cbn wheels

[Michael Handrinos]

Has anyone used a cbn wheel for the hollow grind on their bench chisels?
Thanks
Michael

[Tom M King]

I have one, and it changes the game. I expect Derek can answer better than me, but in short, perfectly balanced, no truing or balancing ever needed, seconds to grind a bevel with little heat in the steel. I bought an accumulation of old chisels off ebay, and gave 14 as gifts for Christmas. I did all the grinding, and honing in probably not much over half an hour. Grinding was a few minutes total. Downside would be that a heavy hand could do too much damage by removing too much steel in a hurry. It only takes a small number of seconds to grind the bevel on a chisel.

If time doesn't matter, other methods work just fine. I do this for a living, so time does matter. A water wheel was just too painfully slow, and friable wheels too much time tuning.

It took me several tries to find a grinder that ran smooth enough to be worthy of the wheel. I kept setting stuff on this one to see what would fall off. When nothing did, I went to the truck and brought the camera back. I bought the fine D-way wheel first to try it, and never have found the need for the coarse one. This grinder still only has the wheel on one side. Anything less on it would compromise the smoothness. I do have other grinders and belt sanders for other purposes, but this is the woodworking edge grinder.

Sometimes my comparison from new to old is car windows from crank up, to power windows, but the difference between this and any old way is so far beyond that, that I haven't come up with a good comparison example.

[Derek Cohen]

I have a half-speed grinder with 80 grit and 180 grit wheels.



I now have the Tormek BGM-100 set up so I have switch directly from one side to the other without having to reset the grind angle. I shall add this to my website article at some stage.

You can do a lot with just the 180 grit wheel, however the 80 grit is fantastic when needing to re-angle a bevel.

The article on my website is at http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Woodwor...ningSetUp.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tom M King]

Mine is not a slow speed grinder, and I only use the 180 wheel. If I had known how much I would love this thing, I would have gotten one of these setups.

http://www.cuttermasters.com/portfolio/tradesman-dc/ I was watching the video on that page, and the commentator made a very good statement that is a pretty good description. He said the wheel cuts rather grinds. That's certainly the way it feels. It'll cut a bevel right into a chisel.

[Steve Voigt]

Has anyone used a cbn wheel for the hollow grind on their bench chisels?
Thanks
Michael

You might want to try the search function in the upper right corner of the page...there was a thread with about a hundred posts on this, just a few weeks ago...

[Michael Handrinos]

Thanks for all the replies. You guys are the best!

Michael

[Richard Wolgemuth]

I also use a CBN and love it. I primarily use it for sharpening my turning tools, but have used it for everything else as well. They are pretty awesome.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I need to try these. I have a Tormek and want to hollow grind my chisels and irons, but the Tormek would take forever. Also I am wondering if I set up the Tormek system on a low speed grinder with this wheel, could I use this stone to dress planer (machine variety, that is) blades before honing them on the Tormek? The shop I sharpen for does some amazing things (in a bad way) with their blades before giving them to me.

EDIT: What I mean is to set up a Tormek bar so I can use the Tormek accessories on the low speed grinder.

[george wilson]

I have been researching the Metabo bench grinder,especially the 200 (8") model. It is a bit confusing since some said it does not vibrate,and others said it did. I guess it has a 5/8" spindle,but I am a little confused about the 1 1/4" adapter for a wire brush wheel,or apparently for the German wheels. I,fortunately,can turn any needed bushings on my lathe.

It is too bad that the Metabo grinders are now made in China. I hope their quality is up to German standards. I have never seen an Asian motor that has a varnish dipped armature,which protects against blowing out by arcing. Any idea if these grinders are dipped?

The wheels are pretty steep,too. The cheapest one seems to be about $170.00. How long do these wheels last? They cost more than some of the diamond wheels I have. Yet,CBN,while being an extremely hard substance,still falls way below diamond in hardness.

I use my Wilton Square Wheel grinder with zirconia belts for nearly all my grinding,except for touching up small HSS lathe tools(a belt does not leave as crisp a cutting edge as a solid wheel). (the belt invariably "bags" a bit,slightly dubbing the edge).

Nothing can be done about it,I suppose,but I still like the double jointed tool rests on my 1960's Craftsman grinder better than anything modern I have seen. I can extend the tool rest way out,catch a chisel or gouge under the tang,and grind a beautiful,facet less grind every time. Of course,my chisels and gouges are all old enough that they still HAVE proper tangs. Perhaps I could make double jointed tool rests for the Metabo,should I get one.

[Tom M King]

I never ran this Metabo with the wheels that come on it. They have a pretty funky washer system, where the inside ones go up under the motor housing. I used some sort of bronze bushing that fit the shaft, and was long enough to put the D-way wheel at enough offset, so it wouldn't rub the housing. I didn't even fiddle with the tool rests that came with the Metabo. I had a couple of the Veritas stands already.

I ordered a Dewalt and sent it back, then ordered the Metabo, and it was smooth. I haven't paid any attention to anything about the Metabo, other than it did what I wanted one to do. I have a couple of old Baldors that belonged to my Dad, but didn't want to tie them up.

I've been using the wheel for a little over a year, and it still cuts just like it always has. I have no idea how long it will last. I haven't had to touch anything about the setup, since I first put it together, and don't even remember if I ever finished tightening the stainless lock nuts that are holding it on the varnished plywood.

CBN is next under diamond in hardness, but holds up better against steel because of atom structure-according to what I read about it over a year ago. Not the kind of thing I worry about. I just make a decision, and move on-still wish I had bought that Toycen though.

[Tom M King]

George, if you have any need for the wheels, hubs, and tool rest that came on that Metabo, or just want to look at them, I'll be glad to send them to you. I took them off, and put them back in the box the grinder came in. One of those things that's too good to throw away, but I'll never have any use for you. I just live an hour and a half from you, so shipping probably won't break me.