grinder wheels

[Mark H Anderson]

Morning all. I'm in the market for a new wheel for my 6" bench grinder. It will be used to re do the primary bevel on my chisels. I tried that with the stones that came with the grinder but I don't care for the results. Final bevel will be done with a 1000-4000 wet stone.
After a bit of research I think I'm looking at an aluminum oxide wheel, 60-80 grit. Does this sound about right?
Thank you.
Mark.

[David Posey]

Mark, welcome to the Creek. You might get more replies to this if you ask for the thread to be moved to the Neandrethal Haven, and I'm sure there are already some threads there on grinding wheels.

My first inclination is to say that 60-80 seems a little high. The biggest thing you have to worry about when grinding chisels is drawing temper on the edge, and a higher grit will leave a smoother surface but it will also run hotter. You may be having that trouble already with your current wheel if it is clogged. Have you tried dressing it and seeing if it cuts better afterward? I keep a cup of water near my wheel when I am griding and dunk the chisel every few seconds when I get close to the edge.

A few other questions come to mind, which may or may not be relevant to your wheel choice. What sharpening method will you be using, i.e., flat bevel, microbevel, hollow grind, convex bevel? Are you using a honing guide? Are your chisels Western style or Japanese?

I know that's a lot of questions, but they may all impact you getting the best/most appropriate edge on your tools.

[Anthony Diodati]

Yeah, that's what I am using, I got a 1" wheel, NWGW6x1x60, Norton White Grinding Wheel,
6 x 1 - 60 Grit1.00, was 13.97 and $7.00 shipping, This was August/2009 though, looks like it went up a little.
This was the only place I could find it in a 1", IIRC, and was the best price .
The 3/4" is a dollar less, but I really like the 1" wheel.
Change with the drop down menu.
http://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/No...el-P38C20.aspx

[Gary Herrmann]

60-80 should be fine. What rpm? Check the turner forum. Lots of grinder posts there as well.

Will a 1" wide wheel fit on your 6" grinder? Typically, they use 3/4" width.

[David Posey]

While the turner forum has a lot of great info on wheels, you don't really need a wheel that's designed for a turner unless you want it to pull double duty for your turning tools as well. Even with the cool running wheels (which are more expensive) you can still burn an edge on high carbon steel. Your grinder speed won't matter too much either. It is quite easy to burn an edge with a hand crank grinder.

The 60 grit that Anthony reccomends will work fine. You can go coarser if you want. It will run cooler than a gray wheel (which is probably what came with your grinder) and is fairly friable so you probably won't need to dress it that often. It's also not that much more expensive than a gray wheel, although you can use a gray one and be fine so long as you keep it dressed and are mindful of the temperature of the blade.

[Mark H Anderson]

Thank you for all the tips gents. Lots of good info.

[Mel Fulks]

I agree with much of what David wrote .But some of those grey wheels are so bad and therefore last so long ,I don't see any good reason to endure them.The wheel dressers cost money too,so a better white wheel saves more than your time.

[Greg Portland]

I run an 8" 80-grit Norton 3x (blue) K-grade wheel on my 1750 rpm grinder and have been very pleased with the results. I use it to grind the initial bevel. The K-grade is supposed to be much harder than the I grade or white stones... this is supposed to be better for high RC steels...