Dan Forman
01-17-2010, 5:40 AM
Since it sounds like the other recent thread sparked some interest in the Wolverine wheel dresser, I thought I would bring this alternative to your attention. I have both dressers, and much prefer this one to the Wolverine. Geiger's Solutions Wheel Truing & Dressing Solution (http://www.geigerssolutions.com/trudress.html)
My evaluation: The main difference between the two units is the solidity and energy transfer of the Geiger. The Wolverine has that elbow joint and feels kind of rickety. It flexes and bounces in use, so a lot of the energy is lost. Any vibration from the grinder is transferred via the dual arms of the jig in use, which might explain why I couldn't get the wheels true with it - they would clean up, but tools would still bounce when I was done. With the Wolverine, to rotate the diamond takes a separate step, and it can move in or out relative to the arm when you do it.
However with the Geiger, the 1/2 carat diamond (twice that of the Woverine) is rotated each time it's advanced, which should account for more even wear, and the projection doesn't need to be reset. The sheer density and mass of the unit (1 3/4 pounds) makes it rock solid on the platform, it seems much less affected by vibration coming from the grinder itself, and there is very little transfer of energy back into the system from the wheel. For the first time in two years, my tools didn't bounce while sharpening. I also found that the wire edge on my skews was about half as pronounced as they were before, presumably from the lack of collision with the wheel every nanosecond.
I like the rest of the Wolverine system enough that I bought one for my slow speed grinder too, but will use the Geiger to true the wheels (which are mounted on Oneway balancers).
No connection to Mr. Geiger other than being a very happy customer. His service is tops too. Called me after a couple of weeks to make sure it was working properly and see if I had any questions.
Too late now, but I'll take and post some comparison pics on Monday if there is interest.
Dan
My evaluation: The main difference between the two units is the solidity and energy transfer of the Geiger. The Wolverine has that elbow joint and feels kind of rickety. It flexes and bounces in use, so a lot of the energy is lost. Any vibration from the grinder is transferred via the dual arms of the jig in use, which might explain why I couldn't get the wheels true with it - they would clean up, but tools would still bounce when I was done. With the Wolverine, to rotate the diamond takes a separate step, and it can move in or out relative to the arm when you do it.
However with the Geiger, the 1/2 carat diamond (twice that of the Woverine) is rotated each time it's advanced, which should account for more even wear, and the projection doesn't need to be reset. The sheer density and mass of the unit (1 3/4 pounds) makes it rock solid on the platform, it seems much less affected by vibration coming from the grinder itself, and there is very little transfer of energy back into the system from the wheel. For the first time in two years, my tools didn't bounce while sharpening. I also found that the wire edge on my skews was about half as pronounced as they were before, presumably from the lack of collision with the wheel every nanosecond.
I like the rest of the Wolverine system enough that I bought one for my slow speed grinder too, but will use the Geiger to true the wheels (which are mounted on Oneway balancers).
No connection to Mr. Geiger other than being a very happy customer. His service is tops too. Called me after a couple of weeks to make sure it was working properly and see if I had any questions.
Too late now, but I'll take and post some comparison pics on Monday if there is interest.
Dan