Selecting CBN wheel.

[Bob Bergstrom]

No rust on D-Way wheels. I’ve sprayed water on them while sharpening high carbon steel. I believe the water either is spun off or evaporates from wind currents and possibly minor heat.

[Randy Walker]

Im going to jump in here with a quick question too, as I am planning to purchas a CBN soon. I would like th hear about the finish you get with the finer wheels. I was thinking about buying the 350 grit but in talking to someone in my club they said they liked the 600 better. He thought he got a better finish and didn't loose as much tool material when the re-sharpened.

I'd like to hear what you people think.

Randy Walker

[John K Jordan]

Where in TN are you? Did you talk to me and I forgot? (I have a notoriously poor memory - I even forgot my wife's name once.)

I wrote about what I use earlier in this thread and why. I use 600 CBN on a bench grinder and a 1200 on a Tormek. I also have a 180 and used to have a 350.

Some might depend on what you like to turn I like the finish of the 600 far better than I did the 340. However, I almost always turn dry wood and mostly smaller things, lots of spindles, boxes, etc, mostly hard wood species. If turning green bowls I think the 350 would be fine. I'd like to try a 1000 grit on the bench grinder to see how it compares to the 600.

The 600 is slower, of course, for reshaping tools.

If you live close you are welcome to bring a tool or two and try out my 600 but I no longer have the 350 for comparison.

JKJ

Im going to jump in here with a quick question too, as I am planning to purchas a CBN soon. I would like th hear about the finish you get with the finer wheels. I was thinking about buying the 350 grit but in talking to someone in my club they said they liked the 600 better. He thought he got a better finish and didn't loose as much tool material when the re-sharpened.

I'd like to hear what you people think.

Randy Walker

[Randy Walker]

I am a TAW member(Tennessee association of woodturners) so if you are also JJ that is a member of TAW then yes we have talked a time are two at the meetings and I have had the pleasure of watching you demonstrate. Otherwise I may not have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. I live south of Nashville near Spring Hill TN.
I tend to turn a mixed bag of things. Sometimes green wood, sometimes bone dry wood other times I turn acrylic or acrylic+junk/hybrid stuff (that needs really sharp tools). If I buy a CBN I will put it on one side of my grinder but I will keep the current white wheel on the other side for now. It will be used for re-shaping other such task.
I am more curious about the finish left by the tools.

Many thanks
Randy Walker

[John K Jordan]

I'm John K Jordan, the amateur part-time woodturner and live on a llama/donkey/horse/peacock farm north of Knoxville. The other John Jordan, the famous woodturner with pieces in galleries an with collectors all of the world, lives out your way. People all over have gotten us mixed up for years. (One year at the symposium he told me he got so tired explaining to people that he didn't make the carved bowl in the Instant Gallery that he finally just started smiling and saying "thank you" to the compliments. ) We are the same age but I'm considerably better looking. (Ha!) This picture was taken at a TAW symposium maybe 10 years ago, Doug Thompson, JJ, John Lucas, and me. I told him if he kicked off before me I wanted his sign.

Jordans_TAW_2010_cs.jpg Jordans_IMG_0686_crop.jpg

I also like turning acrylic. I brought some to the TN symposium a few years ago, including these:

acrylic_ornament_green_bell.jpg acrylic_green_bell.jpg acrylic_top_yellow_small.jpg acrylic_ornaments_A_comp.jpg

What kind of acrylic do you turn? Most of what I've done is with colored cast acrylic rods - do you use those? I often use a Hunter Hercules tool, sometimes a spindle gouge, and some scrapers. I get a good finish off the tool from the Hunter cutter and just as good a finish with spindle gouges sharpened on the Tormek with 1200 but I'm not happy with them until I strop the edge with the leather wheel and the Tormek honing compound. I strop skews on a piece of resawn MDF with polishing compound rubbed into the rough side. I like all the tools to be shaving sharp.

Since the scratches on work are transferred from the grinding scratches on the edge I polish/hone/strop the tools. With a polished edge on any tool the cut on acrylic for me is pretty smooth, as it is on hard woods like dogwood, cocobolo, ebony, etc. I still have to sand but usually only with very fine paper. Most of my gouges and skews are Thompsons. You might try a Hunter tool if you haven't - the cutter is highly polished. Mike will be at the symposium.

I use small negative rake scrapers on acrylic too, not a bad finish cut if I hone the grinder burr off the scraper and raise a smooth burr with a burnisher.

Most of my cast acrylic is 1.5" diameter rods of various colors. If you haven't tried that I'd be glad to bring you a few pieces in January.

JKJ

I am a TAW member(Tennessee association of woodturners) so if you are also JJ that is a member of TAW then yes we have talked a time are two at the meetings and I have had the pleasure of watching you demonstrate. Otherwise I may not have had the pleasure of making your acquaintance. I live south of Nashville near Spring Hill TN.
I tend to turn a mixed bag of things. Sometimes green wood, sometimes bone dry wood other times I turn acrylic or acrylic+junk/hybrid stuff (that needs really sharp tools). If I buy a CBN I will put it on one side of my grinder but I will keep the current white wheel on the other side for now. It will be used for re-shaping other such task.
I am more curious about the finish left by the tools.

Many thanks
Randy Walker

[Mel Fulks]

John, the other one reminds me of Ghandi

[Wes Henson]

I got a 360 grit wheel from D-way tools and I really like the grit. It is enough to sharpen the edge without removing a lot of material. I also like that it is 1.5" wide. I don't think I'd want to go any lower. There is 600 grit, but I think that is too fine for what I do.
He also sells the bushings.
This was a HUGE upgrade for me over the old oxide wheels.
Good luck with your upgrade!

-Wes

[Michael Perez chavez]

Hello sorry to bother you but I’d like to know your opinion on grinding stones for sharpening turning tools.
Because I’m not sure about the grid and type, if I’m going to buy only one, these are my options:
Here in my country (Peru)I can find 60 grit oxide aluminum white stone and 120 grit silicon carbide (both Makita)
I also can buy from Amazon the Norton Oxide aluminum White wheel (they have this option 100 and150).
Then I’ve heard a lot about CBN wheels and I don’t know if they really make that big difference and at the end of the day the best and cheapest option?
Thank you so much

[Reed Gray]

A CNB wheel may not be the cheapest deal you can get, but it is the best value, as in you get far more for the money. They are spin and bubble balanced. For a production turner, they are good for about 5 years. For a hobby turner, well, a lot longer than that. They never change size, and there is no risk at all of them ever blowing up. If you get one, get a 180 grit as it will do 90%, at least, of all of the sharpening you need. Norton does make a blue ceramic grit wheel which is pretty good quality. I would go for the 150 grit if they have it in that range. 60 grit is very coarse, and better for shaping than for sharpening.

robo hippy

[Edward Weber]

A CNB wheel may not be the cheapest deal you can get, but it is the best value, as in you get far more for the money. They are spin and bubble balanced. For a production turner, they are good for about 5 years. For a hobby turner, well, a lot longer than that. They never change size, and there is no risk at all of them ever blowing up. If you get one, get a 180 grit as it will do 90%, at least, of all of the sharpening you need. Norton does make a blue ceramic grit wheel which is pretty good quality. I would go for the 150 grit if they have it in that range. 60 grit is very coarse, and better for shaping than for sharpening.

robo hippy

+1 on the 180.
It's the sweet spot as far as the best for sharpening and shaping.

[Randy Walker]

I went ahead and purchased a 600 grit CBN wheel. I use it strictly for sharpening. It gives me an incredibly sharp edge, but it is not for grinding. For grinding I still have an 80-grit white wheel on the other side of my grinder. CBN wheels are expensive, but for a hobbyist they are one-time purchases. They will outlast any other grinding or sharpening wheel available and will give consistent and repeatable results time after time. If you have access to them, I highly recommend investing in them as a primary tool purchase.

Randy Walker