It’s been awhile since I turned, just set up my new shop and I am getting back the lathe. My grinder has older Norton wheels and they are near the end of their effective life. I have been looking around to replace them with the same but have seen a few sites that sell CBN wheels. I know very little about them, if anyone who would like to give me their thoughts and shared experiences with them please, your advice is much appreciated
...a grinder that can turn 8" wheels, and if so, check out the CBN wheels at WoodTurnersWonders.com. For the price of $110 they are the bast buy that I'm aware of, and a set of #80 and #180 will fix you right up!
Jim, Woodchuckers are selling the wheels that Jamie mentioned. They are importing from the US. I bought a 180 grit in June and cost was significantly less than US price and currency exchange. I also bought the washer set. It was the radiused wheel.
I love them. They don't wear like regular wheels do so you can set up jigs and not have too move them. They run true so your tool.doesnt bounce which makes.it much easier to grind a good surface. The one downside is they don't recommend grinding carbon steel tools. I keep a white stone on the other side of my lathe for those.
Once I finally went to CBN wheels (when the price came down, since I'm a cheapskate), I can't go back. I bought all I used from Ken Rizza at Woodturners Wonders - they are machined from aluminum so they are lighter weight than those made from solid steel. This may be important if you use an underpowered bench grinder - I've heard of some who put two steel wheels on a 1/2 hp grinder and almost had to give it a spin by hand to get it going.
I currently use three on 1/2 speed bench grinders - 80 grit, 180 grit, and 600 grit, and a 1200 grit on a Tormek. I use the 80 the least, mostly for reshaping tools where I have to remove a lot of metal. I use the 600 the most to sharpen skews and scrapers. (Skews get honed after sharpening) I use the 1200 grit for all my spindle gouges. As Sir Lucas mentioned, they are not recommended for mild steel so I keep some separate grinders for those. Work well on hardened tool steel and HSS.
No wheel guards are needed since the metal wheels can't fly apart.
A lot of people apparently buy wheels with the left and right edges radiused and I initially bought one. The value of those is limited, primarily for sharpening the small bits used for hollowing. The radius lets you sharpen a curve on the bit without swinging a long handle in an arc. The problem is it reduces the effective width of the wheel by 1/2". I prefer the wheels with 90-deg corners on the edges. I also like the wheels with about 1" of grid down both flat faces. I don't use these flats much but they are useful on occasion. The cornered edges plus the flat do let me grind special scrapers as needed, for example one with an angled "hook" I made for cutting a recess in face turned blanks.
Rizza (and perhaps others) sell a set of spherical washers that will allow the wheels to run true with no effort. They are pretty cheap.
Reed Gray pointed out long ago that nearly any wheel you buy will be far more aggressive when new then when after it is "broken in". I think the plating process that sticks the grains of grit to the substrate leave some grains higher than others. The wheel settles down after the rogue grains are broken off.
I like to use a little Trend diamond honing fluid on CBN wheels. I spray a bit on the 8" wheels on the grinders and dribble some on the slow 10" Tormek wheel.
One thing worth mentioning is to wear a good mask when using CBN wheels. The metal powder is extremely fine and hangs in the air for a bit. Any that you breath in will stay in your lungs Forever.
I have a long article up on my web site (Reed's Woodworking or robohippy.net), and it is a bit dated, and I have changed a few points now, after years of using them. There are several makers and manufacturers. Ken's are the least expensive and more light weight. I have 2 of his, but the others are from D Way. Not sure if there is any real quality difference, but the steel hubbed ones from D Way are heavier. I prefer the 1 1/2 inch wide ones. The 1/2 hp Rikon grinder is pretty popular, but a bit underpowered to run the steel wheels. I did get a 1 hp Rikon and it has as much power as my 3/4 hp Baldor grinders. I had to fuss with it to get it to sit flat on plywood because I took the rubber feet off and bolted it down. All dust should be contained, and the metal dust floats like wood dust. Don't have a hose directly hooked up to the grinder because of spark issues which can start a fire, but a few feet away is a good idea. Magnets can do a fair job, but not an excellent job. I prefer the square edged wheels. I used to say 80 and 180 would get you by, but now 180 if you are getting only one wheel, and a 320 or so, or a 600 grit wheel is really a handy second wheel. The 180 leaves an excellent burr on your scrapers, and the 600 grit edge is excellent for really fine finish cuts, but not so good for heavy roughing cuts. Kind of like variable speed on your lathe, once you use it, you never go back....
Jim I have 3. 80, 180 on a 1hp grinder & 600 on a Grizzly wet wheel grinder. I took the Griz stone and replaced my worn out Tormek stone. The 600 gets wicked sharp.
