Grinder wheel recommendations - CBN?

[cambournepete]

On my 8" Creusen grinder I currently have two O'Donnell ruby grind wheels.
I'm not sure what grit they are - I'm not even sure they are different grits
They work OK but you have to be really gentle not to blue the steel.

What grinder wheels due people currently prefer?
Have anyone tried the CBN wheels, from places like the Toolpost?
They sound great, but you need a mortgage to buy one! :shock:

 

[Paul Hannaby]

If the advertising hype is to be believed then yes, they CBN wheels are better but how many years would your existing grinding wheel last? I've had my grinder for over 5 years and I'm nowhere near replacing the original 8" white wheel yet so I don't think I'll be rushing out to buy a CBN wheel.
I don't find a problem with overheating the steel as long as I regularly resurface the wheels with a diamond matrix and I don't use too much pressure.

 

[Silverbirch]

I have a couple of Record 6inch grinders, one with pink O`Donnell wheels,the other with the standard white ones, mounted on solid surfaces, but I`venever been able to get either of them to run as smoothly as I`d like. No amount of repositioning and dressing the wheels has really solved the vibration problem.
CBN wheels are reputed to be smooth running, amongst their other advantages. If I could be sure of that I`d maybe take the plunge. Also, I`d be able to safely remove the wheel guard on my grinder, I think, as there`d be no risk of the wheel breaking up. This would improve access to the wheel, which on my Record machines is restricted to a very small segment of the wheel and therefore restricts how the tools can be manipulated on it.

Ian

 

[myturn]

I can certainly recommended CBN.

I've replaced my fine stone with a 150x40mm CBN supplied by Peter Childs and it runs smoothly, doesn't overheat the tool, doesn't need dressing and never changes shape so I always get the same profile with the same jig setting.

Once you've tried one you won't go back to an ordinary stone.

Just be careful not to use it for soft materials such as aluminium which will clog it up.

 

[Shay Vings]

Interesting topic. One big advantage should be that the wheel surface remains flat which must increase the quality of the grind?

I have the Record 6 inch with the wide white and the narrow grey wheels. I only use the white for woodturning tools but the surface soon seems to get little grooves in it. I use the diamond dresser but it always seems a bit radical and certaianly messy. The CBN is supposed to do away with all that.

Some claim you can use the side of CBN wheels which could come in useful if you can only afford the 6 inch CBN and dont' want any curvature on the grind.

I do wonder about the fitting: presumably there is no standard bore for bench grinders and you need bushes? These will need to be accurate or balance will suffer.

 

[cambournepete]

Thanks for the feedback so far - especially from those that have the CBN wheels.
Both the Toolpost and Peter Child have aluminium inserts/bushes for the wheels - Peter Child even fit blank inserts, drill then to suit and balance the wheels for you