My journey to CBN wheels

[hockenbery]

I have been using CBN wheels for about 5 years.
I remember chatting with @Bill Boehme at swat while he was in line to chat with Ken Rizzo about a CBN wheel he wanted to buy.
I was non CBN convert back then for a lot of reasons- my ceramic wheels did a great job, I was really good a dressing wheels, I only had 2 powdered metal tools, I was long past the high volume turning where I was replacing wheels every 18 months. Really did not have any reason to go CBN.

About a year later 4 things came together. My demo room at the Florida Symposium had a grinder with CBN wheels (wow this thing is smooth), I had acquired a few more powdered metal tools, right after the symposium our club got a bulk order invitation from Ken Rizzo, and the radius edge available was perfect for sharpening my hollowing tools.

The main thing for me was how smooth and quiet sharpening on a CBN was compared to a matrix wheel. Sort of like driving on a newly paved road compared to its pot hole infested predecessor.
A small thing but the smoothness sold me.

I use a 80 grit on my bowl gouges and 180 on everything else

Do I need CBN? Probably not. They do sharpen the particle metal tool a bit better. The CBN never needs to be dressed before I can use it.
Wheels never changes size. I do appreciate the smoothness

 

[robo hippy]

Can't remember when I got my first ones. I was asking the Norton people about a better grinding wheel, and was asking about diamond wheels. Found out there was a place locally that could make some for me. That business told me I wanted CBN, not diamond as diamond breaks down with any heat. The wheel was 1 inch wide and had about 3/16 inch of a matrix bonded to an aluminum hub. Fast forward 10 or so years and I have several of them. I stopped using the 80 grit some time ago since the 180 provides an excellent edge for gouges, and an excellent burr for my scrapers. I have 320, 600, and 1000 grit wheels. The one I would skip, now days, is the 320, and maybe the 1000. Some times, you need that 600 grit edge for bowls when the wood is being difficult. 600 grit is fine for the skew, and yes, I do use them some times, but even with the 1000 grit wheel, the burr needs to be stropped off, as in honing/polishing compound. It does make a difference.

Life expectancy for a production turner, as Stuart Batty said, is about 5 years, and I do agree with Stuart about that. They are far above the standard wheels in every single aspect. The only thing we need is a proper dust collection system for them so we are not inhaling that metal dust, which will float around in the air like wood dust does.

robo hippy

 

[Bill Blasic]

I got my first CBN wheel many years ago now sold by Cindy Drozda the OptiGrind CBN wheel. They were sold by a man and his daughter and I can't remember which European country they were from. That wheel still looks like the day I got it and it has saved me tons in tool savings because it takes so littl off to sharpen. I use a 180 grit for my gouges and an 80 grit for scrapers. I'm thinking somewhere around 12 to 15 years ago and they were really expensive but worth every penny.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

I just bought my first CBN wheel about six weeks ago and love it.

 

[GRJensen]

I bought my CBN wheels (from Ken Rizza) a little over 8 years ago. Happy as a clam ... less steel on the floor, sharper tools than I ever got with the friable wheels, and smoother cutting.

Edit: Should have mentioned that my wheels are 80-grit and 180-grit. I shape tools on the 80, and sharpen on the 180.

 

[Kevin Weir]

I have two CBN wheels, a 180 and a 600 grit. I use the 180 usually once when I first get a tool and then the 600 almost exclusively. Two rotations with a bowl gouge on the 600 are usually enough to freshen the edge.

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

I got some of the very first ones that came out. David Schweitzer, I believe ,and I could be wrong, was one of the first ones to sell them. But, I bought it from my friend David Ellsworth. He asked me to buy thru his website, and I did. David mentioned the wheels to me while we were talking about exchanging Koa for some of his bowl gouges. When I heard the price, $250 plus shipping, I had second thoughts. But when David tells you these things are a game changer, you follow the lead. I'm so glad I did! I know have my trusty Baldor grinder with 2 CBN wheels, 180 and 80, and a cheap Rikon grinder also with 2 wheels, 80 and 180. They sit side by side. I do not miss my old blue wheels...

 

[Roger Chandler]

I got my CBN wheels somewhere about 2012, I think. I use 80 and 180 grit, 1-1/2” wide on my Steel City industrial grinder with 3/4 hp motor. Back in 2019 I aquired one of the new Rikon 1 hp grinders, and its been in my shop with the original aluminum oxide white wheels since then. I decided a couple weeks ago to use some Christmas cash ot get some new ones from Ken Rizza. These will be 180 and 600 grit. They are supposed to ship on Jan. 15th. I’m gonna put them on the Rikon 1hp, and have a full compliment of grits. In this turners opinion, CBN is the way to go for turning tools. I have two 6” grinders for mower blades, and metal work.

 

[JeffSmith]

I've had my D-Way wheels (80 and 180) for just over 10 years now. The 180 sees most action - use it for gouges mostly. I'm not a production turner by any means, but what I've noticed is that I spend less time grinding and my tools last significantly longer. Perhaps I'm just a little better than I was before CBN wheels entered my life, but I think I'm just removing less steel than I used to to get to a sharp edge...
The 180 is probably due for a change soon - I think its closer to 360 these days, but it still gets to a nice edge.

 

[Brian Gustin]

Just got my first ever CBN wheel (180 grit) used thanks to a forum post elsewhere, and the difference is night and day! I could not believe how much sharper my gouges were cutting compared to the same grind done on the original aluminum oxide wheels on my rikon! I'm an absolute convert and plan on getting another CBN wheel for the other side (probably a finer grit) although I may take my time on that because I still have some carbon steel tools I sharpen, and not supposed to sharpen them on CBN..

 

[Gary Norton]

I've had my D-Way wheels (80 and 180) for just over 10 years now. The 180 sees most action - use it for gouges mostly. I'm not a production turner by any means, but what I've noticed is that I spend less time grinding and my tools last significantly longer. Perhaps I'm just a little better than I was before CBN wheels entered my life, but I think I'm just removing less steel than I used to to get to a sharp edge...
The 180 is probably due for a change soon - I think its closer to 360 these days, but it still gets to a nice edge.

I've ordered 2 times from D-Way in December 21, shipping was incredibly fast for Washington state to Michigan just 2 or 3 days. I'm very pleased with them.