new CBN wheels

[Tom Gall]

Can you run CBN's on a regular bench grinder?

By "regular" bench grinder I assume you mean a high speed grinder. Yes ... of course you will have to remove the guards and perhaps make a few height adjustments. I ran one CBN for five years and two CBN's for three years on a 7" HS grinder before I bought a 1hp 8" (1750 rpm) grinder. As @Mark Hepburn mentioned it did take a little bit of time to spin up with two wheels on it.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Can you run CBN's on a regular bench grinder?

(Edit- Oops, I was not the first to answer...)

By "regular", do you mean a 3600rpm bench grinder (vs. an 1800rpm "slow speed" grinder), or something else? If you mean 3600rpm, I am not aware of a reason why you cannot run CBN wheels on them, but it may be worth a call to the supplier/mfr. to inquire.

Mine are on a slow speed grinder. Over the past 20 years or so, the 1700-1800rpm grinders have become the go-to bench grinders for woodturners. Turners seem to like the more relaxed feeling of the slow speed grinder, and I agree with the notion. I turned for my first 7-8 years sharpening on a 6", 3600rpm grinder with a Wolverine jig system with 60 and 120 grit white aluminum oxide wheels, and it served me just fine, and I didn't know the difference. (Very few, if any, affordable 1800rpm machines available to hobbiests in the mid-90s and older.) Hope this helps.