I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

Try it on stainless, try deburring, smoothing sandcasting surfaces,
etc. Fine ones useful for brass - I use 'em to polish up my
crib pegs / draw marks, chuck marks and dings... /mark


Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

I bought some cratex points for use on a dremel to assist my uncle and me
polish up some parts of a .62 cal underhammer he was making for me. He
always wanted to make one and I was keen to have another rifle made by my
uncle. So I bought materials and he built it. Stock is cherry sawed out
out a black cherry tree that used to be on grandma and grandpa's land.


Anyway, polishing up the hammer that he sawed and filed from a piece of
steel did go a bit faster using the things. None of the points were very
agressive but they did do a nice job polishing things up.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=832332

Wes

On Sep 1, 8:38 pm, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

I use various small points and shapes for deburring and polishing,
primarily where the surface is such that hand stones would take
forever. Great for polishing feed ramps on 1911s and such, one of the
few places I'd use a hand grinder on a gun. I just finished doing an
action job on a Marlin lever action, lots of burrs there, too. I've
never had a wheel as large as the one you have, might be good for
polishing up the joint between hand guard and blade on knives after
brazing or soldering. First time I ever saw Cratex as a brand was
when I got a block for polishing up HO railroad tracks from the hobby
shop.

Stan

On Sep 1, 7:38 pm, Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel ....

That's a small wheel. We use a 10" x 4" 3M wheel for all the
stainless on boats and such. Couldn't do without it. Yes, they're
expensive. The advantage is that they do metal removal, scratch
removal and final polish all in one step, replacing about three
different abrasive grades and their corresponding arbors and such.

I have 1" x 1/8". They are for small rotary tools.


Cratex has made large ones for grinders that took water flow
so people could grind rock edges. Steel is softer than the rock.

Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

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That looks like the kit I bought years ago. Nice stuff.

Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member.
http://lufkinced.com/


Wes wrote:
Bob Engelhardt wrote:

I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

I bought some cratex points for use on a dremel to assist my uncle and me
polish up some parts of a .62 cal underhammer he was making for me. He
always wanted to make one and I was keen to have another rifle made by my
uncle. So I bought materials and he built it. Stock is cherry sawed out
out a black cherry tree that used to be on grandma and grandpa's land.


Anyway, polishing up the hammer that he sawed and filed from a piece of
steel did go a bit faster using the things. None of the points were very
agressive but they did do a nice job polishing things up.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=832332

Wes


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http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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On Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:02:47 -0400, Wes wrote:

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I
looked up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing
wheels, but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use
these? If so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

I bought some cratex points for use on a dremel to assist my uncle and me
polish up some parts of a .62 cal underhammer he was making for me. He
always wanted to make one and I was keen to have another rifle made by my
uncle. So I bought materials and he built it. Stock is cherry sawed out
out a black cherry tree that used to be on grandma and grandpa's land.


Anyway, polishing up the hammer that he sawed and filed from a piece of
steel did go a bit faster using the things. None of the points were very
agressive but they did do a nice job polishing things up.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...eitemid=832332

Wes

Cratex bobs are one of the Official Sacramental Materials of the
Church of John Moses Browning.

Feed ramps, mag lips, hammer sides, yada yada yada

Gunner

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
I found a 3" x 3/8 thick green (coarse) Cratex wheel at the dump. I looked
up Cratex on the web and found that they are primarily finishing wheels,
but I'm not sure where I would actually use it. Does anyone use these? If
so, what for?

They are so expensive that I've got to see why.

Thanks,
Bob

Bob, this one machine shop class I took, the instructor had us use a
hand-held piece of Cratex in the lathe to polish our threads. On one of the
steels the threads always looked like they were 'torn' instead of cut.
Holding the Crates against the part, while in the lathe, made a big
difference.

Ivan Vegvary