Ten Commandments for Extending Diamond Wheel Life

There is no general rule of thumb concerning how long a diamond wheel should last. That depends on you, your equipment and your customers. But, by following a few simple rules, you can make sure that you’re getting the most from your diamond wheels:

1.	*Avoid Excessive Heat*	Excessive heat damages the bond and can cause the premature loss of diamond particles.
2.	*Grind Wet*	Use a full flood coolant directed where the wheel contacts the carbide tip. It might be more convenient to grind dry, but studies have shown that wheel life can be increased by more than 100 percent by grinding with a flood coolant.
3.	*Avoid Excessive Feed Rates*	Light downfeeds and fast traverse rates result in the lowest total costs.
4.	*Area of Contact*	Be careful when going from one saw sharpening operation to another, for example, from top to faces with the same specifications. The larger area of contact can be a cause of heat generation when an improper specification is used.
5.	*Avoid Vibration*	Vibration anywhere in the operation causes pounding, which reduces the life of the diamond wheel and produces a poor surface finish on the tip.
6.	*Clamp Correctly*	The saw plate should be supported firmly by clamps that are operating correctly and set close to the tip.
7.	*Mount Wheel Properly*	Clean all dirt from the wheel mount. Check the mount for any nicks or damage that will cause run out, and use flanges that are at least 1/3 of the wheel diameter.
8.	*Solid Machine*	In order to reduce vibration, place your grinder on the most solid floor possible and bolt down.
9.	*Avoid Steel & Braze Contact*	Keep the amount of steel ground by your diamond wheel to an absolute minimum. Steel causes diamond pullout, which results in higher wheel wear. Brazing materials load the wheel surface, causing excessive heat generation.
*10.*	*Operate at Safe Speeds*	Resinoid wheels used with flood coolant grind most efficiently at a minimum of 5000 SFPM (surface feet per minute) to maximum of 6000 SFPM. Used dry, the minimum/maximum SFPM rates are 2500 to 3000.