A short while ago I posted a warning about purchasing the radiused CBN wheels for grinding flat blades (bench planes and bench chisels) as I had been experiencing difficulties obtaining a straight grind. I posted this as I felt a responsibility having written such glowing praise about the CBN wheels I built into a grinding centre.
It is relevant to note that the CBN wheel have been around a long time (several years at least) and have a superb reputation among turners. They were, however, little know among flat woodworkers .... mainly because they offer the capability of grinding the steels that are more commonly used by turners than flat woodworkers (such as HSS). In other words, they were designed with turners in mind.
The performance of the 180 grit wheel I purchased from D-Way absolutely blew me away, and I wanted to share this with all that they could also work on flat blades.
There are different shape CBN wheels available. I purchased ones with a radius as I was impressed with their potential for lathe chisels, which I also use. There are also available straight wheels (similar to standard grinder wheels). In retrospect, that is what I should have bought instead.
There is nothing wrong with the radiused wheels for grinding lathe chisels. They are perfect for that purpose. However, they are not designed for flat grinding of plane blades, where the wheel area is narrower than the plane blade. A straight wheel would be better suited for this purpose.
I am still 100% behind the CBN wheel. They have that much potential in my opinion. So much so, I am am replacing the radius wheels with straight wheels.
The service and backup I have had from Dave at D-Way has been superb. Not only has he answered my emails, but we discussed the nature of the set up I have by telephone.
Regards from Perth
Derek