CBN wheel questions

I use a 3/16" on my 3/8 pitch chain that I use a 7/32" file on. I'm no help on the smaller sizes, I'm sorry.

One word of advice on CBN wheels though. The less expensive ones usually have steel bodies; the one you linked on Amazon does, too. The first one I bought was a less expensive steel one just like that one, and that thing is HEAVY compared to one with an aluminum disk.

That extra weight may make the grinder's head sag down closer to your chain due to extra load on the spring; I don't know how sturdy the spring is on that particular machine. The other thing is that it takes much longer to spool up to speed than an aluminum wheel. I don't think it hurts anything unless you cycle your machine on and off repeatedly on short cycles; that may be hard on the capacitor. I tend to turn mine on and do all the teeth on one side of the chain before I turn it off, and I haven't had any problem with mine. Just pointing out a couple of the differences so you will be aware of them ahead of time.

Oh, and even my cheap steel CBN wheel is a GREAT improvement over the regular pink abrasives. They really do cut much cooler and easier. You won't be sorry for investing in one if you use your grinder much. Mine is usually reserved for evening out damaged or really out of whack chains, and it works great for that.

 

You’re certainly welcome. I only have one CBN wheel, and also one diamond wheel for carbide chains. The CBN is labeled as an 80 grit, and although it will leave small burrs on some of the teeth I grind outward on, they don’t seem to hurt anything and the chain seems almost as sharp as hand filed.

The diamond wheel is finer, maybe 120 or so, but since it’s not cutting steel it’s not a very useful comparison anyway.

Hope that helps a little.

 

I'm following right along as I'm seriously debating pulling the trigger on CBN wheels myself. Dressing stone grinding wheels, getting grit all over my work area and in the air (especially during winter when I can't leave the door to the outside open) is getting really old. I'm just guessing based on my experience in the trade, but I would think 80 grit would be great for roughing down rocked teeth but would leave a relatively rough grind finish. I wouldn't want to have to keep swapping wheels between roughing and finishing so in my mind, going with a finer grit wheel and taking multiple lighter passes makes sense. Once you get the technique down it goes smoothly.

As to your original question about 1/8" wheels Eric VW , back when I was still grinding 0.325 chain (round, not square) the 1/8" wheels worked great for that application. You'll have plenty of room to plunge a 1/8" wide full radius wheel into that tooth, and plenty of adjustment with the machine to achieve whatever tooth profile you're after.

 

Had this wheel for years. Best one I have ever used.

 

Yes, we bought 3 CBN wheels, not sure what grit they are, but they work great.
Chainsaw Sharpening Wheels | Super Abrasive CBN

Top 2 are what you need for round grind. The raker wheel is nice too.
The little bit of grove on the tooth is fine, a file leaves little grooves too.
Too fine of a grit will burn the tooth worse. These are more $$ than the Amazon ones, but I believe are a lot better quality. Had these for several years too.

 

These are what I run, I will never use wheels you have to dress.

 

Once I used Kevin’s grinder at Denny’s GTG, I was hooked and bought all 3 wheels.

 

I bought a Stihl USG grinder the other day and one of the first things the dealer said was how unhappy he was with the CBN's. He didn't like the quality of the grind, he is particular. I was looking on Amazon, and I didn't find one that has the 12mm arbor. This is for .404 80-gauge harvester chain. I am currently using a 3/16 Belsaw/Frawley wheel. I will say it does leave a good-looking sharp cutter. Not displeased and like everyone else looking for a better mouse trap.

 

Found one that fits...Chainsaw Sharpening Wheels | Super Abrasive CBN

 

Thank you, Jeff. If I understand correctly, these are the ones you have and are happy with them? Are they aluminum or steel disk? I most likely could not find that bit of info. I had read on the chain sharpening thread to watch out for the steel; they seemed to weigh the grinder down in the time it took to spin it up to speed. In searching for the better mouse trap, I honestly don't know what I like/dislike or need. The wheel I have now is a 5"x 3/16x 12mm its supposed to be 5 3/4". I am spending a little time trying to figure out what angles to run in frozen spruce. Not much information on angle for 404 harvester chain. I run Oregon 18HX and have their #'s for what it is and Stihl gives a nice chart for angles for the different chain sizes. I am splitting the difference in-between the two. I have run enough of the factory 18HX and it's good. Now I'm trying the in-between, then what Stihl's chart recommends. There is not much info out there for harvester chain sharpening. I am assuming that most just keep it at factory specs. Cutting pine in the South's plantations, the Midwest's hardwoods or the North's Boreal forest, it's the same specs. Our frozen tight ringed softwood spruce must cut like a hardwood. Other issue is these machines have so much power and bar pressure on the wood, the generic angles work. I have to admit I like the testing to find out. Monday tries a new grind. Even if only saving a second per cut over the course of thousands of cords the testing will pay off.

 

The finer the grit the nicer the edge will be. 60 and 80 grit CBN are the most popular. If you keep from rocking your chains and just take a hair off when re sharpening, these work very good. If the chain is rocked, I take several small passes as they leave a less than desirable finish when you try to take a big cut.

 

This is exactly why I went with CBN. Having the grit all over everything in the shop was killing me.

I have my Oregon grinder set up for the cutters and a Northern Tool grinder with a flat wheel for setting depth.
I am not sure where I bought them, but it was an online deal from somewhere. Diamond wheels.com??.............................maybe???????

 

I square grind my chainsaw chain on a Silvey Razor Sharp II. My interest in the CBN is for a Stihl USG and 18hx harvester chain used on one of my firewood processors. As far as rocking a chain goes it would be a single rock that is lodged in the bark or a frozen patch on the log. The operators are good at looking at what they can see on the log and getting debris off, however some nicks happen. Also, the 18HX 404 .80-gauge harvester chain is a semi chisel and is quite durable compared to chainsaw chain.

 

The standard CBN will work just fine for this application then.

 

Who makes a good cbn wheel for a Silvey 510?