Thread: Diamond Grinding Wheel

Originally Posted by rsser

Oh dear. Hate to look like a tool 'hooer' but if the hat fits ...

The Sanding Glove - Specializing in Quality Sanding Products for Woodturners

Was thinking of ordering some cubitron discs myself, so if anyone wants to order anything from them we cld save some postage.

ooooooh...
I just got back from Carbatec with my shiny new Woodfast disk sander (birthday pressie ). Combined with the lathe purchase, I don't think I should be introduced to any more of these types of sites just yet

Sorry to put temptation in yr way Dave ;-}

Good b/day pressie you got.

Originally Posted by rsser

Sorry to put temptation in yr way Dave ;-}

Good b/day pressie you got.

Tempation is always fun, though LOML thinks these forums are very expensive... with some justification, I might add!

Well u cld be down the local pole-dancing place shedding 100 buck notes into thongs, or enjoying yrself at home making stuff of use or interest.

Tell her yr cheap ;-}

Originally Posted by Ozkaban

Tempation is always fun, though LOML thinks these forums are very expensive... with some justification, I might add!

Nuh these forums are saving you money by steering you to buy good quality products, it might cost a few more dollars to buy now, but in the long run you'll save money because it'll still be running in 20yrs time whilst the other cheaper priced product will have given up the ghost and you'll have to layout more dollars to repair or replace it

Originally Posted by rsser

Just as a BTW in the US you can now get diamond coated power sanding discs. About USD18 each!

A little more expensive (but larger), and have to be run in water, Lap disks (used by the Gem industry and by carbide sharpeners) are another option. eg here

Typically used horizontally, but have been thinking for some time on how they could be mounted vertically, which would be more convenient for tool sharpening. Unlike the wheels, would give a flat bevel.

.....

This thread grabbed my attention.

I have seen the diamond wheels which have a very thin layer of diamonds straight on aluminum, but more of a wagon wheel type design instead of the solid aluminum core. I have heard that they wear out very fast.

This wheel looks very much like the wheels that I use but I have CBN (cubic boric nitride or some thing like that) bonded to the aluminum.

While looking for the perfect grinding wheel, I investigated diamond, and the consensus is that diamond is great for carbide, but tends to plug up when grinding the softer steels. CBN is made for grinding steel.

My wheels, which are custom made cost me $300 for an 8 by 1 inch wheel with 3/16 inch of material bonded to the wheel. There was no need to spin balance the wheels, and they are dressed by the place that makes them. I clean them up with a very hard aluminum oxide. They do need to be dressed/trued from time to time, as I do get a little wash out. I take them back to the shop that made them, and they put it on a lathe of sorts, and use the same hard aluminum oxide to grind the wheel back to true.

My 80 grit wheel is 4 years old and has just under 1/8 inch of material left on it. I turn some 700 to 800 bowls a year, and a number of other things. I did have some 320 grit wheels made, and they lasted about a year. I now have a 150 grit wheel, and it is lasting a lot longer than the 320 grit wheels. It will be interesting to see how long the diamond ones hold up.

In one picture you posted of your skew and the wheel, it looks like there is a tiny bit of wash out going on, and they will need to be dressed. Regular dressing won't work on them any better than on my CBN wheels as the wheels will eat diamond dressers.

robo hippy

Hey Robo,
Welcome to Australia. These folks are a lot of fun and have a spirit that I really admire. While they're very knowledgeable and appreciate good tools, they don't automatically think that the answer to every problem is to go buy something (unlike so many on the U.S. forums).

Originally Posted by robo hippy

.....a tiny bit of wash out

Hi Robo Hippy

I'm not familiar with the term 'wash out'. Could you please define it for us?

Thanks

PS - 700 to 800 bowls a year is quite a production rate! Your woodpile must be more like a woodhill....

Originally Posted by NeilS

Hi Robo Hippy

I'm not familiar with the term 'wash out'. Could you please define it for us?

Runout maybe

I couldn't figure out how to repost the proper picture, but if you look at Brendon's post # 10 here, the second photo shows a close up of the wheel. It is red in color. If you look closely, you can see the steel on the wheel where the lighter color of the steel is not constant on the wheel as in it gets heavy and light. Wash out to me is this kind of unevenness, kind of like a wash board. When it gets really bad, you have to dress the wheel to get the surface smooth and even. Does this make any sense?

robo hippy

Originally Posted by robo hippy

I couldn't figure out how to repost the proper picture, but if you look at Brendon's post # 10 here, the second photo shows a close up of the wheel. It is red in color. If you look closely, you can see the steel on the wheel where the lighter color of the steel is not constant on the wheel as in it gets heavy and light. Wash out to me is this kind of unevenness, kind of like a wash board. When it gets really bad, you have to dress the wheel to get the surface smooth and even. Does this make any sense?

robo hippy

OK, wash boarding is something we understand down our way. We stopped using them for washing our clothes some time last year, but our extensive national network of gravel roads all become corrugated wash boards between gradings (a sort of dressing).

.....

Originally Posted by robo hippy

While looking for the perfect grinding wheel, I investigated diamond, and the consensus is that diamond is great for carbide, but tends to plug up when grinding the softer steels. CBN is made for grinding steel.

If anyone else is interested in the techy side of Diamond vs CBN wheels, they might like to start with these:

The simple story... GRINDING WHEEL and ABRASIVES BASICS

And some interesting bond/diamond/CBN cost and other comparisons.... Society of Manufacturing Engineers

• Interesting to note that resin bond is the only one that doesn't need coolant
• Resin bond needs more frequent truing
• CBN generally more expensive than diamond, but also last better on HSS

The more technical story about CBN.... Using CBN abrasives. - Free Online Library

And, for anyone who is insane enough to think they can find the ultimate cheap source of the perfect diamond or CBN grinding wheels, start here:

• cbn grinding wheel - cbn grinding wheel products manufacturers on alibaba.com a mere 500 suppliers
• diamond grinding wheel - diamond grinding wheel products manufacturers on alibaba.com a mere 8,400 suppliers

.....

Originally Posted by NeilS

If anyone else is interested in the techy side of Diamond vs CBN wheels, they might like to start with these:

The simple story... GRINDING WHEEL and ABRASIVES BASICS

And some interesting bond/diamond/CBN cost and other comparisons.... Society of Manufacturing Engineers

• Interesting to note that resin bond is the only one that doesn't need coolant
• Resin bond needs more frequent truing
• CBN generally more expensive than diamond, but also last better on HSS

The more technical story about CBN.... Using CBN abrasives. - Free Online Library

And, for anyone who is insane enough to think they can find the ultimate cheap source of the perfect diamond or CBN grinding wheels, start here:

• cbn grinding wheel - cbn grinding wheel products manufacturers on alibaba.com a mere 500 suppliers
• diamond grinding wheel - diamond grinding wheel products manufacturers on alibaba.com a mere 8,400 suppliers

.....

I'm getting the feeling that the resin/diamond grinding wheel is a cheap trick with an expensive price tag .

I'd still like to know what advice the manufacturers have for truing and dressing these wheels is .
So far my net search has been in vain .