Okay, I've got my 7" Baldor grinder set up with 180 and 600 grit wheels now. I still have my original grinder from almost 30 years ago- a domestic built Milwaukee 6", 3600rpm, a fine little machine. I should put a fresh set of wheels on it. Right now it is wearing a course silicon carbide wheel that came with the grinder, and a wire wheel that I rarely use. This grinder will be used for everything the Baldor won't be used for, which could mean anything that needs to be ground away. What are your thoughts for type of wheel? Stick with the course SC and add a finer SC or alum. oxide (white)? Get a fresh pair of general purpose course and fine alum. oxide? Norton has a gray aluminum oxide wheel that claims will grind ferrous and non-ferrous metals, under $30 each at Amazon. And I'll turn a couple wood bushings for the new wheels, too, to avoid those junk nested plastic bushings. Ideas for wheels? Thanks.
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grinding wheels, general purpose (not cbn)
- Thread starter Steve Tiedman
- Start date
Seeded gel wheels were the last greatest wheel before CBN became the "greatest".CBN became the greatest when dressing a wheel became too much of a task for many. https://www.packardwoodworks.com/sharp-n3xw.html
Don't know about the gray wheels? I put a blue norton wheel on one of my grinders. Definitely wears slower than the white wheel I had before.
I recall those old white AO vs blue SG wheel debates from back in the late days of Usenet discussion forums (rec.crafts.woodturning) before this AAW board. Good times. I'm getting old... (Well, I started young, I guess.)
It looks like there are at least 2 choices in the Norton 3X category, the one @Richard Coers referenced above https://www.packardwoodworks.com/sharp-n3xw.html which is a "K" hardness bond wheel in 46 and 80 grit, and a similar, but somewhat softer wheel bond "I" hardness in 60 and 100 grit, and higher price, from here https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/products/norton-3x-blue-grinding-wheel-i-grade
(Boy, Norton makes a million different kinds of wheels. Their own website just adds more to the confusion.)
So these could be viable choices, but I'll have to see which one, and even the white or gray Nortons, would be the better choice for those occasional non-ferrous metal gringing needs (aluminum, brass, etc.), and for straight carbon steel grinding like plane blades and chisels. It's not like those non-ferrous needs come up very often, but, never say never. I might have to buy 2 different kinds of wheels. Such a first-world problem...
It looks like there are at least 2 choices in the Norton 3X category, the one @Richard Coers referenced above https://www.packardwoodworks.com/sharp-n3xw.html which is a "K" hardness bond wheel in 46 and 80 grit, and a similar, but somewhat softer wheel bond "I" hardness in 60 and 100 grit, and higher price, from here https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/products/norton-3x-blue-grinding-wheel-i-grade
(Boy, Norton makes a million different kinds of wheels. Their own website just adds more to the confusion.)
So these could be viable choices, but I'll have to see which one, and even the white or gray Nortons, would be the better choice for those occasional non-ferrous metal gringing needs (aluminum, brass, etc.), and for straight carbon steel grinding like plane blades and chisels. It's not like those non-ferrous needs come up very often, but, never say never. I might have to buy 2 different kinds of wheels. Such a first-world problem...
I do have a 6 inch Delta, I think, high speed grinder. It is set up with the grey wheel on one side and a wire wheel on the other side. I use it frequently for rust removal and rough grinding the heels off of some tools I am reshaping. If I need to do more reshaping, then I have a big Jet belt and disc sander with 36 grit on the belt. The blue Norton wheels are better than the white wheels, and probably the grey ones, but I can't really say any more since I haven't used anything but CBN for more than 10 years.
robo hippy
robo hippy
I've been doing a little researching. Norton says the old adage of "hard wheel, soft metal; soft wheel, hard metal" still applies. Silicon carbide (hard wheel) for non-ferrous, aluminum, brass, glass, ceramics, and maybe stainless steel. Aluminum oxide ("soft" and friable) for general ferrous metals such as tool steels and higher carbon/"exotic" steels, and the modern CBN for the really hard, exotic steels.
Since my second grinder is already sporting a silicon carbide wheel, and "J" hardness wheels (between the I and K mentioned earlier) are easily found as white aluminum oxide, I think I'll install one of these to pair with the silicon carbide. A white J hardness AO wheel is probably what most of us used 20 years ago before the blue SG wheel came out.
Since my second grinder is already sporting a silicon carbide wheel, and "J" hardness wheels (between the I and K mentioned earlier) are easily found as white aluminum oxide, I think I'll install one of these to pair with the silicon carbide. A white J hardness AO wheel is probably what most of us used 20 years ago before the blue SG wheel came out.
Changed my mind, I just ordered this one.
Bought at Amazon (link below), but Grainger says it is for:
Primary Material Application-
Aluminum
Brass
Bronze
Cast Iron
Copper
Nickel Alloy
Stainless Steel
Steel
Titanium
Tool Steel
Probably a jack of all trades wheel, but that's okay. Wheel composition hardness not listed anywhere, but the abrasive is aluminum oxide. At $21, it should take care of a lawn mower blade, a chunk of aluminum, or clean up a cut bolt end just fine, leaving my CBN wheels to the turning tools.
Bought at Amazon (link below), but Grainger says it is for:
Primary Material Application-
Aluminum
Brass
Bronze
Cast Iron
Copper
Nickel Alloy
Stainless Steel
Steel
Titanium
Tool Steel
Probably a jack of all trades wheel, but that's okay. Wheel composition hardness not listed anywhere, but the abrasive is aluminum oxide. At $21, it should take care of a lawn mower blade, a chunk of aluminum, or clean up a cut bolt end just fine, leaving my CBN wheels to the turning tools.