contact wheel questions

BonhamBlades

BonhamBlades

Joined
Nov 13, 2010
Messages
636
What is the difference in poly vrs rubber contact wheels. I am just about ready to pull the trigger on my first 2x72 grinder. But I noticed that there is a considerable difference in price. If I buy the rubber wheel now it adds about $160 to the price but if I buy a poly and decide i would rather have a rubber one it will cost much more than $160. So I am stuck and don't know what is the best choice, but iam betting all of you can help me make the right choice. thank you ahead of time...
 
The poly wheels cant take as much heat as the rubber wheels. I melted the poly tires on my bandsaw one time so I know how easy the poly can melt so when I got my wheel I went with rubber. If you do melt a poly wheel and have to buy another then it wouldnt seem like a bargain. That said there are many people happy with the poly wheels. Just be careful with the heat.
 
It is much easier to control the heat if you have a VFD with your grinder. If you are careful, the poly is fine, but you will be limited. If you plan to hog off a bunch of metal on the wheel (which most people do), you are much better off going with the rubber wheel. Remember, if you try to grind, drill, hand sand, whatever with any damaged equipment, you will be fighting the tool issues and most likely will get less than optimal results.
 
I didnt even know there was a difference. Where do I get a Rubber wheel. Im in Canada BTW.

When I Check USAKnifeMaker.com I was planning on getting the 10x2 Poly Smooth. From what I can see they dont have a rubber 2x10
 
You might consider buying a 10" rubber wheel from grizzly. Price is right, but you need to have it bored for some bearings.
 
Im not really worrying about the price lol Im already dishing out $3000 for a Wilmont type grinder.
 
Liam021 said:
I didnt even know there was a difference. Where do I get a Rubber wheel. Im in Canada BTW.

When I Check USAKnifeMaker.com I was planning on getting the 10x2 Poly Smooth. From what I can see they dont have a rubber 2x10
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I dont know why but the search feature on their website sucks. they do sell a 10" rubber wheel though http://usaknifemaker.com/grinders-s...99-60/10-contact-wheel-1-2-bore-beaumont.html

or you can go straight to the source http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/shop/
 
Spalted said:
I dont know why but the search feature on their website sucks. they do sell a 10" rubber wheel though http://usaknifemaker.com/grinders-s...99-60/10-contact-wheel-1-2-bore-beaumont.html

or you can go straight to the source http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/shop/
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Liam021 said:
I didnt even know there was a difference. Where do I get a Rubber wheel. Im in Canada BTW.

When I Check USAKnifeMaker.com I was planning on getting the 10x2 Poly Smooth. From what I can see they dont have a rubber 2x10
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As a Canadian, you can't order direct from Beamount, he won't sell outside US

Knifemaker USA is a nice source
 
Ebay seller wmprice is selling 10" contact wheels (without bearings) that he says are 70 duro rubber, for $119. I don't know anything about him or the quality, but you might check it out.

IIRC the Grizzly wheel might even be a little less, though.

ETA: Just checked Grizzly, that 10" contact wheel is $76 plus shipping from them. That's a good deal.
 
You guys are funny have you actually melted a ploy contact wheel. Well I have not and I have been using them for years and I use them at high speed high pressure. Band saw tires are a little different then a contact wheel. Also you have to remember there are many grades of ploy.

Brett
 
Most of my wheels are rubber... but I do have one of Tracy's 3/4" poly small-wheels and have never had problems. Of course, I run a VFD setup and very seldom (if ever) run a small wheel pedal-through-the-floor. If somebody has experience melting a poly wheel, I'd sure be interested to hear about it.
 
I have both Poly from Midwest Knife supply and an 8" from KMG on my KMG grinder. The KMG run far truer than the poly wheels.
If I were to do it over I would have spent the extra for the KMG rubber wheels. There is a difference!
 
Brett Mathews said:
You guys are funny have you actually melted a ploy contact wheel.
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A google search found this, dont sound like he was laughing.-

A word of caution on the Sunray wheels though. If they are polyurethane like mine they will soften or even melt if you get them too hot. Doesn't look like you will have a problem with that given your setup but if you use one as a contact wheel for hollow grinding don't get too carried away. Found this out the hard way with a 6" Sunray. It melted, stuck to the back of a 220 grit belt and got all over the aluminum wheels on my KMG clone. Hard as the dickens to clean off.

Like I said in my first post in this thread there are many people happy with the poly wheels. Just be careful with the heat.
 
I would not say I favor a ploy wheel over rubber but I run both and have not had a problem with one myself.

As for the post above I was asking if the above posters have melted a ploy wheel as I have not. Some time around here people make statements that they have no experience with and gets old. Im not saying this is what is happening here. I was asking if they ever had a melted ploy wheel. Now it sounds like some body did melt one at some point but it could be do to operator error. I cant imaging getting my wheel that hot while using a 220 grit belt.

That said I think Contact Rubber Corp. makes the best contact wheels out there they are rubber.

Brett
rmbonham said:
thanks Brett I was wondering if there were any in favor of poly.
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Brett Mathews said:
I would not say I favor a ploy wheel over rubber but I run both and have not had a problem with one myself.

As for the post above I was asking if the above posters have melted a ploy wheel as I have not. Some time around here people make statements that they have no experience with and gets old. Im not saying this is what is happening here. I was asking if they ever had a melted ploy wheel. Now it sounds like some body did melt one at some point but it could be do to operator error. I cant imaging getting my wheel that hot while using a 220 grit belt.

That said I think Contact Rubber Corp. makes the best contact wheels out there they are rubber.

Brett
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I have been looking for a pourable rubber or polyurethane to cast around a contact wheel. I'm a novice at this effort but have observed a widely varying temperature specification on both rubber and polyurethane material. Some poly's take a much higher temperature. Rubbers seem to be either CR (Neoprene) or NBR (nitrile). A well balanced wheel will need to be turned on a lathe and either cut with a single point lathe tool or ground with a tool post grinder. So I think there could be a trade off on temperature melting point and machinability. Still trying to figure out what to try, but it is obviously not as simple as rubber versus poly.
 
Rmbonham, I do not know what part of California you live in but I live in Bakersfield which is so hot when a dog chases a cat they are both walking. The forecast tomorrow is 105 degrees and I will not be able to pick up a tool that the sunlight hits through a window let alone grind anything without the chiller on my platen turned on. I use Beaumont wheels (KMG) and have a couple of rubber Bader contact wheels which are first class for trueness and balance. I have not even tried the poly wheels but I think the extra money now will seem small in the future after you have made a ton of knives. Brett Matthews says the poly wheels are fine and he builds grinders so you should consider that but Oregon is quite a bit North of Bakersfield so I think the heat might make a difference. The contact wheel is so important to good grinds that I would not try to save money on that item. Just my opinion. Larry

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