Where to buy grinder wheels ?

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Max Power

Established Member
Joined
26 Mar 2007
Messages
1,885
Reaction score
98
Location
County Durham
I've bought a ten inch double pedestal grinder which has the usual grey wheels, what would be best for grinding woodturning chisels etc and where should I look. I should add I have a tormec but it's quite slow so I'm looking to do the main part of the grind before finishing it on the tormec.
 
The most common wheel to use is white aluminium oxide, although some will opt for more expensive CBN wheels. I buy my grinder wheels from Abtec and I've never had any quality issues with their own unbranded cheapy stuff although they're a little on the soft side.
 
See if you can locate an industrial abrasive supplier. Talk to them about the kinds of tools and the steels (if you know) and they can get the wheels with the right bond and grit for your needs. They will likely be light grey but the colour doesn't matter.

Pete
 
My grinding wheel is probably forty years old and was secondhand when it was given to me. I very much doubt it will require replacing in my lifetime. Or my son's lifetime.
 
Hi,

New member, hope you don't mind a related question.

I bought an Axminster pedestal grinder about 15 years ago and it has two wheels, one course and one medium(ish). I gave up using the course wheel early on because it seemed to loose a lot of the wheel whenever I tried to use it - bit like being in a sand storm! Maybe it was just a bad wheel but was wondering what make of replacement course wheel you'd suggest?

Thanks

Alan C
 
Hi Alan.
The coarse wheel shedding grit actually has an advantage. It stays sharper because when the grit comes off it exposes new sharper abrasive. It will cut cooler and faster while sharp but need some dressing to keep it flat and true. It has a softer bond, the "hold together" of the abrasive. Diamond dressers are not very expensive. If you get a lot harder wheel ( harder bond) it won't shed any grit and the grit glazes over, getting smoother. The smooth surface doesn't cut and it creates more heat, increasing the chance of blueing the edge, taking the heat treat from the metal. So use up the wheel while wearing a mask and eye protection. Then replace it with one with a slightly harder bond. The brand, if well known (Norton for eg), doesn't matter as long as the wheel has the grit size you want and the bond is correct. Your numbering code system on the wheels differs from ours so I can't tell you what to look for. If you go to an abrasive supplier to the machining industry they should be able to get you the proper wheels. Don't worry about the colour because different manufactures use their own even though the abrasive is the same.

Pete
 

Latest posts

Back
Top