CBN Grinding Wheels Evaluation

[Harvey Ghesser]

I finally assembled the necessary components and was able to install my new CBN grinding wheels that I purchased from Dave Schweitzer of D-Way Tools. I took Bill Neddow's advise and replaced my high speed grinder to a slow speed unit. These wheels cut very, very, fast!

As Dave says in his video, " ya just gotta fiddle with 'em". It didn't take me long to position the wheels so that most of the wobble was gone. The wheels are balanced and take forever to stop on the grinder. The grinder with wheels on is very quiet.

I used my Glaser 15V oval bowl gouge. Normally I would de-burr after grinding but to show how the gouge looked right after grinding, I omitted this step. The gouge was much, much, cooler with the CBN wheels than with my previous Oneway wheels. I didn't have a dust cloud around me when I was done grinding.

I liked the fact that these wheels are wider than my former wheels. And I was able to use these 8" wheels on my 7"grinder without fear of the wheels exploding on me. They are factory balanced and grinder and wheel run extremely quiet together.

Grinding gouges has become fun again!:D
201048201050201051201049

[bob svoboda]

I just installed my 180 grit CBN wheel today. I have been generally happy with my sharpening results, but this wheel brings a whole new meaning to 'scary sharp'. Very worthwhile investment IMHO.

[John Keeton]

I love mine! Two would be very nice - someday....!

[Roger Chandler]

Just ordered one...:eek:......180 grit 8".............I think this will be a good upgrade for my grinder........my "I" hardness Norton 3x is already showing wear pretty good after only about 8 months.............very frangible, so maybe this will fix me up! :D

Yeah, yeah, I know............:rolleyes::rolleyes::D Stinkin' Vortex! :D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Harvey - found that my CBN really took off the steel as well! Actually removed steel faster than my 120 grit stone! Makes me wonder what a 360 grit wheel would be like?

Have to admit that I really like the lack of dust from the wheel! Now all I see is a bit of metal filings at the base of the grinder! Seriously - a big step up from the traditional grinder wheel! Was a little worried when I first purchased the CBN but already know it was a wise move and wish I had done it sooner!

Looking forward to seeing what you turn with that sharpened 15V!

[John Keeton]

Just ordered one...:eek:......180 grit 8"...Gotcha!!! Sucked another one right down the hole!

[Harvey Ghesser]

Harvey - found that my CBN really took off the steel as well! Actually removed steel faster than my 120 grit stone! Makes me wonder what a 360 grit wheel would be like?

Have to admit that I really like the lack of dust from the wheel! Now all I see is a bit of metal filings at the base of the grinder! Seriously - a big step up from the traditional grinder wheel! Was a little worried when I first purchased the CBN but already know it was a wise move and wish I had done it sooner!

Looking forward to seeing what you turn with that sharpened 15V!


Steve,
The first thing I did was to chuck an ovaled red elm bowl blank which had been sitting since day one and in no time had it roughed out and in the DNA (just in case). The gouge was sharp (real sharp). I'm very happy with the CBN wheels. I'm glad the technology is here!

[David E Keller]

... Makes me wonder what a 360 grit wheel would be like?...

Do they actually make wheels for our purposes finer than 180? I'm going to end up getting one of these wheels if you guys keep going on about them... I will be giving your names to my wife!

[Nate Davey]

I have fallen in love with mine. Only sharpened one chisel and it's worth everything I paid for it.

[Roger Chandler]

Gotcha!!! Sucked another one right down the hole!

Thanks John............I'll send you the bill! :D

[Roger Chandler]

Dave from D-way tools emailed me last night...........my order is already shipped! That took what maybe 2 hours? With service like that, I could learn to love doing business with his company.

Kudos for good service!

[Grant Wilkinson]

Can these wheels be used on a 3450 rpm grinder, or do they have to be on a slow speed?

[Roger Chandler]

Can these wheels be used on a 3450 rpm grinder, or do they have to be on a slow speed?

You might find out that info for sure by emailing Dave at D-Way tools. He has a web site as well, and perhaps you can get info there.

www.d-waytools.com

[Steve Mawson]

Will you guys STOP, don't know if I can last much longer???:p:p

[Rick Markham]

Harvey, That's a real purdy grinder set up you've got there :) My Tormek is green with envy!

[John Keeton]

Can these wheels be used on a 3450 rpm grinder, or do they have to be on a slow speed?Grant, the heat build up with CBN is nearly non-existent, so speed is a factor only in the amount of metal removed. Be warned that these wheels will remove A LOT of metal quickly - even on a slow speed grinder. Once you get the feel, then they work great and the result is a keep edge with very little lost metal. A light touch and quick movement is the best method - I suspect with a 3450 grinder, you would need to be very quick.

[Harvey Ghesser]

Grant, let me just echo what John said about the use of a high speed grinder by posting a response I received from Bill Neddow who authored an article on CBN wheels in the AAW's American Woodturner...

Re: CBN Wheels


Harvey, 3600 is at the upper end of the speed for CBN wheels, but the specs I have seen indicate the wheels will handle it. Generally, the maximum speed seems to be around 4,000 rpm. I would be a lot more comfortable at 1600 rpm. At that speed, the wheels can remove metal quickly if you are not careful and put some pressure on the tool. That would be compounded by increased speed.

[Greg Bender]

I can feel the vortex ever so slightly building to a point where.....
My curiousity is getting the better of me on these wheels.I need new wheels anyway so is the 180 the grit to get if your going to buy a wheel to start with. I keep up on my turning tools and do not let them get real dull so do I go 180 or is there a finer grit to look for. I have the slow speed Woodcraft grinder so speed is not an issue. In a perfect world I'm sharpening a new Glaser tool on my new CBN wheel.....
Greg

[John Keeton]

Greg, your choices in 8" are 80 and 180. I bought only one, and decided the 180 was the clear choice. It will remove metal very quickly, and leaves a beautiful edge. If I need to do some serious reshaping, then I can still use the 60 grit AO wheel that I left on my grinder.

[mike ash]

Yesterday I received my 180 grit CBN wheel and bushing from D-Way and in 10 minutes I had it mounted on my 3450rpm Jet motor. I had to chuck up the 1" bushing in the lathe and wrap a piece of 220g sandpaper around a pencil and run it through the hole a few passes to get it to slid over the 5/8" arbor, but the wheel was dead true.

This is a serious cutting wheel and I am developing a "lighter touch". The heavier CBN wheel carries momentum and keeps spinning longer than the old Norton. This allows me to do a quick start/stop and then sharpen most tools while the wheel is slowing down. I have a slow speed grinder (new-in-the-box) that I haven't set up because I'm short on space. If I can't seem to make this "lighter touch" thing work, I'll have to unpack it.

I'm developing a serious liking to this CBN wheel!!!!!.................Mike

[John Altberg]

I don't usually start jonesin' for the latest and greatest, but you guys are really killing me, here! The pull of the vortex has almost become unbearable. I love my AO wheels, I love my AO wheels, I love my...........

[Larry Pickering]

I think Steve and John are getting kick backs from some of the vendors, I say this, as I sharpen my new 15v 1/2 inch Glaser Hitec bowl gouge on my new CBN 180 grit wheel getting ready to turn a bowl blank from Mike Smith, that is mounted on my all-most new Powermatic. When I joined this forum I was a semi successful business man, now I am a broke tool junkie.

[Roger Chandler]

When I joined this forum I was a semi successful business man, now I am a broke tool junkie.

Oh my! :eek::eek::eek:....................I think I resemble that remark! :eek::D:D .........being a tool junkie, that is............:D

[Grant Wilkinson]

Tks much, John and Harvey.

[Jim Heikes]

You guys are killing me. Everytime I promise my wife that I'm set with necessary equipment, a new must have tool pops up. Oh well I'll just tell her John Keeton made me do it. I just might need a good lawyer!!!:eek::eek::eek::D:D:D

[skott nielsen]

Got mine yesterday. Makes it seem like I have a new set of tools I never used before. Amazing butter like cuts.

[Jeff Nicol]

I did some quick searching on the net and found that there are wheels that will go up to like 4000 grit for polishing and other things, but they are made for the metal working industry or for granite and stone polishing. They get pretty pricey too as most of them that will work on a regular grinder are made of solid metal and can be refurbished when they wear down with a lot of use. So I did a quick look on e-bay and found a 5 1/2" refurbished on on there for $39.00 I got it the other day and it is fantastic and I just made some bushings to mount it between centers on the lathe. That way I was able to go as slow as I wanted and in reverse. It is an 80 grit wheel and I sharpened anything and everything I could find and it works like a champ! I am always looking for a deal and fot lucky with the one I found.

Good luck to everyone they are nice,

Jeff

[Reed Gray]

I have had my D Way CBN wheel for a few weeks now, and had the matrix type (3/16 of grinding matrix bonded onto an aluminum wheel) for 5 plus years. The 180 grit D Way wheel is coarser than my 150 grit matrix wheel. I did sharpen a few of my bench chisels on it, and no heat problem at all, while it is a minor problem with the matrix wheels. I may have to get another Baldor grinder for my old wheels. I haven't tried the 80 grit D Way CBN wheel yet. I do need to compare the 80 grit matrix wheel to the 180 D Way wheel. When I had my matrix wheels made, they would make them in whatever grit I wanted. I had a 320 grit wheel, and came to the conclusion that some times it just did not take enough steel off to refresh the edge, kind of like honing, some times you have to go back to the grinder when you hone. Maybe Dave can have a finer wheel made.

The grinder wheels of the future.

robo hippy

[Michael Ginsberg]

I am cought in the Vortex as well... I ordered my 180 last week. Back ordered to the end of the month though :(

[Pete Jordan]

I have a question.

Will these wheels sharpen the carbide bits from Easy Wood Tools?

[Reed Gray]

They might. Thing is that diamond is intended for carbide, CBN is intended for steel. I think you need very fine grit wheels for that type of carbide.

robo hippy

[Steve Harder]

Jeff - re refurbed 5" wheel - are you sharpening bowl gouges on it? Do you find the extra concave shape to be a problem?

[Jeff Nicol]

Steve, it is a standard round shape with the grit on the edge like a regular grinding wheel so no problem at all. It has a 1 1/4" hole in the center and 1" width on the edge face. He had another one that was at a slight angle but the grit was on the edge face also and it was wider. I thought about getting it too, but I did not need both to play with. Search ebay for CBN grinding wheel, item # 35b445dd78

works for me!

Jeff






Jeff - re refurbed 5" wheel - are you sharpening bowl gouges on it? Do you find the extra concave shape to be a problem?

[Reed Gray]

I got my 80 grit on last night, and sharpened up a number of tools and scrapers. That is one very aggressive wheel. I have the 30 and 45 grit wheels that were on my Baldor when I got it, and the D Way 80 grit removes steel faster than those.

I was talking to Mike Mahoney about them and how they cut, and an interesting thing that he bought up was that the 180 was too fine for him, and he liked the way the 80 cut better. Main reason was that he preferred a 'more serrated' edge for cutting. Another point he bought up was how much different cutting dry wood to finish was than finish cutting on green wood was. He didn't feel that shear cuts with a scraper were as effective on dry wood. Hmmmmmmm...... Looks like I have some more experimenting to do.

robo hippy

[Pete Jordan]

I have a question.

Will these wheels sharpen the carbide bits from Easy Wood Tools?


I emailed Dave and he said they would sharpen the carbide bits.

[Bill Neddow]

I agree with John on the high speed sander. The main problem with high speed would be the amount of metal removed. But, you can be gentle. Like Harvey, I quickly touch up the flute on the powdered metal tools with a diamond hone. It helps make the scary sharp edge even better. I am glad people are liking these new wheels.

[Ralph Lindberg]

....

I was talking to Mike Mahoney about them and how they cut, and an interesting thing that he bought up was that the 180 was too fine for him, and he liked the way the 80 cut better. Main reason was that he preferred a 'more serrated' edge for cutting......

robo hippy

At the Olympia (WA) symposium last month Mike had to sharpen his tools on the D-Way wheels and made that same comment.

[Adrian Anguiano]

these wheels sound like they will wear down your gouge in about 2 seconds? am I going to have to be really careful if I go the CBN route? Id hate to burn through a nice expensive gouge quick.

[Roger Chandler]

these wheels sound like they will wear down your gouge in about 2 seconds? am I going to have to be really careful if I go the CBN route? Id hate to burn through a nice expensive gouge quick.

It ain't nearly as scary as it sounds, Adrian :rolleyes: two or three times at the wheel and you'll be on your way! Start with a light touch and get a feel for how much metal is coming off, and you will be fine! ;)

[terry mccammon]

I got a 180 grit wheel from Dave at Dway two weeks ago. First of all the service was amazing. I ordered at the end of the business day and the order was acknowledged that evening, shipped the next day. There was a slight issue with the bushing which I took care of but mentioned to Dave under the heading of "you might want to know" I had an email back that day. Amazing.

Here is what happened to me on my first use. Same turner, same lathe, same grinder, same setup, same jig and same tool. My tool control on the same project was dramatically improved. Far less tearout on a bowl, far smoother cut. It really does change the game.

[john taliaferro]

The 180 is sweet ,i have not installed the 80 yet as the 180 is agresive . The rest of the d way tools are as nice i have the bead tools and use them a lot .

[Adrian Anguiano]

The reason i wonder is because i currently have a soft cheap white wheel that came with my woodcraft brand slow speed grinder. If I set up my gouge in a varigrind jig. It barely takes a light touch and I have refreshed the entire edge because the jig puts the tool in the exact same position as it was before. And thats with a soft white wheel. So in my head that meant that it must be crazy fast with a CBN wheel