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grinding wheeels

Bob Strand

Bob Strand

Joined
Nov 5, 2015
Messages
39
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Location
Fort Peck, MT
I use an 8" Delta double wheel grinder that has a 40 grit grey wheel and a 60 grit white wheel. They're both still in good shape but I'm thinking, having read some posts about finer grits, that I should get different wheels. I'd like some input about what may be the most universal while at the same time being affordable. I see CraftSupplie has a wheel for close to two hundred dollars. Far above my paygrade. And where is a good place to shop for them. Greatly appreciate any tips. Thanks, Bob
 
I can highly recommend the Norton 3X wheels at about $50 apiece. I would recommend 46 grit for the coarse wheel and 80 grit for the fine wheel. They are available in I and K hardness. I prefer the K hardness. Get solid metal bushings to replace the cheap plastic bushings for better balance.
 
Owen Lowe said:
I’ve used the Camel brand (CGW) wheels from Israel for upwards of 15 years. Woodcraft sells them as does Amazon and other places. I believe I have a 36 grit on one end of my 8” grinder and an 80 on the other.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/01W48/aluminum-oxide-8-x-1-grinding-wheel-white-60-grit.aspx

If you’d like to know the specs on my wheels I’d be happy to dig out the info.
Click to expand...

I, too, have the CGW wheels. If I had it to do over again, I would get a coarser grit (such as your 36 grit) on the rougher wheel, would make shaping much easier and faster. While the CGW wheels have been fine, the advantages of having at least one CBN wheel on my grinder are becoming more and more apparent. At $185 (Schweitzer aka D-Way), two would definitely be above my paygrade, but one might be doable. Something to think about.
 
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Well, there are grinding wheels, and there are grinding wheels. The ones that come with the grinders, generally are pretty much worthless. If you need to do a lot of shaping, then for sure you should probably have a high speed grinder and a 40 or so grit wheel. The other alternative would be a heavy duty belt sander with 40 or 60 grit belts. For most sharpening of turning tools, the CBN wheels are the best for a multitude of reasons, and the most expensive. That is most likely what the expensive one from Craft Supplies is. What I don't like about it is that it is only 1 inch wide while most of the other CBN wheels are 1 1/2 inch wide. They never wear out, they are spin and bubble balanced before you put them on your grinder, they never change size, there is no risk at all of them ever blowing up, you never need to true them up or balance them. Best sources are D Way Tools, and Woodturning Wonders. Optigrind is another one, and Cuttermaster up in Canada.

I have a pretty complete article about CBN wheels on my web site www.robohippy.net if you want a long read.

robo hippy
 
Well I like finer grits I guess. I have a 120 white wheel on one side and a 180 CBN on the other. Probably a good choice for a new turner would be more like 80 on one side and finer on the other. I don't think you need to do that much shaping. CBN wheels really remove steel fast. I have been using the 180 grit CBN for some shaping. Yes it does take a little longer but it doesn't heat up the steel the same way an aluminum oxide wheel does so you can grind longer. CBN wheels have also come down a lot. Ken Rizzo sells a wide variety of grits and sizes for very reasonable prices. His are high grade aluminum so they spin a little easier on the less expensive grinders. http://www.woodturnerswonders.com/
There are many reasons to go CBN. The two best are the balanced wheels, never having to true them up, and they stay the same size so all your various jigs work better. OK that's 3 but hey I was a photographer not an engineer. It's so much easier to grind, especially for a new turner, on a wheel that runs perfectly true. When I was a new turner my grinds looked more like faceted gem stones than a good edge. When you set the steel on the CBN wheel it just sits there. No bouncing. It just flat out makes it easier to grind.
 
A source for free, quality grinding wheels would be industrial grinding shops. When their wheels get worn down in diameter they throw them out.

The catch is these wheels will usually have 1-1/4" bores that have to be bushed down the bench grinder shaft size. You also have to have large wheel flanges on the grinder.
 
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