Bench grinder burning tools.

Hi, I bought a re-badged Draper 370W bench grinder from Wickes a while ago. It's the 'wet & dry' one with the vertical wet wheel.

Not having yet made a suitable alternative tool rest for the 8" wet wheel, I bought a Veritas tool rest for use with the 6" dry wheel after seeing an impressive tool sharpening video, which nudged me in the dry wheel direction.

Trouble is, even with very light pressure and lots of water cooling on the side between grinding passes, the chisels and plane irons are burning far to easily and often.

The wheel I'm using is the original supplied one and quite coarse. Is ther a more appropriate, cooler running wheel for this job, or should I find a way of slowing the wheel down?

Reply to
Mike Halmarack
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Is the wheel a bit dull or clogged? A dressed wheel grinds a lot cooler.

Reply to
John

use light pressure ad dip in water often?

Work rate is force times speed. Reduce force, workrate lessens.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Maybe that's the problem. I'll look into getting a wheel dressing tool. Is there a realistic way of dressing the wheel using an improvised tool?

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

I like the sound of this. Trouble is any less pressure and there will be no sparks at all. Also, I'm dipping them after every pass. It seems to be the thin edges of bevel edged chisels that are affected the worst.

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

You don't *need* sparks for material to be removed. Sounds to me like you are using far too much pressure. Barely touching the wheel will still remove material, just not as quick and thus without generating as much heat.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

I know you're right and perhaps I expressed it badly by referring to sparks. Barely touching the wheel is something I've tried several times now and at that rate I'll be there all day grinding one chisel or plane iron. I've used other bench grinders in the past, so I'm able to make some comparison from experience. The grinding wheel I'm using now seems particularly fierce. I can either improve it somehow, slow it down, or replace it. I was hoping for some alternative stone recommendations, or remedial dressing methods.

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

You could also try a softer grit grinding wheel

cheers

Reply to
A Plumber

The video I saw recommended a coarse stone, though coarseness and hardness may be quite different things. The stone I'm currently using is certainly coarse. Is there a range of grinding stone material most suitable for grinding carbon steel wood cutting tools?

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

The answer is simple - don't put woodworking tools near dry wheels.

Even the wet wheel is rather heavy-handed for sharpening them, although it is usueful for HSS woodturning tools.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

There goes the bath, along with the baby and the bathwater. My new Veritas adjustable tool rest for most practical purposes too. Doh! :-)

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

You mean :

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Not having yet made a suitable alternative tool rest for the 8" wet

Which should be nudging you back toward the wet wheel!

It seems like if you find a way to use the jg on the wet end, your problems ought to be solved.

Reply to
John Rumm

Yes pretty much the same, except the one I bought is labeled 370W, which I take to be the wattage. This might be significant if the higher wattage causes the wheel to revolve faster, so causing more heat.

I agree that this makes the most obvious sense. The videos available on-line are a mixed blessing if what you suggest is correct. I've seen video examples of excellent woodwork,which then go on to show the dry, coarse stone, bench grinding method used to produce the hollow ground tools used for the job. For instance:

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> The wheel I'm using is the original supplied one and quite coarse.

When it comes to learning and doing it's easy to get caught up in multi step processes and get locked in to some extent by the financial outlay already invested in the earlier steps.

I intend to make a wooden rest for the wet stone soon. I've been so impressed with the woodwork of Rob Cosman who demonstrated the methods in the videos that I saw it as a safe bet to emulate his methods. This may be possible with a different grit dry stone, or by slowing the wheel down a little.

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

It should look a dull grey surface, without any shininess on the surface.

Only a diamond tip can do that. Have you been grinding dirty knives, etc on it? The grease can clog it up. You can buy a wheel dressing tool that consists of a set of sacrificial notched wheels that will do the job as well. Wear goggles, of the correct grade, if you try dressing a wheel!!

Dave

Reply to
Dave

No. you are using it wrong.

Dave

Reply to
Dave

Hmmm! I'd better stick to grinding my cheaper tools then, until I'm using it right.

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

It's not shiny anywhere but it is a bit radiused. Maybe flattening it will help.

I just bought something called a dressing stick off eBay. It looks like a coarse abrasive stone (20 grit). Its a cheap alternative to a proper dressing device but if it improves the grinding effects at all I'll go for the proper tool.

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

I've been going at this hard all day now and am currently at this web site:

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seems to turn my perception of grinding and honing bevels on their head, or rather on their back. What a merry dance. Will I ever get any actual work done.

Reply to
Mike Halmarack

Unless you mean cold chisels, I can't even begin to imagine how you would be able to sharpen a chisel or plane blade effectively on a grinding wheel. Both need accurate and smooth, angled surfaces and square cutting edges. Sharpen them on proper oil stones with a rolling jig for holding them at the correct angle. They won't overheat and you will do a much better job, and the tools will last much longer.

S
Reply to
Spamlet

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