This paper—condensed from a research thesis—is a first report on a current research project in the postgraduate Department of Engineering Production in the University of Birmingham.The work is being carried out on a Churchill 8 in.×16 in. plain surface grinding machine equipped with a specially designed dynamometer capable of operating at a maximum table traverse speed of 38 ft. per minute under wet grinding conditions.To indicate the need for this investigation and the significance of the preliminary findings, this Paper begins with a survey of previous work.