Resinoid Grinder Wheels

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To bring up the topic of clean chains which was mentioned earlier in the thread... After I sharpen a chain, or think its dirty for any reason I will do a few quick progressively deeper cuts in clean material. In my mind this cleans off most of the crud without grinding it in.
 
I’ve been looking into putting a different “aftermarket” grinding wheel on my bench grinder, is the above vitrified bond not the best option?
That is a high quality grinding wheel.

Tecomec makes most of the grinders for Oregon, so 'aftermarket' may not really apply.

The actual wheels may vary slightly in grit, but most people would consider that to be a first tier replacement wheel.

Philbert
 
That is a high quality grinding wheel.

Tecomec makes most of the grinders for Oregon, so 'aftermarket' may not really apply.

The actual wheels may vary slightly in grit, but most people would consider that to be a first tier replacement wheel.

Philbert


And as far as I can understand, (correct me if I’m wrong) this is the ceramic type wheel, that lasts a lot longer than the common/normal ones that come out “factory” w the grinders. And are they to be dressed w a dressing stone or left alone?
 
No. This is a standard, vitrified, grinding wheel.

Tecomec offers them in different grades of grit, hardness, and wear. They are color coded to tell them apart. White, pink, brown, gray, etc.

I have found that wheel to perform similar to the "pink" wheels (which I like). They still need to be dressed.

The abrasive is still aluminum oxide; not ceramic, not diamond, not CBN (lots of different types!).

Cheap grinders come with cheap grinding wheels. This is a good quality wheel, comparable to what comes on Oregon grinders.

Philbert
 
If you look back at the first post in this thread, there is the abrasive (type, size, etc.), and how it is held together.

Vitrified wheels are fired in a kiln. Resinoid wheels are bonded together by glue (essentially). There are also metal wheels that have abrasive plating.

Ceramic abrasive wheels are more commonly available for the 8" diameter grinders.

Philbert
 
This is the video I watched, that put me onto checking into trying to find and use a ceramic wheel...and kindofwhy.



I’m just trying to find out which works the best. I’ve sharpened chains for several years on my timber tuff grinder....just looking to better things. Figured I’d find the best wheel, use it a couple months, then go on to buy a Oregon 520.

So in your opinion, you’d advise me to go with?

Thank you for your help.

(tree service )
 
Your TimberTuff likely came with modest wheels. Grinding with better wheels would be like cutting with better chains, right off the bat.

Grinding wheels get dull, just like sandpaper. Instead of throwing the wheels away (like sandpaper), we 'sharpen' grinder wheels by dressing them, to expose fresh abrasive. I lightly dress my wheels about once per chain loop, or whenever grinding slows down. This is different from dressing the wheel for profile / shape. Doing this works well with the basic, 'pink' (aluminum oxide 'AO', vitrified) wheels, IF they are good quality (Oregon, Tecomec, MoleMab, etc.). $15 - $30 each.

The resinoid wheels (the focus of this thread) use a similar abrasive, held in a black matrix (look and smell like cut-off wheels), that have less tendency to overheat or 'burn' cutters, for people having that problem. About $10 - $14 each.

The video you posted also shows bonded wheels: cubic boron nitrate ('CBN') abrasive bonded to steel discs. Unfortunately, one of the companies selling these is named 'Diamond Wheel', so people assume that the abrasive is diamond dust. $120 each for basic ones. To complicate things, they DO sell discs with diamond abrasive FOR CARBIDE TIPPED CHAINS ONLY. A lot of guys like CBN wheels because they generate less dust. My experience with them was not exceptional, so I prefer the AO wheels, and sharpen outside.

The video guy apparently has modified his Oregon / Tecomec grinder to accept the ceramic wheels designed to fit the Oregon automatic grinder ($50 - $60 each). Could provide good performance. Don't know what the cost is for the modification. A lot of people would be interested if someone made these wheels in sizes for the basic Oregon grinders (without modification), but . . . .

My recommendation is to start by trying some better quality vitrified wheels on your current grinder, and dress them frequently. See if that makes a difference.

And please let us know what you try, and what you find out.

Philbert
 
Your TimberTuff likely came with modest wheels. Grinding with better wheels would be like cutting with better chains, right off the bat.

Grinding wheels get dull, just like sandpaper. Instead of throwing the wheels away (like sandpaper), we 'sharpen' grinder wheels by dressing them, to expose fresh abrasive. I lightly dress my wheels about once per chain loop, or whenever grinding slows down. This is different from dressing the wheel for profile / shape. Doing this works well with the basic, 'pink' (aluminum oxide 'AO', vitrified) wheels, IF they are good quality (Oregon, Tecomec, MoleMab, etc.). $15 - $30 each.

The resinoid wheels (the focus of this thread) use a similar abrasive, held in a black matrix (look and smell like cut-off wheels), that have less tendency to overheat or 'burn' cutters, for people having that problem. About $10 - $14 each.

The video you posted also shows bonded wheels: cubic boron nitrate ('CBN') abrasive bonded to steel discs. Unfortunately, one of the companies selling these is named 'Diamond Wheel', so people assume that the abrasive is diamond dust. $120 each for basic ones. To complicate things, they DO sell discs with diamond abrasive FOR CARBIDE TIPPED CHAINS ONLY. A lot of guys like CBN wheels because they generate less dust. My experience with them was not exceptional, so I prefer the AO wheels, and sharpen outside.

The video guy apparently has modified his Oregon / Tecomec grinder to accept the ceramic wheels designed to fit the Oregon automatic grinder ($50 - $60 each). Could provide good performance. Don't know what the cost is for the modification. A lot of people would be interested if someone made these wheels in sizes for the basic Oregon grinders, but . . . .

My recommendation is to start by trying some better quality vitrified wheels on your current grinder, and dress them frequently. See if that makes a difference.

And please let us know what you try, and what you find out.

Philbert
Awhile back I picked up the green Tecomec wheel posted above. It’s amazing how many chains can be ground without dressing. Easily 10-1 over the cheap pink wheels
 

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