CBN wheel choice

[Peter Blair]

I bought a slow speed grinder and later added two 180 grit wheels and am glad I didn't get the 80. The 180 puts a nice fine bur on my tools. I have a Wolverine setup and a Robo Hippy on one side and primarily use the other for quick re-sharpening of my gouges and skews.

[Pat Scott]

I watched a Facebook video yesterday that WoodTurners Wonders posted about his CBN wheels. In the video he said that he will gladly make special order wheels, such as special grit or size. I've got one of his 180 grit wheels on my 8" grinder, and one of his 320 grit CBN wheels on my Tormek, and I like them both. I believe D-Way wheels are steel, whereas W.Wonders are aluminum. Others have posted that their grinder is slow to come up to speed once they put on a CBN wheel, but with the lighter weight aluminum wheel I haven't noticed any slow down at all. Maybe it takes two CBN's to slow the grinder down, but I'm just giving something else to consider. D-Way uses bushings to fit the grinder shaft versus W.Wonder that mills the hole for whatever size shaft your grinder has. And the W.Wonders are cheaper. I really wanted a D-Way wheel, but for the price and positive reviews that I read, I couldn't pass up the W.Wonders. Lifetime guarantee too.

[John K Jordan]

I bought a couple from Ken Rizza at http://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/cbn-wheels.

For my 1/2 speed bench grinder I got a 240 grit, the kind he calls 4-in-1.
For my Tormek I got a 600 grit.

These are great.

JKJ

[Charles Bjorgen]

I've got a Baldor 7 incher. Dave is correct on the bushing size.

Correct, of course, but I checked anyway this morning and immediately placed my order for the 180 grit wheel. During my phone conversation with Dave yesterday he mentioned that on my grinder there is pin that the inner washer locks into that can be removed if I wanted to install the outer guard back on the grinder. Don't know that I'd want to do this since there seems to be little reason for it. When I reinstalled the 60 grit wheel on that side it was really out balance. I'm looking forward to a no fuss balanced wheel on that side again. Hoping it arrives by Friday.

[Ralph Lindberg]

This has been an interesting read and I'm seriously considering taking the plunge. Two questions: Are they a smart investment? If so, where is the best place to purchase them from?

Two things, with a CBN wheel the edge you get on your tool is cleaner, that is it's a clean sharp edge with fewer serrations. Second a CBN wheel is a life-time buy. Many of us can wear out a regular wheel in a year or two.
I would get D-Way, Dave's are steel and I think the CBN is bound better then Ken's.

I have to add a story I have told several (many) times. Dave is a member of our local club, right after he started selling CBN wheels we were taking a class through the club where the grinder had Dave's CBN wheels. My wife (who had been turning about 6 months at that point) walked over to sharpen a tool, then walked over to me and announced "we are getting one of these wheels as soon as we can afford it". She got one for a birthday present as was delighted.

[Reed Gray]

I have always wondered about the stress of the lower powered grinders when using the heavier CBN wheels. In particular, the one no name grinders from Woodcraft which are/were 3/4 hp, but no where near as strong as my 3/4 hp Baldor. Then came the 1/2 hp Rikon grinder. Even with it, I would expect that with heavy use, meaning production work, it would eventually fail as it is being pushed beyond its limits. The aluminum wheel may solve this problem. The newer 1 hp grinder that Rikon has for sure is strong enough to solve that problem.To my knowledge, the aluminum haven't really been put through a demolition test to see if the electroplating of it is as good as the electroplating on steel. I expect my CBN wheels to out live me, and hope I have about 30 or so years left, which would make me about as old as Wally Dickerman.

robo hippy

[John K Jordan]

Reed, I'm using the Woodcraft no-name 1/2-speed bench grinder at my lathe tool sharping station with one aluminum CBN and one Norton wheel. I see no difference in starting after I mounted the CBN wheel.

[Reed Gray]

John, well, from my late mother, "Reed, how did you break that?" "Mom, all I did was touch it." Or, when I was doing concrete forms, especially on high walls, I over built to make sure they didn't blow in the middle of a pour. Most 3/4 hp grinders should be able to handle the load of 1 or 2 CBN wheels. The 1/2 hp ones, well, I just don't know, and time will tell. 2 CBN wheels on the old blue no name grinder from Woodcraft had a much longer ramp up to full speed time than my Baldor, which is also a 3/4 hp motor.

robo hippy