Thread: Carbide Tip Sharpening

Originally Posted by Graziano

Anyone used Norton/St Gobain SG seeded Gel wheels at all?. I just found out about them today, according to a grinding textbook I read today, they last up to 10 times longer than aluminium oxide and have faster grinding rates. Apparently they grow the particles chemically then fire them in a furnace to obtain grit that has no crushing defects and much sharper particles.

Norton SG

not me ...but i am going to try them out...if they're not too rich

I see that RDG has these green SC wheels in cup form as well , they maybe more suitable for a T&C grinder than the flat wheel would be ? Mike

Originally Posted by nearnexus

This is basically all you need. Not expensive.

6" SILICON CARBIDE GRINDING WHEEL / HSS GRINDING WHEEL | eBay

I've been regrinding carbide cutters for use with this type of wheel for years.

It's easy to bronze braze carbide onto DIY boring bars and the like, and grind the cutting facets freehand.

Save yourself a fortune. You lose the indexing function, but so what?

If done correctly you can achieve a razor sharp edge on carbide.

I'm currently using a Norton grey diamond wheel (nearly worn out) that was rescued from a valve facing unit.

HSS is OK for easy machining jobs, but try it on high carbon metal/weld and see how it (doesn't) perform

Rob

Originally Posted by Graziano

Anyone used Norton/St Gobain SG seeded Gel wheels at all?. I just found out about them today, according to a grinding textbook I read today, they last up to 10 times longer than aluminium oxide and have faster grinding rates. Apparently they grow the particles chemically then fire them in a furnace to obtain grit that has no crushing defects and much sharper particles.

Norton SG

Hi Graziano,

I've been using the SG wheels on the surface grinder for grinding the forum M2 chisels and plane blades, still not sure I like them. They seem to be harder to keep dressed, but that could just be I'm not really all that experienced in using them...

I was seriously thinking of going back to Alox...

Regards
Ray

PS Still Jet lagged....

Originally Posted by RayG

Hi Graziano,

I've been using the SG wheels on the surface grinder for grinding the forum M2 chisels and plane blades, still not sure I like them. They seem to be harder to keep dressed, but that could just be I'm not really all that experienced in using them...

I was seriously thinking of going back to Alox...

Regards
Ray

PS Still Jet lagged....

Hi Ray, glad to hear you're back again after that month long wild party . Are your wheels the lower content 3SG or the higher seeded gel content 5SG type?, I hear the 5SG last longer but may be harder to use as a result. SG type is supposed to be self sharpening which I take to mean the grit breaks off the wheel face. I'll be getting one soon as well as the usual white AlOx to try out, the abrasives salesman was claiming to my friend that a lot of his clients have switched to seeded gel in preference to white aluminium oxide....might just have a pallet load to shift though, which has happened before.

Originally Posted by Graziano

Hi Ray, glad to hear you're back again after that month long wild party . Are your wheels the lower content 3SG or the higher seeded gel content 5SG type?, I hear the 5SG last longer but may be harder to use as a result. SG type is supposed to be self sharpening which I take to mean the grit breaks off the wheel face. I'll be getting one soon as well as the usual white AlOx to try out, the abrasives salesman was claiming to my friend that a lot of his clients have switched to seeded gel in preference to white aluminium oxide....might just have a pallet load to shift though, which has happened before.

Hi Graziano,

The 3SG60 is the one I've been using, recommended for grinding RC62 M2....

Don't let me discourage you from giving them a try, the results we were getting were pretty good, just seemed to require a bit more care with dressing, and me not being used to a softer wheel is probably all that amounts to.

Regards
Ray

For the record: earlier in this thread I queried whether a CBN grinding wheel could be used for sharpening carbide tooling, having been unable to find any recommendations on the internet. It seems this is not a good idea. The following advice was quoted from the Georgia Grinding Wheel Company on PM recently:

"Diamond wheel on steels and CBN on carbides?

We get asked quite frequently if a diamond wheel can be used on steels and CBN on carbides. We do not recommend this as the wheel life will be greatly reduced and in some cases, the wheels may not even cut at all. A diamond wheel is specifically used for carbides, plastics and other synthetic materials. It will not grind steel well at all. CBN wheels should only be used on steels. There is a hybrid grit available that will grind both; However, it is a compromise in wheel life and grind-ability. But in cases where you must grind both materials at the same time, it can be a real time saver."

It appeared in this thread:

First attempt at grinding a cutter. - Page 2

I do like my CBN wheel for sharpening HSS!

Frank.