what size contact wheels do you fellas use?

S

SkaerE

Joined
Sep 9, 2001
Messages
428
figure i'll try my hand at hollow grinding.

ive pretty much decided on a 10'' wheel (pretty much :rolleyes:), but cant decide on the width,

1'' vs 2''?

benefits? others that use one vs the other?

i generally make pretty small knives (blades under 5'') but a 10'' wont be TOO big will it?
 
I use a 14" for hollows even on small knives. There are so many views on the subject of hollow versus flat but the big whell is just right IMHO. I think Bob Loveless uses a 10"
 
Nathan House uses a 1" wide wheel. He buys 2" wide belts and splits them. I no longer hollow grind but from my experience with belt grinders its the edges that wear out the fastest. I still think Nathan is on to something....
 
I have an 8" wheel. Kinda wish I had at least a 10"

Someone on this forum suggested it and now I'm thinking of making a curved platen and covering it with graphite belting. Then I can have a 14" curve like Bruce The Man. Or even a 24" equivalent. Heck with the $$ I'll save over that sized wheel I can buy a whole lot of belting!

Steve
 
Bruce Evans has a curved platen that is equivanlent to a 6 foot wheel. He said it was hard to get used to. He has a knife almost done so we will get to see how the hollow looks.

My 14" grinder will take 72" and 132" belts so if I could find a 24" wheel it should fit if I mount another idler.
 
I use all 1 inch wide wheels,you can control a grind better with them and there is more PSI when grinding.
I can get a cleaner grind with them,when it comes time to hand rub
there are less stubborn scratches that get left behind.
I have ground on a two inch wheel and then on a one inch wheel
both were the same pattern and the 1 inch wheel did a much better
job and you don't have to worry about that 2 inch mark.One more plus
you save alot of money on belts.
I got my wheels From Bertie,from South Africa,he makes a great wheel and he has a great price.
 
Eight inch ( has been dressed enough its like 7.5 now ), two inch wide. I keep thinking about switching up to 10 inch, but I'm concerned about having to do too much adjustment to the machine if I want to switch back and forth to 8 inch. Maybe I'll just build a new grinder and make it dedicated :) - Charles
 
I use a 10" and wish it were at least 14". I like flat grinding and I think the more shallow hollows look great. But there are some applications where a deep hollow would look better - like a short dagger. I guess it depends on the project, what would be best to use. I think the old wheels were several feet in diameter, hense Bruce Evans' large diameter platen. I'm gonna get me one of those! :D

Dave
 
I have a 8" and a 10" I prefer the 10" for all my work. It is much
better the only problem is I can't find a platen for the 10" wheel so I have to go back to the 8" wheel to use it. Gib
 
Matt, I have bought contact wheels from Palm Abrasive in the past. Pretty sure you can special order from them. Believe there on 14th and Belmont in Southeast Portland.
 
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