"ATP" wrote in message
...

snip---
You might have work hardened the material, or loaded up the abrasive
wheel.
Everett suggests using a piece of an old abrasive blade, firmly clamped,
to
dress the wheel. I prefer a band saw, of course, but have cut solid stock
with abrasive saws without a problem (unless you count the noise, smell,
sparks, etc.!). There is also the fact that some materials are too hard to
be cut on a band saw.

Nah! My money says he was using a silicon carbide blade when he should have
been using an aluminum oxide one. The reactions he described fit perfectly.
Grinding wheels have no respect for work hardening--it just doesn't happen,
not as the wheel sees it, anyway.

Wheels intended for masonry are silicon carbide. They should *never* be
used on ferrous material aside from cast iron. It does no harm, they just
don't cut very long. You can't dress them often enough to make the
difference, either. In spite of the fact that silicon carbide is much
harder than aluminum oxide, it is easily outperformed by aluminum oxide in
ferrous materials because it isn't soluble in steel, very unlike silicon
carbide.

Harold