Replies

1. 
   lwilliams | Jun 21, 2009 05:27am | #1

   Jim,

   Grinding is a rough shaping operation, you still need to sharpen on stones after grinding. Your 36 grit wheel is fine. Instead of spending money on a new grinding wheel, your best investment will be to buy a single point 3/4 carat diamond dresser like Grizzly sells for about $11.

   I don't know what kind of tool rest you have on your grinder but making a tool rest is a simple but time intensive investment. Make a two-piece tool rest so that you can keep the tool rest close to the wheel and get the angles you'll need.

   I have no idea why a decent after market tool rest isn't on the market. I guess manufacturers feel the need to add too many worthless gimmicks to a real simple accessory.

1. 
   James R. | Jun 21, 2009 06:53am | #3

   Thanks for the feed back. After reading both of your posts I think I may decide to stick with my old method. We'll see.Thanks again, Jim

2. 
   James R. | Jun 21, 2009 07:24am | #4

   Thanks again for the information. I have a grizzly catalog but have been unable to locate the diamond dresser you mentioned. Does it have another name?Jim

1. 
   nazard | Jun 21, 2009 11:49am | #7

   "have been unable to locate the diamond dresser you mentioned"

   Jim,

   Check out Tools for Working Wood.  They have lots of good stuff at reasonable prices.

2. 
   lwilliams | Jun 21, 2009 04:57pm | #8

   James,Here's a link:http://www.grizzly.com/products/Diamond-Dresser-3-4-Carat/H5892on edit:I like single point dressers a lot better than the multi-point dressers. They produce a more aggressive surface and make it a lot easier to shape a grinding wheel.

   Edited 6/21/2009 10:03 am by lwilliams

3. 
   lwilliams | Jun 21, 2009 05:09pm | #9

   Here's a simple tool rest I made and it's mounted on an inexpensive Grizzly grinder/belt sander.

   View Image

4. 
   mike4244 | Jun 22, 2009 03:45am | #11

   Sears also sells a single point dresser,I suppose it's diamond. Any way I use mine often. I am getting ready for a new one as this one has only lasted about 25 years.

   Page 191 of grizzly 2008 catalog

   H5891  1/4 carat diamond $5.50

   H5892  3/4    "        "          $10.95 

   mike

1. 
   James R. | Jun 22, 2009 07:31am | #12

   Thanks to one and all. You've pretty much educated me on what I need, now I need to learn how to use what I get. I would really prefer not to ruin my good chisels, so I'll practice on the cheap ones.Thanks again everyone for the advice and the tips.Jim

3. 
   derekcohen | Jun 21, 2009 07:36am | #5

   Hi Larry

   Agreed, especially about the need for a solid tool rest. The one that I would purchase, if it were available at a local store, is the Wolverine. Ideally, one like the Wolverine could be sold that is a simplified version just for plane and chisel blades, and not also doing double duty for the lathe chisel accessory. It looks solid. I  do not know of any other steel rest available. The aluminium versions, such as made by LV, work OK but some complain about steel filings becoming inbedded in the surface. This has not happened with mine. Still, it seems to me that a thick steel plate would also help with heat dispersion.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

    

2. 
   nazard | Jun 21, 2009 06:26am | #2

   Jim,

   To follow up on dressing grinding wheels, let me add this: 

   • Use really good eye protection.
   • Use a dust mask.
   • Make sure your tool rest is sturdy.
   • Be prepared to clean up lots of dust and grit that will be thrown around in the process.

   -Jerry

3. 
   derekcohen | Jun 21, 2009 07:47am | #6

   Hi James

   The coarser wheel you currently use is the one I would stay with and is likely to be satisfactory as long as it is not the grey wheel that often comes with the machine. I know that Larry likes the grey wheels, but he is a pro and used to them. The majority of the rest of us need help to keep the heat down. You can burn a blade in the blink of an eye on a high speed grinder.

   Dress wheels frequently. Any steel residue imbedded in the wheel increases heat.

   In order of coolness, the blue Norton 3X (available from Tools For Working Wood) rank above the white wheels, and both are some leagues above the grey wheels. Usually 36 or 46 grit are recommended. I know some who bought a 60 grit and later regretted this choice. While a coarser wheel runs cooler, there is a trade off with subsequent surface preparation when honing on your media. The coarsest wheel will need a little more edge flattening than a less coarser wheel. All this advice disappears if you are grinding HSS steel.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

4. 
   roc | Jun 22, 2009 12:55am | #10

   Man I second the dust mask suggestion I think the white stones are great turned slow in a water bath. They tend to refresh their surface rather fast, depending on how hard they are for a simple term, and so there is much more dust in the air from the white than grey. I prefer the white.

   On my Delta that has a huge old white stone running in a water bath I notice when I run it dry, takes time to fill tank and don't like to leave water in it, there is much more dust than my smaller wheels on the faster grinders. Must be a softer white wheel.

   By the way I had problems getting the third vid in the Sharpening Doctor series but finally got it just now. He uses a 120 grit wheel. I am not saying what to get but that is what he uses on a slower speed.

   In that vid he has a good tip to turn the wheel back and forth by hand to see by scratches where the wheel is hitting on the blade for setting the tool rest angle. Why didn't I think of that ? And just when I thought I knew everything there is to know about everything.

   : )

   PS: if there is an unrelated photo attached to this disregard. I deleted one overly large file size photo from my list of uploads and have been unsuccessfully attempting to get back to the pie wheel/list of uploads so I can delete more.

   ): |

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   Edited 6/21/2009 5:57 pm by roc

   
   

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   Edited 6/21/2009 6:08 pm by roc