The Woodturning Forum - Woodturner's Resource - CBN wheels. Is there a difference?

Don R Davis Senior Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 342 Murfreesboro Tennessee USA Gender: Jet 12-21 lathe. I now have a Powermatic 3520B as of 9/12/20.	CBN wheels. Is there a difference? Jun 12^th, 2019 at 12:45pm I seeCBN wheels for sale but I have not heard anyone say there's is the best or worst. What do you guys think?
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Jeff Vanden Boogart WR Addict Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 921 Rural Green Bay Wisconsin USA Gender: PM 3520	Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference? Reply #1 - Jun 12^th, 2019 at 12:49pm They're all the best! LOL. I'm happy with the wheels from D-Way. Never had anything else, so can't compare.
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Ed Weber WR Administrator WR Patron Offline Posts: 8,939 Wilton California USA Gender: JET 1642 Grizzly G0584	Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference? Reply #2 - Jun 12^th, 2019 at 1:44pm Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to or I also have had D-Way wheels and have been very happy.
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Steve nix Senior Member Offline WR Rocks! Posts: 323 Iota Louisiana USA Gender: 1642 Jet, RobustAB	Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference? Reply #3 - Jun 12^th, 2019 at 7:16pm Try Ken at woodturnerswonders. He has a larger selection of grinders and CBN wheels with great service.
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John Grace

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Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference?
Reply #4 - Jun 13^th, 2019 at 6:00am

Yours is a difficult question to comment on due to the longevity of the wheels. Many folks have commented on how they'll last forever...meaning, if someone buys a wheel and it runs true then they'd rarely if ever have a reason to buy a second. Or shall I say these are the questions I wrestled with before switching. So in the end, I went with Ken's and woodturner's wonders due to their affordability. Ken is a great guy to work with and his were the most aggressively priced. But whether you go with D-Way or Ken's I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Now...ask about grits you can start an entirely new thread to debate on. LOL

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Don R Davis

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Jet 12-21 lathe. I now have a Powermatic 3520B as of 9/12/20.

Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference?
Reply #5 - Jun 13^th, 2019 at 6:12am

John Grace wrote on Jun 13^th, 2019 at 6:00am:

Yours is a difficult question to comment on due to the longevity of the wheels. Many folks have commented on how they'll last forever...meaning, if someone buys a wheel and it runs true then they'd rarely if ever have a reason to buy a second. Or shall I say these are the questions I wrestled with before switching. So in the end, I went with Ken's and woodturner's wonders due to their affordability. Ken is a great guy to work with and his were the most aggressively priced. But whether you go with D-Way or Ken's I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Now...ask about grits you can start an entirely new thread to debate on. LOL

John, from everything I read they say to buy a 180 grit wheel to start. The guy on a D-Way video said he couldn't tell the difference between 80 grit and 180 grit at the lathe. That is actual cutting at the lathe. And the debate starts. Roll Eyes

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Ed Weber

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Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference?
Reply #6 - Jun 13^th, 2019 at 8:49am

I think if you only had to get one, a 180 grit will not disappointed.
I found it to be an almost perfect balance between grinding and sharpening.

Some may say, at the lathe, an 80 grit and 180 grit feel the same in terms of cutting, this may be true. Sharp is Sharp
The difference is that the 80 grit is much more aggressive and can remove a large amount of metal quickly. Unless you are reshaping tools often, I would think a 180 would be enough.
Most of the time when using my 180 wheel, the weight of the tool is enough to sharpen, it doesn't take more than a light tough to achieve a good edge.
JMO

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robo_hippy

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Re: CBN wheels. Is there a difference?
Reply #7 - Jun 13^th, 2019 at 9:50am

As to which wheel is the best, well, that is debatable. As some one who has to experiment, it is all my dad's fault, I have owned wheels from D Way, Ken Rizza/Woodturner's Wonders, Cuttermaster, and Optigrind. I have mostly D Way. I would have to say that the Cuttermaster wheels may be the highest over all quality wise as they were made for sharpening CNC bits. The difference is very slight, and probably not noticeable for 99% of the people that would use them. Oh, they come out of Canada. The Optigrind are sold by Cindy Drozda. A very good wheel. The D Way are also very high quality. All of these wheels are on steel hubs, and are heavier than the wheels from Ken. Ken offers wheels on Aluminum and poly hubs. There were concerns that with those materials there could be issues with the bonding process. I have heard of a case or two of the wheels losing some of the coating, but if it was a big issue, there would be a big uproar about it on all of the forums. I haven't heard it. Kens wheels are more affordable than the others.

For grinders, the 1/2 hp Rikon seems to be fairly popular. I wouldn't have one. Main reason is that while they 'can do the job' they are just plain under powered for the steel hub wheels, and almost adequate for the aluminum and plastic hubs. You need a true 3/4 hp grinder. Best 'value' in that range is the 1 hp Rikon grinder, which has plenty of power. It comes up to speed in the same amount of time as my 3/4 hp Baldor grinders, but it does spin a lot longer after I turn it off. They come up to full speed in about 3 seconds. I used to have one of the old blue no name grinders that Woodcraft carried years ago, and it would come up to full speed in about 8 to 10 seconds. If it is a tool that I will be using a lot, I prefer over powered to under powered.

For grits, if you are getting 1 wheel, get the 180. It will be fine for about 90% of all the turning you will ever do. If you get 2, then I would suggest the 600 grit. It produces an excellent edge for very fine finish cuts, especially on woods that want to tear out more than others. For me, I get better results with it than I do with honing. Never was impressed by what I could do with the diamond honing cards. I do get better results with the honing wheel on my Tormek. If I have serious reshaping to do on a tool, I have a 36 grit belt on a 1 1/2 hp belt sander to use. You can also keep the wheels that come with your grinder, which are generally very poor quality.

robo hippy

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