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tool bit grinding wheel

1dogandnoexes

Aluminum
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
I have a Baldor 500 tool bit grinder which I've used a few times. It has a green grinding wheel which is very soft. While it works well, it generates a LOT of dust. It's now time to dress the wheel, which is going to make a mess. Short of winning the lottery and purchasing a diamond grit wheel, is there another wheel I should consider?
 
Now you know one of the reasons I hate those wheels. Dressing one will end up with you looking like a Grinch. Not to mention the airborne mess and the floor mess. Assuming you're grinding mostly carbide I'd just bite the bullet and grab a diamond wheel. You might be able to find one of the Ukrainian wheels without spending too much, and they are pretty good quality. I use them on my T&C grinder.
 
Green wheels can make an Ok/good finish on carbide with the wheel rotation going toward the edge, but the green wheel's small grit size (perhaps 80 to 220) needed for a fine edge is such that pushing by hand is usually insufficient/difficult..and dry generates a lot of heat and dust.
Good for a Baldor or the like is to fabricate a catch box for coolant throw and use a wet diamond wheel.
Diamond wheels should be shimmed behind to make them run <.001 /,002 at the first use, this is so at the end of wheel life the wheel structure (aluminum or what) does not gat higher than the diamond to waste some wheel life.
Practice and care to grind on the high place to keep a diamond wheel flat-faced.
Often a 120 and 220 diamond wheel are good for lathe bits..and for scraper bits much finer for finishing the edge...perhaps search to see what Richard King recommends for scraper blades.
 
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Now you know one of the reasons I hate those wheels. Dressing one will end up with you looking like a Grinch. Not to mention the airborne mess and the floor mess. Assuming you're grinding mostly carbide I'd just bite the bullet and grab a diamond wheel. You might be able to find one of the Ukrainian wheels without spending too much, and they are pretty good quality. I use them on my T&C grinder.
What's the brand of the wheel you're using?
 
Two things: First Boldor has a diamond dressing tool that they are very, very proud of, read expensive. It works great it tracks in the milled slot on the table. I made my own and they work really well. Use it and a vacuum cleaner and dressing makes very little mess. Do not use those carbide wheels for any thing but carbide tools. For HSS, use 60 grit aluminum oxide wheels.

Second, Baldor diamond wheels are around $900 each, I contacted a specialty company in China : http://www.HeroHome.com.cn/ and they made one for me to my specifications in dimensions and grit in 2018. It was excellent and the price was $160 plus shipping.. I also have a 500 series Baldor grinder and this wheel was made to fit it.
 
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What's the brand of the wheel you're using?
Norton has always been my personal flavor. they aren't cheap compared to off brands, but I have found over the years that the durability and easy cutting characteristics easily make up for the expense. I have only ever used one face wheel completely up and had to replace it, so it was years between.
 
While it works well, it generates a LOT of dust.
You didn't specify what kind of material you are processing.
In any case, "a huge pile of dust" when using silicon carbide grinding wheels is not very normal. You should try a harder wheel, perhaps a less porous wheel. On average, very approximately, the wear of the wheel should be 10 times less than the volume of cut material of the part.
 
You didn't specify what kind of material you are processing.
In any case, "a huge pile of dust" when using silicon carbide grinding wheels is not very normal. You should try a harder wheel, perhaps a less porous wheel. On average, very approximately, the wear of the wheel should be 10 times less than the volume of cut material of the part.

I'm fairly certain he is grinding tungsten carbide, in which case it absolutely is normal to generate clouds of wheel dust on an offhand grinder with a silicon carbide wheel in my experience.
 
'm fairly certain he is grinding tungsten carbide, in which case it absolutely is normal to generate clouds of wheel dust on an offhand grinder with a silicon carbide wheel in my experience.
:o
I'm sorry, I was too lazy to drive into the search engine the brand of the machine, which was indicated by the starter topic. Ashamed....
Yes, of course, if I hold the part with my hands, the circle creates so much dust that I want to put on a gas mask.
 
Couple good wheel links in this new thread:

 








 
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