6" bench grinding wheel recommendations

ARC-170

ARC-170

Jeff L.
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
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Oct 17, 2018
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I got a 6" bench grinder on CL to sharpen my lathe bits. Any recommendations for 6" diameter x 3/4" thick, 1" arbor, 36 and 60 grit wheels?

Norton comes up a lot, but the reviews on Amazon seem mixed; 4 and 5 stars but lots of complaints in the same review. Very strange. A local tool supply sells Surf Pro and CGW. Thoughts?

BACKSTORY (Not important, just thought I'd share):
The grinder (a made-in-Taiwan Alltrade from 1987, $35 with a stand!) says it's a 1/2" arbor in the label, but the arbors measure exactly 13mm (0.519"). The wheels that came with it are labeled in metric: 150 x 19 x 13. The adapters that come with many wheels will not work; they are too thin to drill out. I had to buy nylon bushings at HD and drill them out using my lathe and a 13mm drill bit ( I have a German car that is all metric). They fit nice and tight on the arbors. First time using the lathe for something other than practice. Woo hoo!
 
Most grinding wheels come with a larger arbor hole, like 1", they usually come with a 1/2" adapter that could easily be re sized to fit the arbor. Norton wheels have been the industry standard for quality for probably a century.
 
Norton makes their popular compounds in a 6" small arbor size for bench grinders. You didn't mention what you are using it for, and that makes the determination. I've recently tested a couple different Norton compounds and have favorable opinions on them, but I won't make any suggestions without knowing your application.
 
Don't forget ring-test any new or used grinding wheels to ensure that they are free from cracks or other defects.
 
Personally I would stay away from CGW. I purchased some a few years ago for 2 different grinders in the shop. Every one of them was poorly balanced and out of round. I sent all of them back and ordered some Norton wheels. The Norton's have been used on a regular basis for grinding tooling and still hold true.

Keep in mind grinding wheels do have a shelf life. Some of the less expensive ones have a shelf life of only a few years. Over time the bonding agent will eventually decompose. Having said that I do have a number of them that are 10+ years old and they still work fine. I would just caution against buying from a vendor that has NOS unless that stock is only a couple years old.

Here's a link to a page on the Norton website discussing grinding wheel storage and shelf life:
www.nortonabrasives.com

Shelf Life of Grinding Wheels

Maintain bonded grinding wheel safety by reinspecting and re-speed testing before using a grinding wheel two years or older.
www.nortonabrasives.com www.nortonabrasives.com
 
Most bench grinder wheels will be vitrified bond. That means that they are put together with melted ceramic which holds the grinding grains together. There is no shelf life for vitrified wheels that I am aware of. Usually there will be a V in the part number listed on the wheel if they are vitrified wheels. Rubber and resin bonded wheels definitely have lifetimes that should be respected. Vitrified wheels should be checked by ringing them with a screwdriver handle or similar before installation, supporting it with an undersized steel rod through the mounting hole. If it does not ring bright and clear, and with zero buzzing, don't use it! I always stand to the side of a grinding wheel while it gets to speed and then runs for a minute or so. If you have seen a grinding wheel come apart (I saw a 12X2" wheel explode in a shop I worked in), you will have the religion from then on. It is far better to be wary in advance, and store and treat your wheels carefully. You may not get a chance to live to see or talk about the second failure...
 
pontiac428 said:
Norton makes their popular compounds in a 6" small arbor size for bench grinders. You didn't mention what you are using it for, and that makes the determination. I've recently tested a couple different Norton compounds and have favorable opinions on them, but I won't make any suggestions without knowing your application.
Click to expand...

I will be using it to sharpen HSS lathe bits. I was going to use aluminum oxide wheels. Thought I'd get a 36 grit and a 60 grit. I might get a 100 (I think; in any case, a finer grit than 60) grit as well.
 
If you are willing to make a simple arbor on your Atlas, you can use the 38A white wheel as your workhorse. 60 grit leaves a very smooth finish, any finer will take forever to grind a tool. They stay cool, too. Lately for roughing, I found the 32AA purple in 60 grit to be a metal removing monster on HSS. It does not leave as nice a finish as the white, but sometimes you need more removal than white can provide. 1/2" wheel thickness is plenty adequate for tool grinding.
 
I use a 60 grit wheel for stock removal. and a 100 grit wheel for touch ups.
 
I use this Norton wheel for grinding HSS. It works very well.

Bench & Pedestal Grinding Wheels

Shop for Bench & Pedestal Grinding Wheels in Grinding & Cutoff Wheels. Global Industrial is a Leading Distributor of Tools & Instruments supplies.
www.globalindustrial.com www.globalindustrial.com

Ted
 
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