8" to 12" grinder wheel....

bladegrinder

bladegrinder

Well-Known Member
I mostly hollow grind myself and for the last few years wanted to go to a bigger wheel, after a bad case of sticker shock from numerous sites of manufacturers of grinders I turned to something I saw years ago but doubted the quality...mostly based on price usually reflects quality.

In a recent search for a 12" I came across DC Knives. http://dcknives.blogspot.com/ he explains in detail how he went about it and links to where the parts can be found. so I bit the bullet....and wish I did years ago.

After receiving the wheel, which took the boat about two weeks the first thing I noticed was the rubber felt soft but after a while I came to realize that my old 8" was probably that soft or close too it 20 some odd years ago and I was just used to grinding on a 8" rock.

I've seen some talk of wheel sizes here lately so I figured I'd post some pictures I took when I did this.
Here is the wheel after I unwrapped it, it came in perfect undamaged condition.....-the pics are big but that's the easiest way to get them here...
1Cy5oYZ.jpg

It just took a bolt, some washers and a set of bearing's to get her rolling.....
27lnmBb.jpg

Here's my Bader III with the 8" wheel.....
225rYSq.jpg

And here it is with the new 12" wheel....
fTlmmXV.jpg

And here's a blade I ground out the next day on it...
vNojX6i.jpg


The other thing that I had to get was a tooling arm due to the factory one from Bader wouldn't work.
I found a steel supplier on the web ......it's 1 1/4" on the Bader, a 3 foot bar was $30.00 shipped.
The wheel was around $78.00 shipped...the bearings around $12.00 and washers and bolts a few bucks.
all said, I got set up with a 12" wheel for $130.00 or so. I can't really find anything I don't like about this and the quality seems good.
Actually I think I see a 14" wheel in the future..:D
 
Steve, I have never done much hollow grinding. I suppose it is like anything else the more you do, the easier it becomes. However my results have been I can screw up a hollow grind in a New York Second!! I have heard others talk about the larger the wheel the more they like it for hollow grinding! That thing looks enormous on the Bader!! Oh and glad you like it! It is hard sometimes to talk yourself into paying out money on something you don't know if it is going to be what you want but, sometimes it just pays off in big dividend. Kind of like when a slot hits for a big payoff!! :p

I see the markings where someone balanced the wheel, in that first pic! Was that you that balanced it or was it balanced when it got here??

One other thing that belt you got pictured. I have seen others using such before. Enlighten me, it looks almost like a fibered cloth on the face but the backside looks like any other belt.

What kind of a belt is that, and what grit is it???

Is that what you use for your first grind or is that one a finish belt?? The reason I ask is because the blade looks like it is a pretty fine finish in the pics!!
 
I just ordered a contact wheel from that company for the surface grinder attachment I’m going to build like the guys who have posted on here. I contacted the company and asked if I could get the harder rubber on the wheel and they said yes, but it would take a little longer to get it made. Glad you like yours-hoping mine is good, too.

Jeremy
 
Thank for the heads up, Steve. I've always wanted a 12" too, but because of the price I've just never pulled the trigger. I'm seriously considering purchasing one of these now.
 
I ordered one of the 12" Chinese wheels and have been happy with it. It wasn't quite balanced, but it's an easy job to balance by removing a tad of metal from the heavy side.
 
Cliff, the wheel came with the marks and drill divot hole and appeared to be perfectly balanced, I was kind of surprised. it was pretty much...tap in the bearings, drill and tap the tooling arm, install the wheel and let her rip. it performs well.
I like hollow grinding and that's mostly all I've ever done except for flat grinding the occasional kitchen knives. like I've said...for $130.00 I might get a 14" or 16" in the future.

The belt in the picture is a Trizact gatorback. after starting with ceramic belts I finish with Trizacts, a 160 is around 120 grit and a 45 is around 400 grit. their a different kind of animal though, water will mess them up and a small wheel will fracture the abrasive unless it is really worn down, then they work good on small wheels.
Trizacts are by far one of the greatest belts ever invented, all I use is stainless and they last a long time, on carbon steel I'm sure they would last a really long time.

Trugrits prices seem a little high for them though, I believe I bought mine from Supergrit.

Brandant, I don't think you can go wrong with these wheels, it's just a matter of attaching it to the tooling arm, but like I said I found a 1 1/4" x 1 1/4 piece of steel shipped to my door for $30.00. I know some machines are 1 1/2" but that shouldn't be much more. looking at this now I wish I'd have bought it years ago.
 
bladegrinder said:
Cliff, the wheel came with the marks and drill divot hole and appeared to be perfectly balanced, I was kind of surprised. it was pretty much...tap in the bearings, drill and tap the tooling arm, install the wheel and let her rip. it performs well.
I like hollow grinding and that's mostly all I've ever done except for flat grinding the occasional kitchen knives. like I've said...for $130.00 I might get a 14" or 16" in the future.

The belt in the picture is a Trizact gatorback. after starting with ceramic belts I finish with Trizacts, a 160 is around 120 grit and a 45 is around 400 grit. their a different kind of animal though, water will mess them up and a small wheel will fracture the abrasive unless it is really worn down, then they work good on small wheels.
Trizacts are by far one of the greatest belts ever invented, all I use is stainless and they last a long time, on carbon steel I'm sure they would last a really long time.

Trugrits prices seem a little high for them though, I believe I bought mine from Supergrit.

Brandant, I don't think you can go wrong with these wheels, it's just a matter of attaching it to the tooling arm, but like I said I found a 1 1/4" x 1 1/4 piece of steel shipped to my door for $30.00. I know some machines are 1 1/2" but that shouldn't be much more. looking at this now I wish I'd have bought it years ago.
Click to expand...
I already made the purchase. My new wheel is on its way. I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas now.
 
Cool, let us know how you like it. don't be tempted to put any grease in the hub with the bearings.
one thing I did do was put the bearings in the freezer for about half an hour. they went in nicely though, I really don't think it was needed.

Like I said the rubber felt kind of soft but my old 20 yr plus wheel was hard as all get out. grinding on the new one was almost like air ride seats in a truck, I liked it. I've ground several knives on it so far and don't foresee any problems.:D
 
Thanks for the info Steve. I looked at them on Trugrits site that Daniel recommended, I will check the Supergrit's site. I have seen them in pictures from other makers and for some reason the more I looked at that belt, the more intrigued I became about them!!

There was someone, I want say it was Bladeforums.com. I rarely go there anymore but they had a wheel made that was about 18-20" That may be off but it was huge. I forget what they paid for it but they loved the larger wheel! I am not sure I want to sit straddle of that big of a wheel. It brings up horror stories to the mind. Straddling that belt and it snapping!!
 
C Craft said:
Thanks for the info Steve. I looked at them on Trugrits site that Daniel recommended, I will check the Supergrit's site. I have seen them in pictures from other makers and for some reason the more I looked at that belt, the more intrigued I became about them!!

There was someone, I want say it was Bladeforums.com. I rarely go there anymore but they had a wheel made that was about 18-20" That may be off but it was huge. I forget what they paid for it but they loved the larger wheel! I am not sure I want to sit straddle of that big of a wheel. It brings up horror stories to the mind. Straddling that belt and it snapping!!
Click to expand...

I have a 20" and I love it, but I'm also still getting use to it. Bruce Bump built one with a wheel off of a tank.
 
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