Grinding Question

T

turkeyshooter

Active Member
The wheel used for hollow grinding that came with my Wilton is a bit rounded on the edges. Older model Wilton so probably used quite a bit. Is that wheel toast or is it suppose to be like that? Have not tried the hollow grind yet. Still trying to get the flat grind down. Thanks to Josh for his tip I read in this forum with regard to using painters tape for a guide line. Something that simple will make it much easier for this old bird to see. One more thing. Right now I have leather on the face of my flat platen. Do you think putting a piece of glass over the platen will help with my attempt at a better grind? Plunge cuts are my troublesome area on the flat grind so far. So I will try less pressure & the tape. What is the idea behind adjusting the belt to approximately 1/8 over the edge of the platen? I guess I need to try that too. Thanks for any advice in advance!
 
How round is a "bit" ?
Back in the 80's it was suggested to me by a pro maker to round off the edges of my wheel just a "bit" (1/8 +-) to aid in smooth plunge lines but the trade off is, you can no longer get crisp cuts for other projects. The alternative was buying more than one wheel. Now I stick with a square edge wheel and just hang the belt over for smooth radius'ssss.:rolleyes: Depending on the size of the blade, an 1/8" isn't much. This works best with finer grit belts in j-weight.

Get rid of the leather, you'll never get a true flat grind with a soft material on your platen. It allows the belt to bunch up above your blade, rounding the top edge over.

I hope this helps a little.
Rudy
 
I dont do much flat grinding anymore,but when I did,I also used tape to keep the plunge cuts straight,And clamped a stop block to the work rest to keep going to far,past the plunge cut.And I didnt go quite 1/8 past the platen,just past it! And you can kind of round off the sides of your platen also.
Ithink every contact wheel I own has a rounded edge,and they work just fine.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Dan
 
Thanks for the advice. I will get rid of the leather. Here is a look at my first attempt at the hollow grind. Looks like I need to follow through a bit more towards the end, but this is definitely an improvement over past attempts. I will send pic of the wheel.
 

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Hey all, don't forget that thbe ceramic will wear in time especially if you do a lot of conture grinding like I do. And it will show up on the grind you're doing. Perhaps some heat on the glass, some clean up and you can turn the glass over for severall more blades. Frank
 
Hollow Grinding

Also what helps you to keep from getting too much grind in the center of the blade. I have had the tendency to burn through in the center of the grind. My tire on my wheel definitely needs replacing. Looks like I can get a replacement tire through Sheffields for my Wilton.
 
http://home.comcast.net/~eellis2/EllisCustomKnifeworks/ceramicplatenliners.html

Here's a start and I believe Tracy stocks them also.

"Also what helps you to keep from getting too much grind in the center of the blade. I have had the tendency to burn through in the center of the grind."

Practice, practice, practice.
You have to keep in mind how thick your stock is. Once you've reached your scribed edge line you you want to walk the grind up the blade with the bottom of the wheel without grinding anything in the middle. Depending on how high you bring it, you're almost making a flat grind from the edge to the actual hollow.Clear as mud ????:eek: This is assuming you're using a 8" wheel. The larger the wheel, the higher the initial grind will be relative to the thickness of the stock.
This stuff is easier to do than to explain it. I hope this made sense.:confused:

Rudy
 
Good thread and information so far.
I have a some ceramic glass here along with along with some instructions and additional pictures on installing the stuff.
It will wear and like Frank says, heat it off, flip and use the back side.

You may not need to replace or re-cover the wheel. You might try taking it to a machine shop and see if they can true it up for you.
 
Tracy, You sell almost every little thing that can be used in knife making but you also have willingness to share any knowledge that may have to make any of those things work better ! Frank
 
Yes, thanks Rudy and everyone else for your help! My motor just went out on my Wilton. I happened to have a spare Baldor that I rigged in place. Guess I will get my motor rebuilt while I order some new contact wheels. Thanks Again!
 
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