CBN grinder wheel?

CBN wheels don't need the guards since they are solid, the Woodturners site shows this with their Megasquare wheels which are too big to fit inside the standard guards. As far as mounting them on a 6" grinder, no idea if that is a good idea or not, but you can buy 1/2hp 8" grinders, so not sure why mounting 8" wheels on a 1/2 hp 6" grinder would be a problem other than clearance. You would probably have to put the grinder on a short pedestal to provide clearance for the wheels though. The stock tool rests are mediocre to begin with, and rebuilding the grinder gives you an excuse to buy or make something better.

If it were me I'd probably just get an 8" grinder and find a new job for the Dewalt, but in your situation that probably means having to find a new home for the old grinder.

Would something like this work for you? It is based on a 6" bench grinder so shouldn't take up a lot more space. It seems like most belt sanders unless built ground up for sharpening need some modification, but this one and similar have been discussed before.

2x27 belt sander / disk sander

There are similar bolt on units that replace a grinding wheel with a belt.

2x36 belt sander attachment
 
Aaron,
all of this is appreciated, and has forced me to recognize what is probably obvious to all who read this post, that what I'm trying to achieve isn't right for the space and probably never will be right. So I'm back to the drawing board, thinking about the three major needs -- primary use for shaping lathe cutting tools, avoidance of dressing in my small room, and physically fitting into the space itself. I'm intrigued by the belt-sanding option, in combination with my conclusion that the grinding operation should come out of its shelf and move to a different wall altogether (which creates other effects that aren't germaine here). The CBN option really came about to avoid the destructive mess of wheel-dressing, and its other advantages are frosting on the cake for me.

So, are the various bolt-on belt options generally considered to be acceptable? I'm not completely loath to the notion of getting a belt sander and keeping the Dewalt separately, but am now back to square one so looking at options.

Thanks!
Tim
 
This is my evaluation of having the 3 types of mechanisms to grind tools. THE messiest is the stone wheels, followed by belts that wear, and shed some abrasives, along with material from the tool, next would be the CBN wheel with just the material from the tool so far as I can tell. If the CBN gets clogged, then it will need to be dressed with a cleaning/dressing stone. I have not had to do that yet, but I'm sure it will have it's share of being nasty.
 
tmenyc said:
Aaron,
all of this is appreciated, and has forced me to recognize what is probably obvious to all who read this post, that what I'm trying to achieve isn't right for the space and probably never will be right. So I'm back to the drawing board, thinking about the three major needs -- primary use for shaping lathe cutting tools, avoidance of dressing in my small room, and physically fitting into the space itself. I'm intrigued by the belt-sanding option, in combination with my conclusion that the grinding operation should come out of its shelf and move to a different wall altogether (which creates other effects that aren't germaine here). The CBN option really came about to avoid the destructive mess of wheel-dressing, and its other advantages are frosting on the cake for me.

So, are the various bolt-on belt options generally considered to be acceptable? I'm not completely loath to the notion of getting a belt sander and keeping the Dewalt separately, but am now back to square one so looking at options.

Thanks!
Tim
Click to expand...

I've personally avoided the belt on a bench grinder option, because from what I've seen from others, they need some modification to be really suitable, primarily the platen (the part behind the belt where the grinding happens) which most seem to replace with some sort of glass or ceramic because the sheet steel is not solid enough and will quickly wear away. What I have is working for me, and if I have to tinker I'd rather build a bench grinder for the job. Not that the modifications to a belt grinder like I linked to would be anywhere near the level of work, of building one from scratch. I just know that I would still eventually want to make a belt grinder.

The belt grinder attachment (second link I posted) seems to me to be better made, and I would hope so since it is about the same cost as the whole grinder sold by Grizzly. It is a bit larger though (2x36 vs 2x27) which could be an issue for your situation. I would also check availability of belts before buying a sander or attachment. The 2x42 and 2x72 sizes seem to be the most common, followed by 2x27, 2x36 is actually a new size to me that I don't recall seeing before. Not so much that you can't find belts, but finding the right kind. Most using a belt sander to grind tools are recommending ceramic belts. Ceramic belts do seem to be more common now, I've seen that I can even get them for my little 1x30 belt sander which wasn't true a few years ago. Which brings up another possibility, and that is using a 1x30 belt sander. Most are using 2" belt sanders, but with your particular situation maybe one of the small 1" belt sanders would work for you trading size for speed of grinding and belt life.

I've got an older Craftsman 1x30 similar to this Rikon. It works great for shaping wood, but most of these are only 1/3 to 1/4hp motors so I'm not sure how well they would work on tool steel.

1x30 belt sander

There are also a few 1x42 belt sanders with a little more power

1x42 belt sander

There are also these which for $70 I wouldn't expect much, but it does give me the idea than you improve it or scale down one of the DIY 2x42 or 2x72 grinders and make your own if you were so inclined.

1x30 belt grinder


There are a ton of belt sander posts, and as I've mentioned I'm still using AO grinding wheels, so my comments about belt sanders are just based on what I've read from others while I debate which way I want to go. Upgrading to CBN wheels is a significant cost so as long as there is life in my AO wheels I imagine I will continue to internally debate the issue.
 
Here is a post from Mikey (who started the HSS tool grinding mega thread) on what he feel are important considerations needed for a belt sander to grind lathe tools.

Choosing a belt sander
 
I recently acquired a single lip cutter grinder.

Similarly dismayed by the prospect of spewing aluminum oxide dust all over my small shop, I just pulled the trigger on a Shars CBN cup wheel.
www.ebay.com

4 X 1-1/2 X 1-1/4" 11V9 CBN CUP WHEEL 150 GRIT MAX RPM 5600 Save $85.00 P| | eBay

SHARS 4 X 1-1/2 X 1-1/4" 11V9 CBN CUP WHEEL 150 GRIT MAX RPM 5600 NEW. Resin bond CBN wheel: It is mainly used in grinding HSS, die steel, chilled steel, casting iron and so on. Max RPM: 5600. Resin bond wheel has special functions of self-sharping, sharp-cutting, high-efficient grinding.
www.ebay.com

$50 delivered.

It'll get here in a few days; I'll report back after I get the hang of it.
 
Aaron_W said:
from what I've seen from others, they need some modification to be really suitable, primarily the platen
Click to expand...

I have one of those bolt-on belt sanders.

The paten is on the top, which means it is on the back when the belt is oriented vertically (which is presumably how you'd do it, so the tool doesn't fly straight at you when your grip slips). This means you're going to probably going to replace the paten anyways, and depending on your needs that may not be so bad. There are two bolts on the guard for the larger wheel which, when the belt is vertical, can serve as a mount point for a toolrest and paten. As with many projects, I got over-ambitious with mine, and it therefore has not been completed.

Mounting the belt on the other end of the grinder is unsupported, according to the manufacturer, but it does put the paten in the right place. Adjusting and changing belts will be awkward, though, as the controls will be upside-down.

Quality may be questionable as well. I thought the belt-wandering wobble was due to my grinder, and went through the whole thing of testing the concentricity of the grinder spindle (a great way to lose faith in your grinder, btw), turning new bushings and washers, eventually even buying another grinder on CL. Finally I did the smart thing and put the drive pulley in the 4-jaw with a DTI to measure its veracity, and holy crap was that thing oblong. Fortunately the pulley is aluminum and easily trued.

Given the expense of these attachments, it probably makes more sense to get a dedicated belt sander.
 
Aluminum oxide is easy to vacuum right up, it's the tool steel that's messy, fine, and black. I have some neodymium magnets in key spots on my grinder to help catch the dust. I recently moved my grinder from a wood-top bench to a stainless bench, much easier to wipe down. The shop vac does the floor and everything else.

You won't be able to dress a CBN wheel with a diamond unless you have a lot of diamonds. Even then it would take a while. First hand lesson that.
 
Aaron, Thin, et al...really helpful, thanks. Looking like the belt sander is going to be a better solution for me than the CBN. I've read the cited posts, including MIke's, and his Grinding Tools on the Belt Sander for the New Guy (or something like that) I've had here for awhile. Not sure what the disc sander does for me since I would still have the Dewalt, even if I'm no longer using the coarse wheel for tool grinding. All questions to be answered. but CBN is off for now.
Tim
 
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