New Grinder Wheels

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
The first time I put new grinder wheels on the slow speed 8" grinder, I went with the OneWay wheels, a #80 and a #120. They were very good, no complaints, but this time around, I went with the Norton 3X wheels, this time a #46 and #80. I found that the #120 wheel was not of much use, it loaded up a LOT in use, and I found I did not use it much.

I did use the heck out of the Oneway wheels, they ended up being 6" in diameter, so I certainly did get my money out of them. :D

two_6_inch_wheels.JPG
The old wheels, just about 6" now.

new_old_wheels_comparo.JPG
To show the amount of wheel that has been ground off.

new_norton_wheel.JPG
Here is one of the new wheels.

One thing I did notice about these wheels is that I had to move the balancing nuts a lot further off the center to get them balanced, than the Oneway wheels, does that matter :dunno:

Nice to have new wheels! :D

Cheers!
 
Thanks for the info Stu. I was thinking of the Norton wheels also. I found the same thing that my 120 wheel did load a lot. I had to true it all the time. Let me know what you think of the new wheels.
 
Stu, I have the one-way balancing system (beautiful way to balance your wheels!) along with the Norton 3X, 80 and 120 wheels. Obviously, not being a turner, I don’t dress the wheels anywhere near as often as you do, but I have found the 80 and 120 wheels perfect for touching up endmill’s, tool bits for the lathe, and sharpening drill bits. Carbide eats them up rather quickly though, I need a diamond grinder…:rolleyes:
 
Bernie, I used the wheels a little, and they seem to work fine, but I'll keep you updated.

Bruce, I've got that Oneway balancing set up as well, it sure was worth the money, my cheap Woodcraft slow speed grinder, runs nice and smooth! :thumb:

Cheers!
 
The wear on that wheel is amazing. I have inherited grinders that are older than I am and the current size is probably not measurably smaller than the original 8". I just measured my Camel brand, Israeli made, 80 grit blue, 8" wheel from WC. It is six years old, used daily and still measures a full 8". As said, the carbide must be very hard on your wheels. Methinks, for carbide, one would get diamond grit wheels. Expensive, but, what the hey, who worries about money? :rolleyes:
 
Carbide???

I use it to sharpen my lathe tools, which are all HSS.

Thing is Frank, I sharpen all the time, I work mainly hard wood, the "Zelkova" and it dulls the tools quickly, also, to be fair, I was doing a lot of learning on those first wheels, so :eek:

I've got my jigs built and my technique down now that I'm sure the new wheels will last a lot longer. :wave:
 
Stuart, I think you don't need a balancing set so much on a slow speed grinder, isn't it.
Also I thought that you would go for a belt grinder sometimes, or am I wrong.

Ad :huh:
 
Stu, I was about to order a pair of wheels from Oneway. Am I correct in assuming that you'd recommend the coarser wheels? What grit do you recommend? Or should I wait until you've tested the Norton wheels more extensively? :dunno:
Thanks for the information, Stu! Much appreciated. :thumb:
 
Carbide???

I use it to sharpen my lathe tools, which are all HSS.

Thing is Frank, I sharpen all the time, I work mainly hard wood, the "Zelkova" and it dulls the tools quickly, also, to be fair, I was doing a lot of learning on those first wheels, so :eek:

I've got my jigs built and my technique down now that I'm sure the new wheels will last a lot longer. :wave:

I'll still stick with the "amazing" part. Considering that I have these 80 year old wheels my father used in his professional shop, then home shop before I got them and they are still 8", the wear on yours is definitely "amazing".
 
Stuart, I think you don't need a balancing set so much on a slow speed grinder, isn't it.
Also I thought that you would go for a belt grinder sometimes, or am I wrong.

Ad :huh:
Ad, the Woodcraft slow speed grinder is running at 1725 rpm, so it'll still jump all over the place if the wheels are out of balance. It's not s l o w like a Tormek grinder.
 
Hi Folks,

I bought two sets of 8" grinding wheels from woodcraft which were "camel" brand made in Israel. I've used the pink 120 wheel and am very satisfied with it. It won't regrind an angle very quickly, but it can do it, and it sharpens my bowl gouges very well. I use several sets of bowl gouges, so that I don't have to sharpen them immediately after or during each turning. To rough out a blank, I'll start with a crown 1" or 3/4" bowl gouge, then I turn to a Hamlet 1/2 or 3/4 inch bowl gouge with an Irish/Elsworth grind and a 1/2" Oneway for the internal rounded corners. Generally I can use these for two bowls if they're green and one if it is dry. The pink 8" wheels are just fine.
Regards, Hilel.
 
Stu, I was about to order a pair of wheels from Oneway. Am I correct in assuming that you'd recommend the coarser wheels? What grit do you recommend? Or should I wait until you've tested the Norton wheels more extensively? :dunno:
Thanks for the information, Stu! Much appreciated. :thumb:

Gord, I went with the #80 & #120 wheels, because I saw David Elsworth recommend that set up in a video, or DVD. I'm not saying that this is the wrong set up, but I find it just did not work so well for me. Honestly I needed three wheels, from #120 to the #46 :D

The #80 wheel got the most use, and the #120 just loaded up a lot. When Eli and Jean-Francois where here last time out, they both recommended the #46 #80 as good enough for almost all of your sharpening for lathe tools. Eli liked the #80 over the #120 for the bit larger burr that it leaves on an edge. I do think that this is all down to personal preference, which is just fine, use what you like and what you are used to. :thumb:

Ad, like Vaughn says, the grinder is a slow speed, not low speed. When I put the balancing system on the grinder, the difference was really amazing. For example, before, when I'd switch the grinder off, it would come to a complete stop in less than 30 seconds, now with the balancing system, it is more like 90 seconds to come to a complete stop, which just shows how much smoother everything is spinning. Sure a very good grinder, like a Baldor with good wheels will be similar, but for me, for about 1/4 of the price of a Baldor grinder I have similar performance.

Frank, sorry, but your 80 year old grinding wheels that have not worn at all in 80 years, THAT is amazing :D
 
I also have Norton wheels, which are great. I have 80 and 120 grits: the 80 I use for my gouges and the 120 for the skew, parting tools, and other similar tools. I think it's all down to It's all down to personal preference. I really need to get some balancing though to smooth things out.
 
Great thread

I just picked up a slow speed grinder with an 80 and 120 and a buffer wheel and a set of Wolverine jigs and I know it's gong to be a lot better than my old sharpening system (eyeball and belt sander... funny that Sorby chose the belt sander for his sharpening system, though).

I'm sure I'm gonna get a lot of use out of this set up and I'm sure I'm gonna waste some steel getting used to it, but hey, for what I paid for it, I can't complain!

Keep this thread rolling so's I can learn!!!!
 
8" is preferred over the 6". It has less hollow grind, usually has 1" width (most 6" has a 3/4" wide wheel) and longer usable life. Most people have the slow speed grinder from Woodcraft (usually on sale for around $80 with two decent white wheels). Oneway recommends high speed grinder. Smoothness is more important than speed. Dress the wheel often, light touch and don't use pressure.
 
Actually to be honest, the best grinder you could get, IMHO is the Baldor 7" slow speed grinder.........

<< Linky Pic

Baldor #7306 7x1 wheel, 5/8 shaft 1800 rpm $454 or there about.

This is one fine grinder, it is a real industrial machine, the last grinder you would ever have to buy.

I'll own one, someday :D
 
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