CBN wheels

Robo hippy

Jack Guzman from Maine

I just read Reed Grays(aka-robohippy)article on the subject and my question is answered. I still welcome any opinions.---Jack

Re: CBN wheels

Dennis J. Gooding

Probably a good choice if you keep a coarser stone wheel on the other side for initial shaping of tools. Surprised that you have to frequently dress the white wheel; maybe you have a balance problem with the grinder or the the existing wheels. In that case, swapping a CBN wheel for one of the stone wheels may not yield the performance you want.

Re: CBN wheels

Jack Guzman from Maine

The problem with the wheel is that I use it for other tools besides turning tools. I only turn occasionally. But inevitably when I go to sharpen my skew the wheel needs to be dressed so it is flat.

Re: CBN wheels

John K Jordan

I think much depends on the type of turning you do and the type of wood, unknown from your message. All I can do is give my own experience. I mostly turn smaller things from well-dried wood, many fine-grained and quite hard. I turn plenty of spindles, end grain boxes, small bowls and platters, etc. I want a finish off the tool in hard, fine-grained woods that requires only minimal sanding, often starting with 400 grit or finer.

I use 4 CBN wheels - 80 grit, 220, 600, and a 1200 grit on a very slow speed Tormek. I rely on the 80 grit to reshape tools, especially heavy scrapers. I use the 220 the least - too coarse for some things and too fine for others. I use the 600 grit for my skew chisels (honing to razor sharp), scrapers, and bowl gouges. I use the 1200 grit for my spindle gouges and I still wish it was finer. I leave the grinder burr on no tools except occasionally for certain negative rake scrapers.

If I mostly turned large green wood, hollowed with scrapers, or used power sanding, the 180 grit might be ok but it's too coarse for how I want my tools and the way I like to work.

Whatever you decide on, note that until it is "broken in" the wheel will be more aggressive and act like a courser wheel. Until then it's hard to know what it will be like for the long haul. If possible, perhaps visit people with various wheels and try sharpening your tools.

JKJ

Re: CBN wheels

Jack Guzman from Maine

Thanks for the info. I don't think I need to go any finer. I can use diamond by hand if anything like that is needed. I turn mostly green maple and oak chair parts. I just need a means of touching up my skew and parting tools mostly. In the future I may look into a 600.

Re: CBN wheels

John lucas

I've been using a 180 for the past 5 years. It's great. It removes metal.surprisingly fast and you can reshape tools if you have a little patience. I have removed a fair amount of steel that you would not think it would do. I recently switched to a 350 grit. I don't think it would be good for shaping but it leaves a very nice edge on tools.

Re: CBN wheels

Bill Blasic

My suggestion is to get the 1 1/2" wide version. I have the wider ones on my personal grinder (80 and 180) and have 1" ones on the general shop grinder (both 180 but one has rounded corners).

Re: CBN wheels

Reed Gray

I seldom use my 80 grit wheel any more. If I have any serious shaping to do, I go to the belt sander with a 36 grit belt. The edge you get from a 180 grit wheel will do fine for about 90% or the turning you do. I recently got a 320 and 600 grit from D Way, after having a 600 and 1000 from Ken Rizza/Woodturner's Wonders. I am finding that the 600 comes in really handy for fine finish cuts, but not so good for heavy roughing. Haven't played too much with the scraper burr from the 600 grit wheel though. For shear scraping, I prefer a burnished burr, which is pretty simple to do. For skews, most of the time it is the 600 grit, then hone on the Tormek. Never could get a good burr free edge with the diamond cards. So, one wheel, get a 180. 2 wheels, maybe add a 600 grit. 1000 is probably finer than most of us will need, but that depends on honing as much as anything, I think.... Not much of a skew guy, but I do use them for peeling cuts on spindles and end grain boxes.

robo hippy

Re: CBN wheels

Jack Guzman from Maine

Thanks Reed,and thank you for taking the time to post that article on CBN. My first venture into this area.

white is not the wheel for the need

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

If faced with your need I would buy a "K" hardness seeded gel/ceramic wheel. Available from any industrial supply house-MSC, etc. The ceramic abrasive is suitable for tool steel and its structure renews sharp cutting edges without renewing the surface by frequent dressing. A "K" harness is hard enough to maintain wheel shape. Softer wheels shed particles quickly and change shape, but they run cool. Cool is not an issue with the steel used in lathe tools. They do not loose hardness at red heat.

The Norotn 3X wheel is a consumer version of a ceramic wheel where the ceramic is diluted with less expensive abrasive. 3X means 30% ceramic abrasive particles.

Read my discussion of grinding wheels in the Discussion Section of WoodCentral. Abrasive particle composition, particle size and hardness of the particle bonding are all parts of a wheel specification and all are critical to performing the intended grinding needs.

The white wheel from LV is the wrong abrasive and the wrong wheel hardness for tool steel lathe tools. It is designed for sharpening carbon steel edges like chisels and plane blades.