Grinding Wheel

[Larry Frank]

I am looking to put new grinding wheels on my grinder. It takes 6" x 3/4" wheels. I have been looking at the white Norton wheels. However, many of the reviews talk about having major problems with the balance of the wheels and that the wheels wobble.

Are there other wheels that are similar in price but do not have the issues?

[Roger Chandler]

I am looking to put new grinding wheels on my grinder. It takes 6" x 3/4" wheels. I have been looking at the white Norton wheels. However, many of the reviews talk about having major problems with the balance of the wheels and that the wheels wobble.

Are there other wheels that are similar in price but do not have the issues?

For woodturning in general you would be better off going with a slow speed 8" grinder because it is the standard. WoodCraft has the Rikon 8" on sale now for $99.99 and it comes with wheels suitable for turning gouges. Most of the standard sharpening systems for turning are geared towards the 8" wheels, and the 6" puts too much of a hollow grind on the gouges, but they can be used.

I post this to just give you something to think about and if turning is going to become a serious hobby for you, then you should begin to head in the direction of the 8" setup when you are able to do so. Not a lot of difference in price from purchasing two quality wheels for the 6" grinder and getting a new 8" with wheels, so it might be a good time to think about upgrading at not much of a cost! Good luck!

[Dave Kelley]

+1 for that 8" Rikon. I have the norton wheels on my 6" and the hollow grind is pretty bad. I would buy the 8" Rikon except I bought the Nova G3 package they have 50% off this month and that taxed my woodworking budget too much this month to get both of them. If I had the money for it I would get that too.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I am looking to put new grinding wheels on my grinder. It takes 6" x 3/4" wheels. I have been looking at the white Norton wheels. However, many of the reviews talk about having major problems with the balance of the wheels and that the wheels wobble.

Are there other wheels that are similar in price but do not have the issues?

Larry if you want to get new wheels for your grinder, do not get the White wheels, they are to soft, get the bleu ones.

About the wobble, it is basically never the wheel that is the problem, but the flanges that should keep the wheel square to the grinder shaft.

Just like on a table saw, it is the flanges that keep the saw from wobbling, if you have an old quality grinder it has machined flanges that fit and sit square onto the grinder shaft, and so the wheel will turn without a wobble.

Trying to build low cost grinders, the manufacturers do not use the machined washers but use stamped sheet metal disks, and that is where the problem comes from, these disks do not fit nice and square and so you end up with a wobbling wheel.

You can fiddle around and reduce the runout or buy a balancer that is machined and will keep the wheel turning true.

Buying another low cost grinder and you get the same problem again, if you do, go pick the grinder up yourself at the store and have them run it,and you can see and feel if it runs true.

The last one I bought was trying to walk out the door of the store all by itself , they tried another one and it was much better, not perfect and with some fiddling on it when I got home, it now runs smooth and would stand free on the bench without ever moving.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do

[Bill Blasic]

I am not a Rikon fan but a couple of years ago when inexpensive grinders were hard to find and Rikon came out with this 1/2 hp grinder for $139 (on sale for $99) I bought one. Out of the box this thing ran incredibly good, no wobble and face ran true. Is it a little under powered, yes. It takes more time to power up than a 3/4 hp or 1 hp but once ramped up it sharpens just fine. I now have two CBN wheels on it and just like when the white stones were on it after shutting off it runs for a few minutes. Would I buy it again if the same choices were true today, yes but Rikon came out with a higher hp model and I would try that one first today if I needed one (If it ever goes on sale I might try one anyway although like anything else it has mixed reviews).

[Larry Frank]

Interesting comment about the hollow grind issue.

A 6" wheel on a .5" tool face will give a hollow grind of about 0.010".

A 8" wheel on a .5" tool face will give a hollow grind of about 0.007".

Is a difference of 0.003" significant?

[John K Jordan]

I am looking to put new grinding wheels on my grinder. It takes 6" x 3/4" wheels. I have been looking at the white Norton wheels. However, many of the reviews talk about having major problems with the balance of the wheels and that the wheels wobble.
Are there other wheels that are similar in price but do not have the issues?

I used the Oneway balancing system on grinding wheels and made them run extremely smoothly. (I use CBN wheels now)

I understand the color of the wheel means nothing. Various manufacturers color their wheels as they like with no standard. At least that's the way it was the last time I bought wheels. Instead of going by color, look at the designation numbers for a particular wheel.

JKJ

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I used the Oneway balancing system on grinding wheels and made them run extremely smoothly. (I use CBN wheels now)

I understand the color of the wheel means nothing. Various manufacturers color their wheels as they like with no standard. At least that's the way it was the last time I bought wheels. Instead of going by color, look at the designation numbers for a particular wheel.

JKJ

In general the color of the wheel does show what materials are used to make the wheel, like carborundum would usable be grey, Silicon carbide is usually green, Aluminum oxide is usually white etc.

Many/most people here are purchasing Norton wheels, so I got some info from their website and also of special abrasive suppliers.

For the designation numbers, they do show a manufacturers list of info on their wheel, but because they do not make their wheels all the same, the wheels are still not the same as to what the numbers/letters indicate.
Grinding wheel spec..jpg

This is the blue wheel I would/did indicate, and I would go with the K hardness espesially if a slow speed grinder is used, a high speed grinder could use the slightly softer I grade, as at higher speeds it tends to make the wheel work like a harder at lower speed.
Norton Grinding wheels color.jpg

Grit type colors of different wheels as Norton catalog indicates.

Grinding.wheel colors.jpg

[John Grace]

OK...two cents time. I recently re-fitted my fifty year old porter-cable 6" grinder with two CBNs from WoodTurner's Wonders and they made a huge difference. I appreciate that the 8" may be better but I'm not sure an 8" with new stone wheels is appreciably better than a sturdy 6" with CBNs. Would the 8" be that much better? Possibly...but I guess I'm not one for spending a lot of money replicating an existing tool for statistically negligible differences. Then again, it's your money.

[John K Jordan]

OK...two cents time. I recently re-fitted my fifty year old porter-cable 6" grinder with two CBNs from WoodTurner's Wonders and they made a huge difference. I appreciate that the 8" may be better but I'm not sure an 8" with new stone wheels is appreciably better than a sturdy 6" with CBNs. Would the 8" be that much better? Possibly...but I guess I'm not one for spending a lot of money replicating an existing tool for statistically negligible differences. Then again, it's your money.

Since the CBN wheels are often used without the guards, another option for someone with a 6"grinder and wishing for an 8" wheel for whatever reason might be to mount an 8" wheel on the 6" grinder and if needed raise the grinder a bit with a block of wood or something.

I've never used a 6" grinder but find the 8" adequate, especially with CBN wheels that don't get smaller. For some tools I do like the very slightly flatter bevel I get with a 10" CBN wheel I have on the Tormek. But for turning gouges I find it doesn't make much difference, especially if you grind away or round the heel as I always do now. The actual bevel is sometimes less than 1/8".

JKJ

[Larry Frank]

Thanks for all the information. As I initially wrote, I am interested at this time in replacing the wheels on my 6" grinder. I am looking at either the Norton white or blue 3X wheel or similar. While the CBN wheels are nice they are not what I am looking for or wanting to spend at this time.

It seems the thread has drifted a bit off my original question. If anyone has any suggestions in line with that, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Michael Mason]

I think Leo gave you good answers to your question.