There is a particular challenge that faces any manufacturer running a centreless grinding operation built around older or less common machine brands. The machine itself may be performing well mechanically — decades-old centreless grinders are often remarkably robust — but sourcing the tooling, consumables, and technical support needed to keep them running at their best becomes progressively harder over time.

This is not a marginal issue. When a machine cannot be properly supported, production teams are forced into compromises: using tooling that does not quite fit, running abrasive wheels that were not specified for the application, or making do without the setup guidance that would help them get the best from the process. Each compromise carries a cost — in scrap, in downtime, in quality variation, and in the accumulated time that engineers spend working around problems rather than solving them.

Why Machine-Specific Tooling Matters

Centreless grinding is a precision process. The geometry of the relationship between the grinding wheel, the work-rest blade, and the control wheel is specific to each machine type and each application. Tolerances are tight, and small deviations in tooling dimensions or specification have a measurable effect on part quality.

Work-rest blades, formers, cams, and cam followers are not interchangeable across machine brands. A blade manufactured to fit a Cincinnati will not perform correctly in a Ghiringhelli, even if it can be made to fit physically. The geometry — blade height, angle, profile, and material — needs to be correct for the specific machine and the specific component being ground.

For common machine brands with active dealer networks, this is manageable. For older machines or less common makes, sourcing correctly specified tooling becomes a genuine operational problem. Standard catalogue items rarely match the requirement precisely, and off-the-shelf substitutes introduce variables that undermine process consistency.

The Brands We Support

At Workblades & Formers Ltd, we design and manufacture centreless grinding tooling for a wide range of machine brands, including both current and legacy equipment. This includes:

• Cincinnati - one of the most widely used centreless grinder brands in UK manufacturing, with a large installed base of older machines still in productive use.
• Ghiringhelli - commonly found in precision and automotive grinding applications.
• BSA - a British-made machine with a long history in Midlands manufacturing.
• Jainnher - a modern, cost-effective brand used across general precision engineering.
• Paragon, Tschudin, Wickman Scrivener, and Lidköping - specialist and legacy brands where sourcing tooling through standard channels is particularly difficult.

Beyond these named brands, we support all types of centreless grinders in general, including machines where the original manufacturer no longer exists and technical documentation is incomplete or unavailable.

Reverse Engineering and Custom Tooling

For machines where no current tooling source exists, reverse engineering from worn parts is often the most practical route. Our team can take a worn work-rest blade, former, cam, or cam follower and manufacture a replacement to the original geometry - restoring the correct dimensional relationship between components and returning the machine to its proper operating condition.

This capability is particularly valuable for older machines where the original tooling drawings no longer exist. As long as the worn part retains enough of its original geometry to measure accurately, we can work from it to produce new tooling. In cases where wear has been severe, our technical team can apply engineering judgement - drawing on decades of centreless grinding experience - to reconstruct the original specification.

The same applies to abrasive wheels. Our in-house modification capability allows us to supply centreless grinding wheels UK manufacturers need in non-standard sizes, modified from standard blanks to suit unusual machine configurations. This extends to centreless control wheels, CBN grinding wheels, ceramic grinding wheels, and silicon carbide grinding wheels, as well as diamond dressing tools and grinding wheel dressing sticks - giving operators on older machines access to the same abrasive technology available to those running current equipment. We are also a UK distributor for WEILER abrasive products, which broadens the range of options available to customers.

Regrinding and Refurbishment as an Alternative to Replacement

For businesses running older machines, capital expenditure on new tooling is a recurring concern - particularly when the machine itself is no longer in production and its long-term future is uncertain. Our regrinding and refurbishment service provides a cost-effective alternative.

Work rest blades that have worn or lost their geometry can be reground to restore their original working surface. Formers, cams, and cam followers can be refurbished rather than replaced. Diamond dressing tools can be reset to restore correct dressing performance. In each case, the restored tooling returns to something close to its original specification, at a fraction of the cost of new tooling.

This is particularly relevant for carbide and Ampco blades, where the raw material cost makes replacement expensive. Regrinding extends the service life of high-value tooling significantly, reducing the overall cost of keeping the machine productive.

We also supply coolant filter paper rolls and other consumables to support older grinding lines, where coolant system maintenance is often overlooked but has a direct effect on wheel performance and part quality.

Servicing and Spares for Legacy Machines

Beyond tooling, older centreless machines often need servicing attention that is difficult to source through standard channels. Spindle wear, bearing degradation, and the gradual loosening of machine geometry are all common in machines that have been in production for many years.

Our centreless grinding machine servicing capability covers inspections, repairs, spindle refurbishment, and the supply of machine spares for a range of brands. For many customers, a properly serviced older machine can continue to produce parts to the required quality standard for many more years - avoiding the disruption and cost of replacement while maintaining the output the business depends on.

Getting the Support Your Machine Needs

If your centreless grinding operation is built around a machine that is difficult to support through standard supply channels, the practical answer is to work with a specialist who understands the full range of machine types and can provide tooling, abrasives, and technical support across the board.

Workblades & Formers Ltd has been supporting centreless grinding operations across the UK and Europe for over 25 years, backed by more than 70 years of combined expertise in the field. Whether you need custom centreless grinding tools, replacement abrasive wheels, tooling refurbishment, or hands-on centreless grinding machine servicing, we can help.

Get in touch with our team in Birmingham to discuss your specific machine and application - we will give you a straightforward assessment of what can be done and how quickly we can support you.