After my near catastrophic bench grinder incident I decided to try the CBN grinding wheels. I got my wheels from woodturnerswonders.com. I got the 80 grit and 350 grit 8" wheels based on their recommendation. The wheels are the 4 in 1 design with grit on part of the side and with 1/4" radius corners.
The wheels are absolutely beautiful.
At 1-1/4" wide they fit in the factory guards. I did have to make a 1/4" spacer to center the wheels in the guard.
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All I can say about them is WOW! These things are awesome on HSS. As a test, I ground this 3/8" tool in about three minutes free hand. Not my best work but I wanted to see how well the wheels worked. I think I wet the tool twice. The 80 grit removes material like nobody's business with very little heat. Amazing.
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Do you like the radius on the edges? I was looking at the mega square wheels. I also notice they are used on a slow (1725rpm) grinder. Are they suitable for high speed grinder? They have a good price on a 1 hp (1725 rpm) grinder with wheels.
That is nice!
Now I have to buy a 8" grinder!
My 7" Baldor grinder will not take 8" wheels.
EDIT: Wow! they are a little pricy! I'm sure they are well worth it in the long run.
They are far superior to the stone wheels for material removal. I can't comment on how that compares to using a proper belt grinder as I don't have one. I have one stone wheel that comes close to the 80 grit CBN wheel but at the cost of excessive stone loss.Looking for something specifically for fast metal removal of tool steel. Specifically A8M if by chance. How would you rate it for metal removal of tool steel compared to your white aluminum oxide wheel for the tool steels you have used?
I'm okay with the radius so far. I would be nice to have a wheel with a smaller radius. I considered the Mega-square wheels but they are 1.5" wide and would not fit in my guards. I'm not comfortable running a grinder without guards.Do you like the radius on the edges? I was looking at the mega square wheels. I also notice they are used on a slow (1725rpm) grinder. Are they suitable for high speed grinder? They have a good price on a 1 hp (1725 rpm) grinder with wheels.
I'm okay with the radius so far. I would be nice to have a wheel with a smaller radius. I considered the Mega-square wheels but they are 1.5" wide and would not fit in my guards. I'm not comfortable running a grinder without guards.
They offer a 1hp grinder with wheels at a good price ($445). They set it up with their spherical washers ( available separate also). The only thing is, it is 1725 rpm. I wasn't sure about the speed using on HHS steel.You shouldn't have any issues running a 8" CBN wheel at 3600 RPM. Max speed is higher than 3600 RPM. May occur a small balancing issue i the wheels were not properly balanced at the factory or using flanged washers that are out of wack.