Which white wheel do you prefer?

[Tiger]

I don't remember doing this but my white wheel that I use for grinding has a small chunk taken out of it on the side of the wheel. I guess that means that it's not safe. I'm going to replace it and need to decide on which grit to get. I mainly use it for sharpening wood turning tools on, but do use it for plane blades and chisels as well as the odd metal turning lathe.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I compromise with a mid-range wheel around 80grit.

I've a few small tools - mini-gouges and oland tips - that would be better sharpened with a 120g wheel, as having such a small "footprint" on the wheel the steel's removed too quickly... and they're prone to heating too quickly also.

I work around this by turning the grinder OFF and sharpening the small tools while the 80g wheel winds down.

So, a 120g would be better for them but takes too long on my larger tools and blades. I guess if you don't mind taking your time sharpening it'd be OK, but I'm impatient and want to make only one or two passes then get back to turning.

I guess the best option for me would be to run both 80g and 120g wheels on the grinder... and to buy another bench grinder for my grey wheels.

(FWIW, I've never tried a 60g wheel but I suspect it'd be way too aggressive for sharpening my turning tools, yet not aggressive enough for reshaping. Of course, I could be wrong... wouldn't be the first time, won't be the last.)

Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a Tormek...

[BobL]

For plane blades and chisels and anything temp sensitive, grit size matters far less than the softness of the wheel. So, something like a very coarse grit white wheel is better for sharpening than fine grained hard grey wheel. I use a 46 grit white and a mixed coarse grit blu-max wheel.

I keep an 80 grit grey on one of my grinders for rough grinding, otherwise I use white wheels for temp sensitive stuff and the blu-max for pretty well everything else.

[Ozkaban]

I use the 80 grit as well, purchasing based on a 'middle of the road' approach. It seems to sharpen the tools up ok, though I get a much better edge from honing (obviously). As Skew said, a Tormek would be better but for my workshop there are plenty of things I need to spend that $1k + on before then.

Would be interested in the exper opinions out there as well on the wheel grits to use.

Cheers,
Dave

[jefferson]

I
Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a Tormek...

Yep, Skew, bite the bullet and get a Tormek. Or a Scheppach, which Ern assumes me works fine.

I've got the what-ever-it's called Tormek attachment for my 120 grit wheel on the spark grind and I haven't looked back.

The 120 grit is certainly slow, but you must be patient, particularly with skew chisels. Lots of grinding area. Don't hurry and burn your tools (even though says you cannot stuff the temper up on HSS. )

[RETIRED]

Yep, Skew, bite the bullet and get a Tormek. Or a Scheppach, which Ern assumes me works fine.

I've got the what-ever-it's called Tormek attachment for my 120 grit wheel on the spark grind and I haven't looked back.

The 120 grit is certainly slow, but you must be patient, particularly with skew chisels. Lots of grinding area. Don't hurry and burn your tools (even though says you cannot stuff the temper up on HSS. )

Not quite true, A little bit of blue doesn't hurt.

Given time and an aggressive approach you can ruin the temper on HSS.

[Jim Carroll]

If you are only going to have 1 wheel then a 80g is a good comprimise as it will still regrind where necesary and give a reasonable edge.

Better is a 60g and 120g so you can reshape and sharpen better.

The other option is the tormek which takes you to a whole new level of sharpness.

[Tiger]

Thanks for the advice. As I would like to get back to woodturning asap, I dropped into Carbatech, they only had an 80 grit wheel which would fit my grinder so the choice was easy but I feel better about the choice given the feedback I've received here.

More troubling is that a small chunk fell off the wheel and I cannot recall having done that.

[Jim Carroll]

Check it with the ring test

If you tap it and it has a ring to it it will be ok.

If it is a bit of a thud then the chip may be part of a crack and no good.

[Swifty]

For plane blades and chisels and anything temp sensitive, grit size matters far less than the softness of the wheel. So, something like a very coarse grit white wheel is better for sharpening than fine grained hard grey wheel.

Quite true. I recently changed my old white "N" (=hard) wheel with a 60-grit "K" (=soft matrix) wheel, and it is absolutely fantastic for sharpening my HSS turning chisels .
Mind you, I had to look hard to find one, Bunnies or C-Tec didn't have any, in Perth the only supplier I could find was Abrasiflex.
Cheers, Swifty

[Gil Jones]

On an 8", slow speed grinder, I use a 60 and a 120 wheel. 60 for changing the geometry of the steel, and 120 for sharpening.

[NeilS]

I guess the best option for me would be to run both 80g and 120g wheels on the grinder... and to buy another bench grinder for my grey wheels.

Me too, Skew.

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[NeilS]

Not quite true, A little bit of blue doesn't hurt.

Given time and an aggressive approach you can ruin the temper on HSS.

Also depends on which HSS, see here.

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