Bench Grinder Wheel Quality

[Provincial]

I have always used the wheels that came on my bench grinders. I bought most of them new, Craftsman, Skil, and a couple of imports. I never paid attention to the wheels, other than to dress them and stand aside when they start up.

Last summer I bought a couple of bench grinders and a big assortment of wheels at a garage sale. The seller was downsizing and had accumulated this equipment when he ran a business in Los Angeles sharpening saw blades, mostly for carpenters that worked for the movie industry. The stones are of various widths and abrasive types because he dressed them specially for reliefs and angles for the saws.

What I have noticed from my limited experimentation with these wheels is that they cut much faster than the "consumer" grade wheels I have. As a result, I am wondering if anyone here has advice on how to choose the most effective wheels for mild steel, tool (drill) bits, and other common uses for bench grinders.

I have a green stone on one grinder for sharpening carbide tool bits, but I am not sure if it is a quality stone, as I have had it for 15 years and can't remember which mail-order source it came from. I mention this because I am at least aware that carbide requires a different stone.

 

[frankush]

I'm surprised no one has responded to this one yet. I'm interested in who makes a quality grinding wheel as well as a wire wheel these days.

 

[rusty65]

I have heard Nortan wheels are pretty darn good.

 

[rsanter]

Norton and some of the other industrial grades are far better than the ones you get at HF or sears
The cheaper grinding wheels can also be out of balance right from new like the ones I got from sears on a grinder I bought several years back. Changed to some quality wheels and the grinder stopped 'dancing' around. I have never tried the ones from HF and am not sure I am willing to

Bob

 

[Farmall450]

Norton makes sweet sharpening stones so I'd imagine....

 

[Tre900]

I just picked up a 6" HF unit and I'm curious about recommendations on stones or at least how/if dressing the ones that came with it is a good idea. I'll search on Norton though and see what I get.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'm not sure who besides Norton in the grinding wheel world has survived globalization...

 

[70Chevy]

I don't think Norton survived either...
Norton, Radiac is a quality wheel. Camel is another commercial brand that is lower cost.

 

[cmandp]

I got two Norton wheels for my Craftsman block grinder for Christmas. One is their white aluminum oxide wheel in 60 grit, it's soft and has worked great sharpening a wood chisel and some drill bits so far (my drill sharpening on the other hand...). You want a soft, friable wheel that sheds abrasive grains for sharpening tools; it keeps sharp grains exposed and keeps the work cooler.

The other wheel I got is a 36 grit alum. oxide Gemini wheel. First problem is that it vibrates right out of the box. I've turned it relative to the washers, relative to my spacers (I used bronze bearings, so they fit close to the motor shaft and wheel), changed washers side to side. My next step is to try to dress it and hope it balances out. The other problem is it removes material poorly and chatters without enough pressure. I think it's too hard of a wheel.

Both wheels are made is mexico if anyone was wondering.

 

[woody 73]

Norton wheels are what you should be looking for; be prepared to spend some money and never buy cheap grinding wheels because you will not look very pretty sitting in a Hosp. ER with the doctor taking out broken wheel chunks out of your face.

 

[Beaumont67]

The big players, in abrasive wheels, coated divisions & super finish honing:
- Norton (wide range of products)
- Tyrolit (and they bought out Radiac, maybe 3 years ago)
- Cincinnati Milacron (their Abrasive division bought out Bay State, & closed the plant, over decade ago)
- KlingSpor (from Europe, many good products)
- 3M (coated products)
- Darmann Abrasives (honing)

I use a super fine diamond impregnated small flat stone (like 600 grit) to quickly hone chisel edges razor sharp, hand rubbing against 10W30 motor oil.

 

[fsdogwood]

Beside brands, the category of the grinding wheels is important, and it's designated
by I, J, K (but I don't know which is hard, so stays longer...)

 

[Beaumont67]

Beside brands, the category of the grinding wheels is important, and it's designated
by I, J, K (but I don't know which is hard, so stays longer...)

The lower letter is softer grade but the bond strength (aka holding glue) & engineering spacing of the aluminum oxide or ceramic grain (held in suspension), is just as critical...wrong combination of wheel makeup will break down fast or load up with metal chips in the abrasive grain boundaries and burn the steel...wheel hardness and specific structure is also designed around the proper RPM spindlle speed and infeed rates of surface feet per minute (SFM) stock removal, for a given micro finish output critera, cycle time, & dimensional quality on size tolerance.
- to allow the grinding wheel to hold its shape longer, cut freely and generate less workpiece heat
- stick with standard products, from a quality manufacturer...for the specific application / be in the ball park

*************************************************

Abrasive specification http://www.adgrind.com/abrasives/wheel_shapes.htm

Different grinding wheel manufactures often use slightly different methods for defining the specification of their own make of wheel. They all generally follow the same type of format using a code made up of letters and numbers relating to different features within the wheel. This code is either marked on the side of the grinding wheel, on the wheel blotter or if the wheels are too small, on an identification card which was sent with the grinding wheel.

For example: - 48A 602 K6V MRAA or 64A60 H15VP

Tip: If you have this information to hand for grinding wheels you currently use it can really help us when quoting or recommending wheels. Even if the wheel you are using is not performing how you would like it to, it gives us a starting point to work from when we need to change certain characteristics of the wheel.

The specification code of the grinding wheel usually consists of six basic parts:

Abrasive Type
The index for the type of abrasive grain used is shown at the beginning of the code.

Abrasive Size (Grit Size)
This defines the size of abrasive grains used in the grinding wheel.
This number can range from between 10 up to 800. The smaller the number, the coarser wheel.

Wheel Grade (hardness)
This letter denotes the grade or hardness of the grinding wheel.
The letters A to Z characterises the degree of hardness with A referring to the softest and Z as the hardest.

Wheel Structure (porosity)
The structure number is shown immediately after the grade letter. This denotes the porosity of the grinding wheel. The higher the number, the more porous is the grinding wheel.

Bond Type
The bond type is defined by a letter immediately after the the structure number. This is the material holding everything together and is usually either 'V' (Vitrified) or 'B' (Resinoid or resin) but there are a few others.

Special Coding (not always used)
On special or 'made to order' wheels there is often an additional bit of code at the end.
This varies between manufactures depending on their special 'recipes' used.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I'm glad this thread is here. I have several Bench Grinders, and will surely accumulate more. I did not know the differences between wheels or their purpose, speeds, etc. I did not know about cooling or metal build up on them. On the Norton website, http://www.nortonindustrial.com/BenchPedestal.aspx, they have a PDF Catalog, on the right column, that gives much of this info.

Does anyone have any other sites or lists/spreadsheets that spoon feed what kind of wheel to use for what: i.e. chisel, awl, punch, mild steel, cold roll, hot roll, billet, aluminum, steel, Ti, etc?

I would like to set up each grinder to the right wheel/rpm combo/HP etc.

Thanks!

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Also, whilst on the subject, there are many 6" and 8" grinders, (among others). A larger wheel has more surface area, so when/why would you choose a smaller grinder over a larger one?

 

[Provincial]

Wow, this thread hung fire for a while, but then took off! Thanks for the jump-start, frankush!

The most common reason that people choose smaller grinders is cost. At the low end, initial purchase price is the determining factor. Professional users are more sophisticated - they also factor in cost of replacement wheels, etc. A professional user may also dedicate a grinder to one use, and therefore may have no need for a larger unit.

Pretty much, the bigger the unit (wheel diameter and width) the faster it removes material. Choosing the right stones maximizes the productivity of the tool.

 

[Steinmetz]

I always replace the grinding wheels on acquired bench grinders with Norton, and never look back.

 

[clarkebd]

So this question kind of fits in - or at least I'll try:

So I was going to go the route of a cheaper grinder and then just replace the wheels (Seems Norton's the choice). I.E. - a HF bench grinder, or maybe even a Skil one I saw at HD. I know I really want a built in light - and maybe a cooling tray ?

 

[Tre900]

Clarkebd -

You and I are on the same page here:

I just bought my 6" Harbor Freight bench grinder (Central Machinery - item#37822
) this past weekend (haven't even bolted it down)

I just priced a 6" Dx 1" W Norton Premium White Aluminum Oxide grinding wheel ($22.97 in Northeast Ohio). as of 1/7/2013 locally so I'm going to try this set up. Based on what I've read in this thread it should be great for my minimal needs.

I have a bunch of magnites I recently picked up so I'll end up crafting some type of old beer can/tin cup cooling tray for Tig electoides.

 

[bimmerZ5]

does Norton also supply good wire wheels? or just grinding stones?

 

[Mohawk Dave]

does Norton also supply good wire wheels? or just grinding stones?

Yes, they do...http://www.nortonindustrial.com/Indl-WireBrushes.aspx

 

[Shipfittin]

I've used a ton of Norton products at work (mainly grinding and cutting wheels) and have never had a problem with them.

Now I do prefer 3M's cutting wheels, they last a lot longer then Norton's do, but that's another story.

BTW, make sure whatever wheel your using is rated to your bench grinders RPM's. I have a buddy that lost his family jewels because he put the wrong wheel on the wrong grinder.

 

[glassor]

Clarkebd -

You and I are on the same page here:

I just bought my 6" Harbor Freight bench grinder (Central Machinery - item#37822
) this past weekend (haven't even bolted it down)

I just priced a 6" Dx 1" W Norton Premium White Aluminum Oxide grinding wheel ($22.97 in Northeast Ohio). as of 1/7/2013 locally so I'm going to try this set up. Based on what I've read in this thread it should be great for my minimal needs.

I have a bunch of magnites I recently picked up so I'll end up crafting some type of old beer can/tin cup cooling tray for Tig electoides.

Tre900. I've been trying to install a 1" wide wheel on my generic Chinese 6"x3/4" bench grinder for 3 days but the new wheel is flat sided and the original flanges make the
assembly too wide for the spindle length. Did you get your new wheel to fit?
I actually got mine installed using 7/16" washers which have 1/2" holes but I don't like
doing it that way (without the flanges)! Did you have this problem and if so what was your solution? Thanks,Grayson. [email protected]

 

[Tre900]

Yup, I did indeed have the same situation. I spent a couple hours going through a number of washers to see which spacing I could get to make it work without having the grinder "walk" (move due to vibration) on the bench. In short, I couldn't.


The major PITA was tightning down one side causing the other side to loosen!

I got it to a point where I felt I could live with and mounted the grinder to a peice of plywood - bout a foot square. When I neen the grinder, I use a clamp and clamp it to the bench. WORKS GREAT. Had to fudge it a little.

Along with the Norton stone I put a wire wheel on the other side I picked up from Tractor supply so its got a big gap if spacing on that side to deal with as well.

Hope that was helpful.

 

[Bleugrass]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Meta...428359?hash=item4d2d4bdd47:g:150AAOSwstxVU5U1
Why are these Norton branded wheels sold so cheap?
What kind of wheel do I need just to sharpen lawnmower blades and other blades?
Trying to go for a 5-10$ wheel mid quality. Thanks.

 

[Bleugrass]

Or this one...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Meta...338847?hash=item2817c2dedf:g:2ycAAOSwt7pXLbmt

 

[wyckerman]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Meta...428359?hash=item4d2d4bdd47:g:150AAOSwstxVU5U1
Why are these Norton branded wheels sold so cheap?
What kind of wheel do I need just to sharpen lawnmower blades and other blades?
Trying to go for a 5-10$ wheel mid quality. Thanks.

Or this one...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Norton-Meta...338847?hash=item2817c2dedf:g:2ycAAOSwt7pXLbmt

Both of those wheels are for angle grinders, not bench grinders. Are you looking to sharpen your mower blades on a bench grinder?

 

[Locker537]

Can anyone recommend a retailer for Norton grinding stones? I'm looking for a replacement for my Craftsman 397.1949 Commercial Bench Grinder.

IIRC, the dimension I need is - 7"x1"x½"

 

[trackwelder]

We use nothing but Norton wheels at my job. Over the years I have gone through at least a few thousand 8" diameter stones and never had any issues with them.

 

[bobcatdan]

I can speak for grinding wheels as I have never replaced the stock once. Since they come with 2 stones and I pull one off to put a wire wheel on. I have just put the unused one on when I needed a new one. What I can say is weiler is hand downs the best wire wheel I have ever used. My grinder is a 7" so a little odd. I paid big bucks to get a twisted wire 7" and holy **** it's worth it. Never say a wire wheel clean as good or throw sparks.

 

[cajunfirehawk]

A good question for Torqueman2002, he is kinda our grinder/ grinder wheel aficionado, not that the others are not, its just his cup of tea so to speak...

 

[oldtools]

Baldor grinding wheel is really expensive since their stuff is for industrial use. Not sure if they make their own wheel or someone make it for them.

 

[torqueman2002]

For me, the important things are the brand (Norton, Camel, ...), and supplier.

Because storage and handling are critical to a safe stone, I choose a known supplier (McMaster, MSC, Grainger, ...).

For more information, see posts 2 & 3. ---> http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=249539&showall=1