Installing Aluminum Wheels on your Grinder

Installation of Nexus Aluminum Grinder Wheels

The drive wheels have a 5/8 inside diameter bore with a keyway and an 1/8” set screw.

  1. Try the dished drive wheel on the shaft without the steel key to ensure that the wheel slides easily onto the motor shaft or pulley shaft.  The flat side of the drive wheel faces the motor and the dished out side face away from the grinder.
  2. If the drive wheel doesn’t slip on, use some 300 or 400 grit emery cloth on the shaft while it is spinning slowly. Only apply the sandpaper onto the shaft for a few seconds at a time. Stop the spinning wheel, then wipe any grit off of the shaft and try sliding the wheel back on. Note – the drive wheels are manufactured with CNC machines and are highly accurate.  Measuring some motor shafts over the years has shown that not all shafts are accurate in diameter.
  3. When installing the drive wheel onto the motor shaft or pulley shaft, make sure that the key way is aligned up properly with the wheel and shaft.
  4. If the key stock is too large, and generally it is, remove the steel key and grind or file it down so that the drive wheel slides on easily over the steel key.
  5. Never hammer the drive wheel onto the motor shaft as this may damage the motor and/or bearings.
  6. The drive wheel should just slide on easily with your hand.
  7. Use an 1/8” hex key or Allen wrench to tighten the set screw onto the motor shaft.

Should you encounter a drive wheel that you are unable to remove by hand, a gear puller will assist you to remove the drive wheel without damaging your motor and/or bearings.

The 2” idler wheels and the 3” tracking wheel.

  1. Tighten the axle bolts by hand into the D-Plate or Tracking Wheel Mechanism.
  2. Using ¾” wrenches to lock the jam nut in place.
  3. Only tighten the axle bolts so that the wheel has no side to side movement. When spinning the wheel, the washer (machine bushing) should be in contact with the inner race of the bearing. The wheel should still spin freely by hand.  If it doesn’t spin freely, back off the jam nut and loosen off the bolt. Retighten the jam nut and spin the wheel again until the wheel spins freely.
  4. For the tracking wheel, the jam nut should be snug so that there is no side to side movement of the tracking wheel on the axle bolt. Tighten the bolt by hand, then tighten the jam nut so it is tight against the swivel. The wheel should still spin freely by hand.  If it doesn’t spin freely, back off the bolt and jam nut, re-adjust and tighten the jam nut and ensure the wheel spins freely.

The bearings are sealed and do not require lubrication.