For any automotive machine shop to grind crankshafts, they need a good crankshaft grinding wheel to get the job done. The surface finish of a ground crankshaft is highly dependent on the quality of the wheel being used and whether or not it has been dressed properly. As one would suspect, to grind a variety of crankshafts a shop will need a few different types of wheels so that they may repair the many different types of crankshafts that are used by various engines.
Most automotive machine shops will have a small assortment of grinding wheels available, with varying widths, so that they may grind narrow V6 journals and wide V8 journals. For industrial crankshafts, which normally have a 1/8” radius or larger, a wheel is normally reserved specifically for these types of industrial grinding operations. You may view a typical crankshaft grinding wheel by looking to the picture at your left. Although the face of this wheel is mostly used for grinding, you will see that the sides have directional grooves. These grooves help to grind thrusts or to grind additional side to side clearance in main or rod journals that have been welded. Continue reading
To grind a crankshaft, one obviously needs the equipment to get the job done. A crankshaft grinding machine is used for this operation, and it closely resembles the appearance of a lathe. Just like a lathe, the crankshaft grinding machine (pictured left) has chucks, a headstock, a tailstock and ways which they may be accurately positioned on. The noticeable difference between a crankshaft grinding machine and lathe is that the grinder has a large