24 slot car rims. Had ground a CRS drop piece square on bottom and a corner adjoining then drilled and reamed a .250" diameter hole to press .125" dia SKF pair of precision ball bearings. Ran each threaded wheel rim on the axle ends locking against a nut. Went to a Boyer Schultz surface grinder, placed the block against the fence, turned the crossfeed down and wheel to just clear the tire. Then turned the switch on while holding the front rim/tire with my left hand gently cranking the down handwheel to just touch the tire on the opposite side. A slight rotation by my left hand produced a smooth radius on the tire! Success! I then released the tire to get another grip to continue the radius. There was an immediate vacuum cleaner sound as both rims with 1 1/8" dia tires accelerated to very high rpms growing to 5" diameters as they came off the rims only to bounce off most of the walls as the night shift boys ducked for cover! I improved the fixture by replacing the nearest rim/tire with a little crank handle and trueing the tires on an ax!e in 2 operations or a set in 4 operations. My tire diameters were +/- .002", had the smoothest car on the local track.

[@georgefager3772]

Merry Christmas Steve and Elizabeth! Steve glad you were not hurt by that grinding stone take care and Happy New Year!

[@georgestone1282]

Thanks for another good video. Good reminder for being safe. Merry Christmas: George from Indiana

[@bigbird2100]

Great video 👍 Have a good holiday and new year appreciate you showing the possibilitys of what occurs in the machine shop.

[@elsdp-4560]

Thank you for sharing. A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Steve and Family.🌲🌲🌲☃🎅☃🌲🌲🌲

[@tda2806]

Another Happy Christmas to you and yours from your Dorset followers. Stay safe, stay warm in the extreme weather you're having.

[@powder749]

I about had to change my own underwear when that exploded! And yeah, watching the video at 1/4 speed, that wheel fragment was headed towards your head. You can even see the wheel guard shift in that direction. Scary stuff. Glad you're OK despite the soiled drawers.

[@jobos98]

Great Repair.. Merry Christmas..

[@ericpatterson3887]

That accident really put a new "spin" on the term "live center"!! 😂

[@CraigLYoung]

Good morning Steve! Thanks for sharing and Merry Christmas to you and your family 👪

[@jamesdstallard8743]

Even expecting it, I still jumped. I had a 1/2" carbide endmill explode into hot little shards on me a couple of years back and ended up with a chunk embedded in my head and some dents in the safety glasses. These machines have a way of reminding you what's what. Thanks for the safety reminder, glad to see nothing but your shorts got injured. MC&HNY

[@aleastwood1698]

Nice center Steve and nice work saving it for continued service. Keep up the good work, Al

[@chatbrewster6630]

Merry Christmas and have a great new year to you and the family.

[@tomp538]

Merry Christmas Steve & family and Happy New Year! Miss seeing the other dogs...

[@Hey_Its_That_Guy]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

[@thom3124]

Good morning Steve. 25 inches of snow here in Michigan. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Live center looks and works great. Glad your safe. Thanks for the video.

[@tonybell1597]

Thanks Steve, good save… glad you weren’t injured…. my daughter took a sharp intake of breath too! Happy Christmas to you all….

[@christophercastor6666]

Sweet video!

[@mdvener]

So glad you didn't get hurt in anyway when your grinding wheel came apart. Learned something that I will be more aware of from now on. Have a wonderful n safe Holiday weekend. So till next time stay warm n have a Merry Christmas to all of you n your family.

[@2dividedby3equals666]

Glad to hear you're OK, no trying to safety sally but when on the shop we must keep our head on a swivel. Thanks so much for the content, Merry Christmas and take care!!

[@sawz5]

-10* here yesterday plus 35-40 wind gusts. cold is not the way to describe this weather. merry Christmas to you and family.

[@llapmsp]

Nice video Steve. I hope you are getting Elizabeth a new belt for Christmas. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

[@davidneilson3508]

Merry Christmas 🎄👍👍😎🎄

[@richardlincoln8438]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You and Your Family Steve.

[@Sapper21b10]

Respect your equipment. Doesn't matter what you're using. Abrasives let go. Wheels shatter. Parts get pulled out of the vice. Saws will kick back. Power tools will bite you if you're not careful or act like a ding ding. Don't put yourself in the target line if at all possible and respect the spinny bits. My story about shop safety went like this. I had an ax bite into a polishing wheel, and the wheel kicked it into my face. After an ER visit, 7 stitches, and a concussion I a lot more careful. My safety glasses saved my vision, and probably my life by deflecting the ax head just enough it hit on the flat, and not the edge. It was not a fun day. Be safe out there this weekend and Merry Christmas.

[@notajp]

Always have to look at any job from the perspective of the worst case scenario failure, and then act accordingly. IOW, what might happen if the SHTF. Might save your life…..

[@richardangevine3768]

Merry Christmas to you and Elizabeth. And a happy New Years.

[@raymondhorvatin1050]

Happy New Year and stay safe

[@oregoncouger]

That moment of stark shock and adrenaline then the pause and cold feeling in your spine... Glad your okay. That's a bloody nice design on that live center:) happy holidays. Pet the dog for me. And yeah animals are living feeling beings to. Thank you for all you share Steve.

[@johnwilliamson467]

Very nice visual demo on the bearing !