Serrated small wheels?

[E.Carlson]

Does anybody prefer serrated small contact wheels? I just ordered 1/2 and 3/4 inch wheels to start with and realized after the fact that the 3/4 wheel was serrated.
I decided to go with it so I can form my own opinion, but was curious if anyone else likes them over the smooth ones. From what I gather it founds like they may help with the heat, but at the cost of a smooth finish?

 

[javand]

Never seen such a thing personally, but yeah, I imagine it could introduce chatter. Honestly, it can be a bit of an art to get a good finish with the small wheels over curves longer than the radius of the wheel, because of the contact area and the hardness of most of the wheels. I've been threatening for years to have some lower durometer (softer) wheels made, but instead keep bitching about the chatter each knife I make.


Usually you're running the small wheels pretty slow to keep from burning up the bearings anyway though, and I don't find heat to be much of an issue under these circumstances. Personally I wouldn't be interested in serrated small wheels. Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[LARRYZ10]

There's an awful lot that I don't know but I can't understand the need for serrations on a small wheel. I'd like to see a photo of one anyway. Larry

 

[E.Carlson]

Well I guess I'm about to find out. I'll post a photo when I get it (and the grinder) up and running. Serrated or not, I know they are going to be worlds better than the tiny Dremel grinding stones that I currently use for finger grooves.

 

[E.Carlson]

There's an awful lot that I don't know but I can't understand the need for serrations on a small wheel. I'd like to see a photo of one anyway. Larry

Looks how you'd expect I guess. My grinder shipped today, so hopefully I'll be able to try them out next week.

 

[KnuckleDownKnives]

Just from a standpoint of how tread patterns work on tires the removal of surface material actually increases the surface psi between the belt and wheel where the materials meet creating a better grip because all of the tension is being exerted on a smaller surface area with the same force. This in turn theoretically could allow for a slightly less tensioned belt to get the same grip and would exert less force on the bearings and axle. I'm not sure if this is the actual idea behind why they are grooved, but on a very very small scale, that is what is mechanically happening. But considering those are very small bearings a small amount may make a big difference in their longevity. And then there is always the "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with B.S."

 

[HSC ///]

it looks cool

 

[E.Carlson]

Just from a standpoint of how tread patterns work on tires the removal of surface material actually increases the surface psi between the belt and wheel where the materials meet creating a better grip because all of the tension is being exerted on a smaller surface area with the same force. This in turn theoretically could allow for a slightly less tensioned belt to get the same grip and would exert less force on the bearings and axle. I'm not sure if this is the actual idea behind why they are grooved, but on a very very small scale, that is what is mechanically happening. But considering those are very small bearings a small amount may make a big difference in their longevity. And then there is always the "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with B.S."

This sounds better than "I wasn't paying attention when I ordered it."