Diamond dresser

[Kidneycutter]

I've been grinding spindle moulder blanks and as a consequence, the abrasive on my big wheel has dulled considerably. I have a dressing block but this doesn't bring the abrasive to its original cutting condition. I was wondering whether a diamond dresser would be better. There are loads on eBay which are a few quid ..are they any good?

 

[Rorschach]

I have one that cost about a quid from China, it works great and has seen plenty of use, still got lots of the diamond left on it. Having tried this I would never buy an expensive one.

 

[Kidneycutter]

Thanks, will order a cheap one.

 

[Trevanion]

I find them much better than the devil stones or the wheel dressers on a handle, they cut and shape stones much quicker.

 

[ColeyS1]

They're fantastic !

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[SammyQ]

Trevanion? Wheel dressers are a different tool: for cleaning "glazed" wheels where the surface voids are full of gunk. The rotating wheels 'bounce' a little as the grinder rotates and dig out the offending foreign material. They also reveal ' fresh' stone material. You can then apply the diamond dresser to give a flat or slightly convex grinding surface on the wheel.
P.S. both are gritty processes; goggles on, mouth SHUT...DAMHIKT....

Sam

 

[Inspector]

I have a lifetime supply of diamond dressers in the form of worn road saw/concrete saw blades. I got them by asking a couple guys using one to cut the concrete floor of the plant for new milling machine foundations. The blades are about 18" (450mm) across. I cut the segments with an angle grinder but a plasma cutter works faster. Stick a handle on the pie shaped piece to protect yourself and dress away. A saw blade will make about 2 dozen.

Pete

 

[SammyQ]

Love it! Just my kind of gadget!

Sam

 

[Trevanion]

Wheel dressers are a different tool: for cleaning "glazed" wheels where the surface voids are full of gunk.

I suppose that does make more sense if you're using the coarser wheels with an open grain so you really do need to "pull" out the material more than you would with a white/pink wheel. I only ever really use the finer white/pink wheels so I always found the diamond dresser much better for cleaning them rather than the wheel dresser, I guess they don't get as congested with swarf like the coarse ones do so they don't need such an aggressive tool to pull it out.

Learn something new everyday

 

[SammyQ]

Yup. No sense in abrading a fine particle size, white or pink wheel. The coarser 60 or 80 grit ones though can really load up with, say, aluminium and need cleaned to expose a fresh grit surface.

Sam

 

[Inspector]

Sam you should NEVER grind anything on a grinder except for ferrous materials. Steel yes. Brass, bronze, copper and aluminum no. They load up a wheel and the friction heats up the imbedded metal in the rim of the wheel. That makes it expand and the wheels explode. Grinding steel will make the wheel dull, surface gets smooth. The wheel dresser removes the glazed surface exposing sharp material.
Again don’t grind soft metals on a bench grinder. That’s where sanders shine.

Pete

 

[Trevanion]

Again don’t grind soft metals on a bench grinder. That’s where sanders shine.

What about using it to sharpen me pencils? :wink:

 

[AES]

Inspector took the words right out of my mouth. Use an aluminium oxide abrasive belt, disc, whatever, but NO ali, copper, or other soft metals on grinder wheels. Apart from being dangerous, it's SLOWER than abrasive or even a file, and as the wheel gets glazed (which it will, quite quickly) the grinding will go even slower than when you started off!

Pencil sharpening? I got a real cheapo from Aldi/Lidl (just like the ones teacher had on her desk at school). Great buy, but if not in stock at your local, a chisel, penknife, etc, plus finish off with a QUICK touch on the belt or disc sander is FAR preferable (IMO).

 

[Phil Pascoe]

When I was at school we used to be sent into drawing exams with a newly honed inch chisel specifically for sharpening pencils. Probably be classed as a weapon now.

 

[SammyQ]

:shock: ...Pete, thanks mate. I knew none of that. Just picked aluminium out of my head as the first thing I knew might be ground into shape and would clog a wheel. Coloured me impressed and "Thank you" for the 'heads up'. :shock:

Sam

P.S. edit: as a biologist, I know aluminium dust is toxic, even in high concentrations on one's skin, so if anyone is sanding it, dust extraction is a total and utter necessity.

 

[woodbloke66]

Again don’t grind soft metals on a bench grinder. That’s where sanders shine.

What about using it to sharpen me pencils? :wink:

Nah...you don't need one of them. Matt at Workshop Heaven has just the very gizmo and you can even get a posh leather holder for it to hang on your on site tool belt - Rob

 

[Rorschach]

Again don’t grind soft metals on a bench grinder. That’s where sanders shine.

What about using it to sharpen me pencils? :wink:

Nah...you don't need one of them. Matt at Workshop Heaven has just the very gizmo and you can even get a posh leather holder for it to hang on your on site tool belt - Rob

You know I have never thought about using a plane to sharpen a pencil!

 

[Inspector]

Everyone knows you sharpen pencils on a 3 hp wood lathe. :wink:

Pete

 

[Trevanion]

Everyone knows you sharpen pencils on a 3 hp wood lathe. :wink:

:lol: Gets me every time!

[youtube]DLCfgukYM-Y[/youtube]

 

[AES]

Brilliant! Beats my hand-turn Aldi cheapo every time.

Can it do anything else?