"Charles A. Sherwood" wrote in message
...
Do you dress because the wheel has quit cutting, or because it has broken
down too much and is rough?

I dress the wheel because it quits cutting and just generates heat.
I run a diamond point across the wheel using the groove in the table
as a guide.

That's a mistake. Unless you are grinding under power with complete flood
coolant, diamond dressed wheels are not to be used. Even on cutter
grinders, wheels are normally hand dressed with dressing sticks. Diamond
dressed wheels cut very hot. The ultra fine surface prepared by the diamond
tends to act like a bearing. Way too much of the wheel surface is in
contact at all times because it is so smooth. If you insist on using a
diamond to get the wheel smooth, follow up with a roughing pass with a hand
dressing stick. NOT the solid boron carbide kind, the ones that measure
1/4" x 1/2" x 3". These do about the same thing to you wheel as a diamond
once they start to get dull. Use the 1" square variety that are comprised
of fused bits. They tend to keep sharp by constantly exposing new corners
of the abrasive. This alone will make a huge difference in how well the
wheel cuts.


If the wheel dulls up too quickly, the wheel is
too hard, so you should drop back a letter or two. If it seems to
slough
off to quickly, go up a letter or two. (From J to L, for example).

Nothing else to choose from.

MSC only lists these plate mounted grinding wheels: (Norton)
32A46K VBE
32A60J VBE

I'd be using the 60J in a heart beat, and dressing it properly, assuming you
wanted to stick with the grinder you're using, and I, too, was going to
stick with it.

Truth be known, there's no way in hell I'd sharpen toolbits that way. I
use a chest high pedestal mounted wheel with no tool rest. I have available
to me any wheel configuration imaginable because I use 7" x 1/2" x 1-1/4"
toolroom wheels. You have total freedom to grind angles and chip breakers
with no obstructions. It's a learned thing, very uncomfortable at first,
but the best thing going once mastered.

The 32A60J is great for finishing up or cleaning up a toolbit but
is much to fine for roughing out a blank toolbit.

When it is diamond dressed, I fully agree with you. Otherwise, I do not.

Another approach may be required.
I have a Rockwell toolmakers grinder which will mount other wheel types.
I looked in catalogs last night and I can buy Norton 5SG grinding wheels
in type 5,6 or 12. Can I grind on the side of a type 5 wheel?? A type 5
wheel is a recessed wheel. I have tried grinding toolbits on this
machine and it does a great job, but it is much slower than a bench
grinder.

Truth be known, you can grind on the sides of most any wheel, so long as you
don't apply excessive pressure. Light hand pressure does no harm, but
think of a guy with a large weldment pushing against the side of a wheel
that is fragile and the part is bouncing. That's where you get wheels
coming apart. A type 5 is intended to be used on the periphery normally,
but a type 6 or 12 is obviously intended to be used in a combination of
ways, with the majority of the pressure applied to the side of the wheel,
especially in the type 12 wheel. Truthfully, none of them would lend
themselves well to sharpening tools unless you were moving the tool past the
wheel much the same way one would do using a cutter grinder. I'd stick
with a pedestal grinder otherwise.

Another approach is to buy a 8 inch bench grinder. Can I mount good
toolroom wheels on a bench grinder by making a spacer to fit the shaft
and the 1.25 inside diameter of the toolroom wheel? I can buy jet or
delta 8 inch grinder for about 150. Enco for about 50 and Baldor for 700.
I'm sure the baldor is wonderful, but 700 is pretty steep! Will I be
disappointed with the cheap enco grinder?

I can't speak for your choice, but I've sharpened my HSS and brazed carbide
toolbits on a custom built pedestal grinder described above since 1967 and
have had outstanding success. The grinder has two arbors, one on each end
of the 1/2 horse 3,600 RPM motor, which is reversible, one side has a
permanently mounted diamond wheel for brazed carbide, the other accepts the
toolroom wheels I mentioned. The motor was an old one my father gave me,
likely out of the mid 40's. Originally came from Sears. Considering
how we use these things, it might be worth a shot at the Enco machine.
Still, all you really need is the motor if you follow my design. You'd have
to abandon everything already on the one you'd buy except for the shields
otherwise. That's a call you have to make.

What do I need to get started with CBN. I looked in the catalog and
it seems that you need an expenive break type dresser to go along with
your expensive CBN wheel. It also said the wheel needs to be running
with less than 1 thou runout. How do you measure that? I sure ain't
going to touch my indicators to the front of a grinding wheel!

Thanks for the help
chuck

Very sorry to say I have zero experience with CBN wheels. When I closed the
doors on my (commercial) shop there were no such thing, and I have yet to
find a real need to explore them. I can only assume that when it comes
time to mount such a wheel, just like with diamond use, you'd have to
sacrifice a contact point, turning the wheel very slowly by hand, and
minimizing the wear. Or, you could carefully cover the wheel face with
"Scotch" tape, which is very consistent for thickness. Overlap the tape,
then make a clean cut with a sharp razor, leaving a single layer all around
the wheel. Requires a very clean wheel surface to be successful. My
personal opinion is that unless you're doing this for a living, you don't
really have to go to CBN wheels. The simple act of learning to dress your
wheels properly will make a huge difference in the outcome of your work.

Sorry I'm not more help.

Harold