Oregon Grinding Wheels

[w8ye]

Taking notice of the place of manufacture, I have seen Oregon branded 5-3/4" grinding wheels manufactured in Mexico, Canada, & Italy.

I would assume that I would see additional sources if I looked long enough?

Which are the better ones?

While we are commenting, what about the none Oregon branded wheels. All the ones I've seen were made in China?

 

[blades]

Can't comment on where made, haven't been paying attention. On the other hand this is a item contracted out to spec by them, but with out doing research on the conglomerate as a whole I do not know if Oregon has a vested interest in a grinding wheel mfg. anywhere. Other than that I have been avoiding Oregon wheels due to the pricing structure. I can actually have wheels made, in quantity for less. It is a lot harder now than it used to be as the bean counters of corporations are pulling the strings. I have a commercial grinding shop some of my wheels have increased in price over the last several years close to 400%. Due to international conglomerates the grind wheel mfg industry has under gone some radical changes, not always for the better. Norton ( one of the largest) stopped stocking wheels under 14" as on the shelf items and are now listed as special order, 6-8 week delay at exorbitant pricing. A French firm now owns a supplier I have used for years, most of what I use has also been moved to the special order bracket. Additionally I have to go through a distributor ( I use to be a distributor, but the minimum monthly order has risen so high I can't do that anymore) now adding an additional markup to my cost.

 

[w8ye]

I bought some Timber Tuff Chinese wheels from TSC for $14.95 each. The center hole is not well defined and there is some wobble to them. I can make a nice enough chain with the Chinese wheels but they are certainly a poor excuse for a grinding wheel. To me they seem to be slow to grind and will burn the tooth easily.

To search on Google, they are $10.75 ea. at some places.

 

[w8ye]

Bailey's has the Molemab 5-3/4" grinding wheels in the common thicknesses for $11.99

These are for the common Oregon style grinders.

Baileys

These wheels are better than the Chinese ones?

 

[CTYank]

Bailey's has the Molemab 5-3/4" grinding wheels in the common thicknesses for $11.99

These are for the common Oregon style grinders.

Baileys

These wheels are better than the Chinese ones?

I've two "molemab" 5 3/4" wheels on the way from Bailey's as replacements for the 1/8" and 3/16" wobblers that came with my NT grinder. The OEM wheels gave decent results, especially the 3/16", but I don't like contact that wildly inconsistent.

Video tape after the game.

 

[w8ye]

If you are careful you can turn out a decent cutting chain with one of those poor wobble wheels but it is nicer and less frustrating to have a good wheel to begin with.

 

[CTYank]

Yes, the molemab (italian) wheels are much better than the OEM NT/TimberTuff wheels, much less radial and axial runout. Not perfect. Reportedly their abrasive is a bit finer than the OEM wheels'. 80 grit vs 60 grit. For essentially the same price, the molemab wheels are a true no-brainer compared to OEM.

One of my concerns with the OEM wheels was that the imbalance, of the 3/16" especially, was torturing the motor bearings. Pulled out the carborundum brick real quick and did some truing. Still not great, must relate to dynamic balance.

I'll use the molemab wheels where I'm going for a nice job on a chain that just needs a touch, and the OEMs for rocked chains.

 

[blades]

pay attention to your arbor size, there is a slight diameter difference between the metric and 7/8". They are very close ( only good for hand-grenades and horse shoes). That is enough to make for a lot of vibration, mistakenly ascribed to wheel balance when the wheel is floating on the arbor, make a bushing from some tape or shim stock. That tape used for sealing heating duct joints works well.

 

[blades]

Up date One of the suppliers I use has recently added a different chain grinding wheel to their inventory. I have some on order and will report back after I receive and try them out.
Note: Molemabs while well balanced are slightly harder or of a finer grit than the Oregon. They do not expose new abrasive quickly so tend to load up very quickly and as a result will start to burn teeth, even with a very light touch.