Is CBN simply worth the extra cost?

[Matt Mackinnon]

I knew from the start that getting into woodworking was going to be a very expensive hobby. And even more so when I took up turning. I recently bought a whole lathe setup with a wolverine jig and grinding wheel. The fellow who I bought it from had 2 oneway blue 8" grinding wheels in 54 and 120 grit that have never been used.

I have read up on the CBN and am very interested in the opinion of those that have them. A $200 price tag is quite a bit if it's only a marginal better improvement. I am however getting a set of 10V powered metal tools from Crown, with plans on replacing them with DT when they ware out. I now that Cindy Drozda recommends CBN to get the most out of your 10v gouges. Is her findings the same as yours who have a CBN??

thanks

Matt

[Alan Trout]

The answer is Yes they are a lot better.

Alan

[Bruce Stangeby]

I agree that CBN is worth the cost. I have on CBN wheel now and one ceramic. I will be getting a CBN replacement for the ceramic wheel.

[John Keeton]

Profoundly - yes! And, I think if you review several recent SMC threads, you will find glowing reports of improved edges and better turning experiences. Not to mention it will last for years without any change in diameter - and, no abrasive dust, just metal filings. No hot edges (if you are doing it correctly), and better balance on your grinder.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Matt - my answer is yes! With the CBN wheel, I was able to remove the wheel shroud which allowed additional light so I could see what I was doing. The 1 1/2" wheel gives you plenty of room to sharpen without falling off the wheel. The one thing that alone was worth the extra cost to me, is that I do not have dust from the grinding wheel hanging in the air during and after sharpening!

When you figure that the CBN wheel will last for years of hard use, you can really start to see a savings when you think of the never-ending cost of replacing regular wheels every few years.

[Dan Forman]

They have several benefits --- no need to constantly dress them to keep them true and remove the hollow that develops from the gouges, retain consistent diameter as a result on not dressing, and sharpen 10v and 11a steels better, because these new steels have carbide granules embedded in them, and CBN can sharpen carbide, whereas AL oxide can't. So CBN will put a sharper edge on those new Crown tools that you are getting than standard wheels will. Since they generate a lot less heat, you won't have to keep letting your tool cool if doing some major regrinding to change a profile on a tool (the 80 grit wheel is best for that.)

See this for an explanation of the new steels thing...CBN Wheels Part 2

If you do flatwork too, the huge advantage of CBN is that they won't burn your chisels and plane blades, which AL oxide can even on a low speed grinder.

If money is an issue, just get the 180 grit CBN wheel to start off with, add the 80 grit when you can.

Dan

[Reed Gray]

They do cost more in terms of dollars, but are worth far more in terms of value/bang for the buck. You can use your blue wheels till they wear out, or sell them and buy the CBN wheels. If you get the CBN wheels, you never need to worry about balancing them, cleaning them, or truing them up. The savings on not buying those items almost covers the extra $ you spend on the wheels.

robo hippy

[Prashun Patel]

Matt-
I'll humbly chime in behind the experts here: I love my CBN and I'm no pro. For me the big bang is that it runs very true. I thought I had my AO's balanced well, but the CBN takes it to a new level. I'll go as far to say that if I had to choose between a good gouge + AO wheel and a mediocre gouge + CBN, I'd choose the latter.

[Robert McGowen]

I held off buying one until about a month ago. After a month's worth of use on a 180 grit wheel, I am seriously considering purchasing another one just to put on the other side of the grinder so that I can keep two jigs set up at the same time. They are that good. I don't really know why anyone would need an 80 grit wheel though, as the 180 grit wheel seems to take off plenty of steel if you are not careful with it.

[Chip Sutherland]

The answer is yes. But use the wheels you have already they are fine. Or sell them and buy the CBNs. However, I am not a CBN owner at this time. For $200, I would buy another chuck. I have 5 but 6 must be the magic number, right? I will replace my cheapo sharpening wheel with a CBN later this year (probably at SWAT). I very rarely do any re-profiling of a tool so the cheapo profiling wheel will suffice. Again...just my 2 cents

[Matt Mackinnon]

With that all said, it looks like CBN is in my near future. I have seen the video from D-Way and he goes on to say that putting a single CBN wheel will help balance the normal grinding stone on the other side. I can see having a high cost wheel for the finishing grind. And lets face it, borrowing a page from Rob Cosman, it should only take 30 seconds to sharpen your tools as you should never let them get that dull that it requires longer. On the same thought, doing major re-grinding is probably an exception than a common occurrence.

Is a 180 grit CBN enough? Do you just leave a 56grit blue grinding wheel on the other side if you need to do some re-shaping to do it rough, then move over to the 180CBN? I'm not going to say that money is no object, as I am not swimming in it, but want to spend it where it's justified.

[Bob Bergstrom]

Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!! Yes!!
I hope that helps. My ability to take the smallest and lightest cuts and whisp of a cut with my scrapers.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Is it simply worth the cost? YES. The additional money buys you more consistant grinds - without the wheel diameter changing over time, you never need to change your jig settings unless you're doing a completely different grind, of course. No matrix dust getting all over the place. Simple cleanup with the wave of a magnet. My cheapo WoodCraft grinder thinks it's a Baldor now - smooth as glass. And, best of all, I spend way less time at the grinder trying to nurse it into a good, sharp edge. I can't prove it, but I believe that I'm taking less steel off my tools with each sharpening just because it's so consistent.

Did I already mention that, since I put those wheels on my grinder, I now have a full head of hair? Okay, I did start with a full head of hair, but...

A word of caution, though. when they're new, the wheels cut very aggressively. That's probably a good thing because with CBN, a very light touch is all that's needed. They do settle in with regular use. I have a scraper that is a full 1/2" thick and I reshaped it on the 80 grit when it was new in the blink of an eye. Dave at D-Way sells tools and has been using the same set of wheels for four years to do his production grinding. That means I should probably make sure mine are mentioned in my will 'cause they're going to outlive me.

[bob svoboda]

Without reservation...YES

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Do you want to buy my Norton blue wheels? I won't be going back to them.
faust