Wet and dry grinding wheels.

[Silfi]

I would appreciate advice on the use of bench grinders and wet wheels to sharpen chisels and plane irons.
Up till now I have been happy using a white (aluminium oxide?) wheel on an ordinary bench grinder and then a Scheppach wet grinding wheel. This has produced a sharpness which is OK for me, however recently both wheels have lost their 'cutting edge'and take a long time to resharpen.
I purchased a cheap block from Ebay supposedly coated with diamond particles but this has had no effect on either wheel.
How do I restore the grinding effectiveness of both wheels?

 

[Jelly]

I find the Huntington dressers to be the only effective way to dress offhand grinding wheels.

I have a diamond for dressing surface and tool grinders, but the back pressure when doing that with a single point tool is well beyond what's controllable without a fixture.

 

[J-G]

I only ever use a single point Diamond Dresser and always by hand and no fixture of any kind - but then I did do a full 5 year apprenticeship and learned to sharpen all manner of tools by hand - including sub 1mm Ø drills (but they are done on a diamond wheel now).

It just needs time and experience, neither of which is in great supply!

 

[Sean Hellman]

I bought one from axminster, I think. Years ago and half the price, still going strong. Diamond Dressing Block
Cheap diamond abrasives can be a complete waste of money. If it is fit for purpose it will work, if not landfill.

 

[Silfi]

Thanks for your reply Sean. The block is out of stock at the moment but I have set an alert for it becoming available. Should have tried a decent quality one first!