CBN wheel on Tormek?

[Pat Scott]

Does anyone have a CBN wheel on their Tormek? If so, what grit?

I have a dry grinder with a 180 grit CBN wheel, but I also have a Tormek wet grinder that I use for sharpening bowl gouges. What can I say, I like the Tormek jig and I like the grind it puts on my bowl gouges. It also doesn't remove very much metal to resharpen my gouges - something that was very apparent the other day when I used my Wolverine jig to sharpen a gouge. You could just see the metal quickly coming off, and all I could think was I paid a lot of money for this new gouge and I want it to last! That's when I made the decision to keep my Tormek.

I'm on my 2nd wheel with the Tormek, and the current Blackstone wheel is about gone. BTW, I don't think it lasted any longer or sharpened any faster than the original white wheel, and I sure don't want to spend $200+ every couple of years to buy another stone. I can get a 10" CBN wheel for $245 from WoodTurners Wonders, so to me that's a no brainer. No more having to regrade the stone, reset the jig distance as the wheel wears, etc.

D-Way also sells a 10" Tormek CBN. His is 1.5" wide and comes in 80 and 180 grit. The normal Tormek wheel is 2" wide, and the CBN from WoodTurners Wonders is also 2" wide which I like (and it's cheaper than D-Way). His normal grit is 600, but you can specify from 60 grit on up.

600 grit sounds too fine, and I'd be afraid it would take far too long to sharpen a gouge than my current Blackstone. I'm leaning toward 220 or 320 grit, but am curious what others think or what grit CBN you have?

[Josh Bowman]

Do you intend to use water with the CBN on the Tormek? If so the wheel will rust. My wheels have shown some rust on a dry grinder.

[Pat Scott]

I've read that it's your choice if you want to use the CBN with water or not. The wheels are aluminum so I didn't think they would rust? There is a review on WoodTurners Wonders where one guy dries off his wheel after each use. That wouldn't be me! I would totally forget. I did talk to Ken at WoodTurners Wonders and he said the CBN wheel is a little more aggressive when used dry, but I just can't see a 600 grit CBN being as aggressive as a 220 grit stone wheel.

[Josh Bowman]

I've read that it's your choice if you want to use the CBN with water or not. The wheels are aluminum so I didn't think they would rust? There is a review on WoodTurners Wonders where one guy dries off his wheel after each use. That wouldn't be me! I would totally forget. I did talk to Ken at WoodTurners Wonders and he said the CBN wheel is a little more aggressive when used dry, but I just can't see a 600 grit CBN being as aggressive as a 220 grit stone wheel.

Pat, I thought the D-way wheel was aluminum as well, but no kidding I do have mild surface rust, (now folks it does effect the wheels operation). The Woodturners Wonders is on the other shaft, much newer and seems to be aluminum.

[Jim Seyfried]

Josh, could the rust on the D-way wheel be ground tool-dust that has rusted?

[Reed Gray]

I have wondered if it would be necessary to use water if you have a CBN wheel on your Tormek or the other clones. I don't think that the water would 'wash' away the metal particles any better than it would if they were dry. Heat is not an issue with the slow speed of this type of grinder/sharpener because of the slow speeds. I would also think that the slow speed can help with 'over grinding' of the tools which is some thing that we all tend to do from time to time. I am guessing that the main issue is grit. When new, the CBN wheels take off a lot of metal in a hurry. As they break in, they leave a much more polished surface. I can't see the need for anything finer than 180 grit considering how polished the edges are that I get from my several year old CBN wheels. I should get a finer grit wheel just for curiosity reasons....

robo hippy

[Mike Holbrook]

I thought the D-Way and older Woodturner's Wonders (WW) wheels were an alloy. As I recall Ken at WW told me the wheel I bought from him with rounded corners and grit on the side of the wheel was his first all aluminum wheel. He said he had been testing them to make sure they would hold up.

I have thought about putting a CBN on my Tormek. Like Robo I was thinking I would just run an 80 grit dry. I have smaller grit CBN wheels on my Delta "Variable" speed. I can't imagine having a heat problem with an 80 grit on the slow Tormek. My finer grit wheel seems to heat up a little more than the rougher one on the higher speed Delta grinder.

[Pat Scott]

Good point Mike, I hadn't thought about overheating with finer grits, even at slow speed. Ken at WW said he's sold several thousand of the 600 grit Tormek wheels and no complaints. He said I could try it and if not satisfied he would exchange it for a different grit. But I'm still leaning towards a 220 or 320 grit CBN.

[Jim Seyfried]

...Ken at WW said he's sold several thousand of the 600 grit Tormek wheels and no complaints. He said I could try it and if not satisfied he would exchange it for a different grit. But I'm still leaning towards a 220 or 320 grit CBN.

I wish at least one of those thousands of 600 grit users would speak up and let us know what they think about it! I like the idea of never having to dress the wheel, but I have a life time guarantee on the grindstone and am about a half inch in diameter from qualifying for a new one. That makes getting a CBN one a much more difficult decision.

Pat I have read of people paying the difference and upgrading to the Blackstone one when getting a replacement. I know you mentioned that it didn't wear much different, but do you notice an improvement in edge quality with that stone. I now have CBN wheels on a slow speed dry grinder so don't use the Tormek for any shaping. So if it just cuts more aggressively it is not what I need. Thanks!

[Mike Goetzke]

Pat - have you looked into the bench grinder accessory BGM-100? It allows you to rough shape your tools quickly on the bench grinder with the Tormek jigs. Then just touch them up on the Tormek wet grinder.

Mike

[David Walser]

...

Pat I have read of people paying the difference and upgrading to the Blackstone one when getting a replacement. I know you mentioned that it didn't wear much different, but do you notice an improvement in edge quality with that stone. I now have CBN wheels on a slow speed dry grinder so don't use the Tormek for any shaping. So if it just cuts more aggressively it is not what I need. Thanks!

I spoke with the Tormek representative soon after the Blackstone wheel was introduced. He said the new wheel would cut faster while producing the same quality edge.

[Josh Bowman]

Josh, could the rust on the D-way wheel be ground tool-dust that has rusted?

Nope, just rust, it happens if my AC is off, does the exact same thing to my lathe ways

[Jim Seyfried]

I spoke with the Tormek representative soon after the Blackstone wheel was introduced. He said the new wheel would cut faster while producing the same quality edge.

Thanks David!

Nope, just rust, it happens if my AC is off, does the exact same thing to my lathe ways

I see where Mike H. mentioned that some are made from an alloy, but you wouldn't think an alloy would rust either (if it is one). I keep my shop heated in the winter and run a dehumidifier in the summer to combat rust on tools. I also use Ballistol oil on the lathe ways, but still need to clean and re-oil after turning some green wood. Especially oak, it will turn them black before I'm done.

[Jimmy Edwards]

Pat my friend has a 180 grit on his Tormek. I used it saturday and it was great. I will probably get the 220 grit. The WoodturnersWonders man said he can get up to 1200 grit. However I would like to hear from some of you about the higher grits first. I love my Tormek and use it every day. My wolverine just eats up my tools. I personally would never use water on the CBN. I like the 10" wheel for just about eliminating the hollow ground. I currently have the CBN 8" on a slow speed grinder

[Pat Scott]

I really couldn't tell much if any difference going from the Tormek original white wheel to the Blackstone as far as edge quality. I still have to dress the Blackstone a lot, in fact I think more frequently than the white wheel. Maybe it's been long enough ago that I don't remember how often I dressed the white wheel, or maybe the Blackstone is a little softer which is why its more aggressive (constantly breaking down exposing new particles). It could be that I'm doing more turning and sharpening than years ago too. I would probably buy the Blackstone again over the white wheel because it's suppose to be faster, but considering a WW CBN wheel is only $35 more than a Blackstone, its a no-brainer to go CBN. Wish I had lifetime warranty wheels! My brother does for his Tormek, but I bought mine too long ago.

I do have the BGM-100 mount but have never installed it. I probably should just to give it a try and see if it removes less metal than when using the Wolverine jig. Like Jimmy said, my dry grinder can really eat up my bowl gouges.

Good to hear any kind of feedback on a Tormek with CBN! D-Ways CBN is 1.5" wide and the Blackstone and white wheels are 2.0" wide. The WW CBN wheel is 2.0" wide, comes in more grits, and is cheaper than D-Way which is why I'm leaning towards it.