Thread: Fat wheels for grinders.

G'day,

The blue wheel runs cool & at about 54 grit it can remove lots of steel in a hurry for shaping or repairing a damaged tool without burning it, but... the 56 grit leaves grooves in the bevel.
It can be used to 'touch up' a dull turning tool 'cos most turners (not all) don't care about the groves in the bevel.

The pink wheel is the same size but will be 80 grit to give a finer finish on the bevel.

For my turning tools, I intend to use both wheels, blue first, pink next & then I'll hone the cutting edge with a handheld diamond hone.

This is why I want the same jig mounts on both wheels so I can quickly go from course to fine(r).

You could use the same system to shape &/or repair other tools as well & then progress to water or oil stones to finish the job.

I also have a Tormek slow water wheel & it does a very good job but is far too slow for an impatient turner.

Thanks Cliff,
Has the pink wheel superseded the white? I have heard that there are green wheels as well, any idea what they are for?
Zelk

Has the pink wheel superseded the white?

If you beleive the blurb it has.

heard that there are green wheels as well, any idea what they are for?

mentioned somewhere, I can't find the thread now.

I understand that they are for hard metal.

The colours are not the be all end all, I think Soundman pointed it out a while back.

You need to know, what the wheel is made of, & what grit it is & the colour doesn't always govern this, it is just a guide.

I buy my wheels from Gary Pye.
Timbecon also has the Blue ones but they are cheaper from Gary.

FWIW I found the 80 grit pink wheel removed metal fast but clogged up fast compared to the 80 grit white. I assume that the bond is harder.

Using it with carbon steel chisels and plane irons was pretty slow. I now do these on a 40mm Bluemax which has an almost honeycomb texture. The grind marks don't bother me as the tool goes from the grinder to diamond stones for the secondary bevel.

Is the Bluemax worth double an 80 grit white wheel? Not in my experience (not counting the difference between 40 and 25mm widths, and that is worth something).

(And green is for TCT I think).

Originally Posted by rsser

FWIW I found the 80 grit pink wheel removed metal fast but clogged up fast compared to the 80 grit white. I assume that the bond is harder.

Using it with carbon steel chisels and plane irons was pretty slow. I now do these on a 40mm Bluemax which has an almost honeycomb texture. The grind marks don't bother me as the tool goes from the grinder to diamond stones for the secondary bevel.

Is the Bluemax worth double an 80 grit white wheel? Not in my experience (not counting the difference between 40 and 25mm widths, and that is worth something).

(And green is for TCT I think).

Hi Ern,
what stone would you prefer to use for sharpening drill bits?
Zelk

Zelk, had good results on the 80 white .... on the side (tsk, I know) with one of those cheap jigs. Didn't try with the pink.

Jig couldn't cope with small bits though, around 3/16" and less.

Mail has arrived.
(Actually arrived yesterday but we were too late to pick it up from the post office)

As a matter of interest Ern, where did you get your pink wheel from?

Pic of wheel & a couple of bits of HHS to play with for tricky little hollowing jobs.

Just weighed wheels, the old grey wheel that was on there was 1.7kg, the new pink wheel is 2.2kg so 500grams heavier.

I'll weight the white wheel when I pull it off & I have another unused grey wheel in the shed in Cairns so I'll grab it & weigh it the next time I go past that way.

GPW Cliff.

Do the wheels at either end need to balance approximately?

I ran mine with a fat wheel one end & a skinny one the other for a couple of years without a problem.
It has had fat wheels each end for a year now but it doesn't get used all day every day.

Is that what you meant or did you mean the static balance?

If I spin it by hand, it doesn't stop in the same place each time.

I also think it vibrated more with the older grey wheels on it.

Back again. I have made the swap over from the white 60 grit wheel to the pink 80grit one & I am happy with the results.

The new/unused fine grey wheel that came with the grinder new weighs 1.75 Kg & the fat white wheel that I have been using for a couple of years now weighs 2.15 Kg.

I've made a few minor tweeks but nothing worth a picture yet.