Raptor CBN wheels

[Ted Calver]

Just measured the side on my new D-Way...it's 1/4"+/-

[Ralph Lindberg]

Thanks for pointing that out, Chris. I don't see where Craft Supplies or D-way gives a size specification on the side grind. Just from looking at the pictures/videos, the D-way looks pretty small (maybe 1/4"?) whereas the Raptor appears to have somewhere around 3/4" to a 1". I've never used a wheel with the side grind feature, but it seems like an added bonus to provide more flexibility in grinding. I'd be curious to hear from anyone using a side grind wheel. Is it one of those things that once you have it, you don't want to live without it, or is it just an unnecessary feature that never gets used?

Dave added it due to requests from carvers, it appears that some of the tools they use a side grind is useful.

[Jeff Moffett]

Just measured the side on my new D-Way...it's 1/4"+/-

I spoke with Craft Supplies this morning and they indicated that the Raptor side grind area measures 5/8", but it's only on one side of the wheel whereas the D-Way has 1/4" on both sides. Bottom line, you're getting 1 5/8" of CBN material on the Raptor and 2" of CBN material on the D-Way for about the same price when you include the D-Way bushing. Since I don't have a strong need for the side grind, I'm leaning towards the D-Way due to the wider wheel and the choice of grit.

[Reed Gray]

The Cutter Master, and the D Way both have 1/4 inch side grind. The Optigrind (1 1/2 inch wide wheel) has about 5/8 like the Raptor. I guess given a preference, I would find the 1/4 a bit small, but have never found a use for it.

robo hippy

[Reed Gray]

I was chatting with Dave (D Way) about the CBN wheels, and what happens when the wheels load up from attempting to grind softer non heat treated steels or things like aluminum and brass. Craft Supplies states that if you attempt to do this, you will cause permanent damage to the wheel. Dave commented that the wheels can load up a bit, and the way to clean it is by taking a good old heavy scraper and sharpening it on the clogged wheel. This will effectively clean the wheel. I guess the main problem would be with sharpening some thing like a lawn mower blade or an old cheap machete. I don't think I have done that one yet, though I do have an old softer carbon steel continental type gouge from Sorby, and had no problems with it. I won't try brass or aluminum on this wheel, at least not for a bit.

robo hippy

[George Brown]

The Cutter Master, and the D Way both have 1/4 inch side grind. The Optigrind (1 1/2 inch wide wheel) has about 5/8 like the Raptor. I guess given a preference, I would find the 1/4 a bit small, but have never found a use for it.

robo hippy

Can you tell me where you purchased the optigrind wheel, any US distributors or did you order directly from them in England?

Thanks

[Reed Gray]

George,
When I got mine, I picked it up directly from Deitmer down at the Symposium in San Jose. This is a link to their web site. They are in Michigan I think. I did need an arbor/insert for it as my grinders have 3/4 inch shafts. There were some problems mounting them on some grinders because of the short shafts. They are intended to mount with the side grind to the outside, but the arbor is about 1/2 inch short on the inside (side away from the side grind), so even if your shaft was long enough, you had to add spacers to get it out far enough to spin, and this would not leave enough room to put a nut on to keep it on the grinder. I mounted mine both ways, and it didn't make any difference to me which side it was on. Really, once you get used to the 1 1/2 inch wide wheels, you don't want to go back to the 1 inch wheels.

http://www.optigrind.com/

robo hippy

[Mike Cruz]

Dave now has a wheel with rounded corners that allows you to sharpen around the sides a bit. Not sure if that is what the optigrind does or not...

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Can you tell me where you purchased the optigrind wheel, any US distributors or did you order directly from them in England?

Thanks

I have the optigrind. ( love it) I ordered it direct from the UK. They do have a warehouse they ship from here in the states though.
Also the last I knew Johannes Michelsen at www.hanneseool.com carries them here in the states too.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Dave's new wheels have side grind. There's also a new wheel Dave developed with David Ellsworth with a radiused edge. It's a 1/4" radius; it allows you to sharpen hollowing tools and scrapers without having to swing them in a huge arc. There's a video on the D-Way website that shows them in use. http://d-waytools.com

Side grind is available on all wheels now (I believe) radiused side grind on 8" wheels only.

[George Brown]

Thanks all for the info, I will be getting the optigrind since it is wider and has a larger side grind section. I'll call the company to make sure they have the 180 grit. I have some powdered metal turning tools that should be sharpened on something harder than the standard wheels.

[Rick Markham]

I bought an Optigrind wheel (8") at the symposium this year, I would have bought one of Dave's if he had been a vendor there. It's a great wheel, sure puts the Tormek to shame on the CPM 10V tools. I want my second one to be one with a radiused side grind from Dave. (I didn't even have a slow speed grinder when I grabbed the CBN wheel... I had to get a brand spanking new Baldor 8100W to spin it, boy I tell you I love the Tormek sharpening Jigs on this set up!)

[Reed Gray]

Rick,
You will love the Baldor as much as you do the wheels. One problem with mounting the wheels on that motor. There is a pin in the motor shaft for the flanges that work on the standard type grinding wheels. Those flanges do not work on the CBN wheels. I could not figure out how to pull the pin other than grinding it off, so I left it in, just in case I need it some where down the road. This means I had to put spacers (5/8 inch thickness worth) in to go up to the pin and over it. First attempt was to use the stamped washers from the big box store. They are very uneven, and the wheels had a small amount of side ways run out in them. This was reduced to almost nothing by the time the wheels got up to speed. I went to a machine shop and had them machine a washer that would slip onto the shaft, and used my jig saw to cut a slot for the pin. Now, almost no run out. I tried this on all the wheels and got the exact same results. You will also notice that it is almost impossible to slow the Baldor down.

robo hippy