The use of abrasive wheels in the building trade is commonplace, and as such abrasive wheel training is an essential part of good abrasive or grinding wheel use. By ensuring that certain safety procedures are followed in every single instance of abrasive wheel use, the risk of being hurt or even killed by a faulty piece of equipment is drastically reduced.
As anyone who has used an abrasive wheel in the workplace probably knows, these wheels are made of extremely tough materials such as diamond or silicon carbide. The actual abrasive material might be boron nitride, manufactured diamonds, ceramic aluminium oxide, aluminium oxide or one of various others. Those using such a device will no doubt have had abrasive wheel training.
If a wheel is damaged in any way, it can shatter with terrible results - ranging from minor injury right through to death. Serious injury is the more probable of the two. It is important not to attempt to grind wood with an abrasive wheel as it is possible that this will clog the pores and cause the wheel to burst. This could quite easily be fatal. Less serious injuries might include cuts and burns (the latter is due to the heat generated by the grinding process). Good abrasive wheel training should help prevent these kind of injuries.
To reduce the risk of these wheels exploding, the manufacture of them is a very strict and exact process. The pressure these wheels are under is immense - and the results of an exploding wheel can be catastrophic.
There are a wide range of coarse and fine surfaces found on abrasive wheels. A very coarse wheel surface will cut a material very quickly - but the surface will be quite rough. A very fine material, on the other hand, will produce a very fine result.
As all abrasive wheel training programs will instruct, a wheel must be tested to determine if it has any structural integrity issues (called Sounding or Ring Check). To do this the user can give the wheel a very light tap. This should be done with a non metallic implement - such as a wooden stick.
The resulting sound should be clear like that of a tuning fork or a bell. If the sound is more of a dull thud, then the wheel could well be broken. If it is broken, it is crucial that the wheel is not used - and thrown away or returned to the manufacturer. As all those who have taken abrasive wheel training knows, if someone attempts to use it, it could explode - again with potentially fatal results for the user.
Other common processes involving grinding wheels include Dressing, which is removing the abrasive surface layer, so that a new abrasive layer is exposed. Truing is another common process by which a wheel is lined up, so it produces an exact result.
As has been demonstrated, a grinding or abrasive wheel must be treated with extreme care to prevent a possible accident. Users should always use appropriate safety gear, as these wheels can be potentially very dangerous. They are a very effective tool but anyone who intends to use one must take abrasive wheel training or a similarly thorough training process.
Author Resource:-
Anna Stenning is an expert on abrasive wheel training having been involved in training various workers in the field.
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