Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
The problem I used to have and I think many others have is the plane or chisel is thrust straight into a flat wheel, thereby heating the 3/4" of bevel all at once. The proper technique is to use sweeping passes on a crowed wheel. 1/2" wheel is wide enough.

Joel wrote a wonderful article for FWW magazine in 2008 on the use of a crowned wheel (which he learned from Barry Iles of Ashley Iles Edge Tools). As you note Bill, the advantage of a crowned wheel is that it restricts a blade heating up excessively. Indeed, Joel cautioned against a high speed 8" bench grinder, preferring the lower surface speed of a 6" to further lower heat.

But that was 10 years ago, and technology has changed. The alloy CBN wheels offer a cool grind. In fact, a camber is not needed on these wheels, as it was on the vitreous types.

My thought about the old wheels is that they wore unevenly, and running a blade across a supposedly "flat" face would cause a part of the blade to dig in/catch. This is what caused burning. The CBN wheel, on the other hand, does not go out of flat, and it is quite difficult to have the blade catch in this manner (I'm sure that one could if you try hard enough !).

Regards from Perth

Derek