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Thread: D-Way or Woodturners Wonders CBN wheels?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    If you are thinking of ordering from WTW it may be worth a call or email before placing the order. Apparently they are feeling the effects of the corona virus and factory shutdowns on their supply chain at the same time they are seeing an increase in orders. I wanted a standard 8x1x5/8 180g wheel but they were out of stock and not able to make any promises when restocks would arrive. I opted to get a 8x1-1/2 radius wheel instead. I have no idea if the radiused edges will be of any use to me but the price was still less than othe CBN wheel options I could find so I went with it. With 1/4 radius on each side the wheel has the same flat area as their std 1" wide wheel.

    Today I received, mounted and used the wheel with a new Wolverine setup to sharpen a few tools. Definitely much nicer to use than the white wheels my Rikon grinder came with. The 180g CBN wheel raises a burr much quicker on my scraper than the 120g white ceramic wheel I was using before. I like the Wolverine setup better than the Sharp-Fast gouge sharpening jig I was using before also. The Sharp-Fast jig looks very much like the Kodiak system WTW is now selling.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Lancaster, PA
    Posts
    158
    I received all of my tooling from D-Way, very happy with them!

    The wheels from WTW are on back order..... 🙁

  3. #18
    Sorry for bringing up an old-ish thread...

    I have the Rikon 1/2 HP grinder and am in need of a (read: 1) CBN wheel. Why one wheel you ask? So that I don’t hit the wife with too much spending at once! I’m about to pull the trigger on my first lathe and tools, etc. I have the Rikon 8” slow speed, 1/2hp grinder and the Wolverine bases (both the platform for my hand tools) and the long arm for turning tools (that I don’t have yet). Which 1 wheel should I choose? I like the idea of the 1” flat on the sides so if I need to do chisel prep (hand tools), that makes it easier for what it’s worth... also, anything else that I need like washers, bushings, etc with the wheel.

  4. #19
    CBN wheels are intended for high speed steel. I would avoid using carbon steel on them. As to grit, I think 180 is a good “one wheel” grit.

    Left click my name for homepage link.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Martinsville, VA
    Posts
    25
    I also have a 1/2hp Rikon and also bought one wheel for the same $$ reason.
    After my usual habit of over-researching these types of purchases, I found several suggestions for 180 grit if you can only buy one wheel.
    Not knowing if all 1/2 hp Rikon grinders are the same, you probably need a wheel with a 5/8" arbor. Some wheels may need an adapter to fit the 5/8" shaft.
    WTW recommends their 2 pc. spherical washer set to help assure the wheel seats square to the shaft. They reason that the securing nuts are not precision made and, if not perfectly square, may cause runout at the wheel's surface. I bought the spherical washers and the wheel is as close to true as I could want.

    As to wheel profile, I bought the 1-1/2 wheel with radiused sides because the no-frills square edge wheel was out of stock and this was the next least expensive option. If I had the wheel with flat sides I would likely find uses for it but I use my flat sanding wheel for prepping chisels and such before honing.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
    Location
    Santa Cruz, CA
    Posts
    32
    I'm pretty novice, but recently bought 3/4" arbor wheels from woodturners wonders. Just call them! (And I don't like calling people.) They got me the right grit, helped me get the right size (3/4" with an adapter for 5/8" because stuff is sold out) and I also got the special spherical washers to balance it all out on my low speed, low end Rikon. I ended up with a 180 and a 600 1.5" wide wheels with the 1" edges. So far, working great for me. But this was a month+ back. I spent all the money because I'd been saving up, but I agree with Forrest, I think a 180 would be good and then maybe a finer one down the road. Two mega square wheels was $320.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Smira View Post
    Sorry for bringing up an old-ish thread...

    I have the Rikon 1/2 HP grinder and am in need of a (read: 1) CBN wheel. Why one wheel you ask? So that I don’t hit the wife with too much spending at once! I’m about to pull the trigger on my first lathe and tools, etc. I have the Rikon 8” slow speed, 1/2hp grinder and the Wolverine bases (both the platform for my hand tools) and the long arm for turning tools (that I don’t have yet). Which 1 wheel should I choose? I like the idea of the 1” flat on the sides so if I need to do chisel prep (hand tools), that makes it easier for what it’s worth... also, anything else that I need like washers, bushings, etc with the wheel.
    Kevin,

    I agree that 180 might be a good all-around single wheel.

    But as with many things, what you turn and how you work can make a difference. For example, I often to turn small spindles from hard woods. For that, I want my spindle gouges to be very sharp and the bevels as smooth as I can get them and wasn't happy with the results from the 180. For the spindle gouges I eventually went to a very fine wheel (1200 grit 10" wheel on a Tormek) but for rough shaping of tools I use an 80 grit wheel because it's far faster. When I occasionally turn green wood, the 180 grit wheel was fine for the bowl gouges before I switched to the 600.

    180 can give you a reasonable edge on skews too and you can hone and strop to polish for a better cut. The 180 will also coarse enough to let you do moderate shaping in a reasonable time, where the 600 grit takes much too long. And if later you decide you want both a finer and a coarser wheel, you can probably sell the 180. Note also that with a lot of use any CBN wheel will eventually wear out and while it will still sharpen it gives a smoother bevel while starting to take longer for shaping. Perhaps that would be a good time to reevaluate your the grits.

    All this said, with the 1200 and 80 and 600 8" wheels in my arsenal I found myself not using the 180 at all for a few years so I eventually consolidated and now have both the 80 and 600 on the same grinder. I'll pass the 180 grit on to a student (who I promise will be thrilled!)

    JKJ
    Last edited by John K Jordan; 03-25-2020 at 9:52 PM.

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