Anyone mount CBN wheels on a hand-crank grinder?

[Ted Phillips]

I work in a fairly space-constrained basement shop and use mostly hand tools. To date, I have done all my sharpening on a mix of ceramic and diamond stones. For grinding, I rely on a DiaFlat diamond plate and a 120grit Shapton Pro. These work very effectively, but are slow compared to electric grinding wheels.

I've been hearing the siren song of the CBN wheels for a while now. But since I don't want to add another noisy machine to my shop, I was wondering if anyone has tried to mount a 6" or 8" CBN wheel to a hand-crank grinder. Would the arbors fit? Is it just a really goofy idea?

TedP

[Nicholas Lawrence]

From what I gather, the big advantage of the CBN wheels is they don’t need to be dressed, and run cool so you don’t ruin the temper. I have a white norton wheel on my hand cranked grinder, and I don’t find heat to be an issue. Not sure where in the occupied territories you are, but if you want to crank one for a bit you are welcome to PM me and give mine a try.

[Jim Ritter]

I have and it works great. I found that the white wheels did not wear evenly at the slow speed of hand grinding. I'm very happy with this setup.

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[Ted Phillips]

Thanks, Jim! What kind of wheel do you have there?

TedP

[Ted Phillips]

After reviewing Jim's excellent setup, I decided to set up a hand-cranked CBN grinding wheel for myself. I wasn't able to find a bench mountable grinder like Jim's, so I found a small no-name clamp-on grinder for <$20 that was solid mechanically (e.g., smooth operation, little slop in the gears).

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I'll be taking some pictures and posting them as I move forward on this project - but here are some of the challenges I'll be working on:

1. The grinder's arbor is 5/16" and only about 1.5" total length. Most smaller CBN wheels have a 5/8" arbor (other sized pop up too) and either 1" or 1.5" width. I found that a properly sized steel drill bit bushing with a head (5/16"ID, 5/8"OD) can be slipped over the existing arbor and with a bit of blue locktite will hold fast enough for hand grinding (cost $12). The head of the bushing provides a stop for the wheel's inside washer. I am going to have a machine shop cut threads on the outside of the bushing (they are hardened) for a spherical washer and nut.

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2. The grinder was originally built for a 5"x0.75" wheel. This presents two problems. First, the "feet" on the bottom of the grinder prevent any wheel 6" or larger from being mounted. The wheel grinds against the feet. Second. all wheels 6" or larger will hit the benchtop, so additional clearance is needed. First off, I am going to use a hacksaw to trim back the feet for clearance. Then I am going to drill vertical holes through the remaining foot stubs to accept mounting screws. Next, I'm going to build a dedicated mounting board by laminating four pieces of 4/4 poplar. I will cut slots on the top and sides for wheel clearance and mounting for the grinder. (pictures coming)

3. I want to use the Veritas tool rest, which has a notch that accepts up to a 1" wheel. Since most CBN wheels are 1.5", I plan on buying the 8"x1"x5/8" Spartan from WoodturnersWonders. Then I will screw down the Veritas Tool Rest to the mounting board.

4. The main thing that will be remaining at this point is to decide how/where to secure the mounting board to a workbench. Grinding is messy, so I'll probably dedicate an old Workmate to it.

Jim - thanks for sharing your setup. I'll post some updates as this project moves forward. Anyone have thoughts or recommendations?

TedP

[Tom M King]

I use that Veritas tool rest, and just enlarged the "notch".

[Dennis Droege]

Can you say a little more about the grinder and the guide setup? Like, where would I get something like that? I know where to get the wheels, but a good hand cranked grinder has been hard for me to locate. Thanks for any help.