Originally Posted by
John K Jordan
No, just decide the grit and order! Maybe verify the shaft diameter. I called up Ken Rizza and ordered a 600 grit aluminum wheel made for the Tormek. Installed it and put the water tray away. Then later decided I wanted a finer grit so I ordered the 1200. I sometimes dribble some honing fluid (made for diamond hones) on the wheel but not often. Besides occasionally demagnetizing the tools as I mentioned it's exactly like using the stone wheel except it never needs dressed and never gets smaller.
I did not use Rizza's spherical washers that always I use on the bench grinders. (I'm not even sure the set would fit and still leave enough threads for the nut.) However, I did use a precision ground washer on both sides of the wheel. I get no detectable runnout.
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I'm back to agreeing with John. Swapping the original Tormek wheel for a CBN wheel is super easy. Just take the old wheel off and put the new one on. Unlike John, I didn't use precision ground washers. (I might have, had I had them.) Like John, I get no detectable runout.
In use, the primary differences between the two wheels (other than the water and the fact the CBN wheel remains perfectly flat and never gets smaller) is the speed and the sound. With water, the Tormek makes almost no sound. The hum of the motor is louder than the scratching sound coming from the use of the wheel. With the CBN wheel, the scratching sound is louder than the hum of the motor. While using the CBN wheels is louder than using the original wet stone, it's still a quiet process. No hearing protection required.
David Walser
Mesa, Arizona