Shopsmith Forums

what happened to the rubber-bonded abrasive wheel, Shopsmith used to sell this item but alas,no moreit seems.,the posesser of one of these can throw away his [hers] japanese water stones ,ceramic stones ,arkansas stones ,washita and diamondcoated stones and all the other stones too numerous to mention ,but take heart dear fellow woodworkers,cratex manufacturing co. still make them and a visit to the internetwilleasily find them. Buy one and you,ll enter a new world of sharpening you never new existed .Incidentaly if you posess a a diamond file you,ll find it ideal for dressing the wheel [not for sharpening tools ] Happy sharpening!

come on you woodcarvers out there ,.I,m waiting for you to defend your methods of sharpening with all kinds of expensive stones which are almost unused in my workshop,In my opinion all the long winded articles and books describing the best lubricant for a stone and discussion of every kind of stone from Charnley Forest to diamond bench stones ,are all cancelled by the beautiful quick and efficient RUBBER-BONDED ABRASIVE WHEEL!
I speak from 40 years experience as a self employed woodcarver,I too in the beginning read the books and sent many futile hours fiddling away with the latest thing in stones but in the words of the song "its all over now baby blue" Ted 766

Ted
The abrasive wheel may have been pulled due to a safety issue. If someone were to have the tip of the tool too high on the wheel it would catch the cutting edge on the tool and possibly pull the tool out of the operator's hand. They appear on EBay from time to time and go for a high price.
Bill

wa2crk wrote:Ted
The abrasive wheel may have been pulled due to a safety issue. If someone were to have the tip of the tool too high on the wheel it would catch the cutting edge on the tool and possibly pull the tool out of the operator's hand. They appear on EBay from time to time and go for a high price.
Bill

I'm curious how that's different from a standard grinding wheel. Wouldn't the same potential exist there too or is it just less likely?

I've seen the rubber bonded wheels in the old SS catalogs and wondered about them.

Ted
I believe that the softer surface of the rubber wheel will catch the tool more so than the surface of a grinding wheel. In the earlier SS catalogs I think the instructions were to hold the tool below the center of the wheel with the cutting edge down to prevent a catch. Holding the tool with the bevel down cutting edge up, is what will cause a catch and an unrestrained tool is dangerous. If you ever do any lathe turning and get a "catch" it will really get your heart rate up.
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:Ted
If you ever do any lathe turning and get a "catch" it will really get your heart rate up.
Bill V

Yup, it sure will:eek:

wa2crk wrote:Ted
The abrasive wheel may have been pulled due to a safety issue. If someone were to have the tip of the tool too high on the wheel it would catch the cutting edge on the tool and possibly pull the tool out of the operator's hand. They appear on EBay from time to time and go for a high price.
Bill

Yes, that may be the case, but it is just too bad because the Shopsmith Grinding Wheel Guard can easily be flipped with the open side to the back of the machine. Then when grinding from the rear of the shopsmith, the wheel will turn upward. Although the advertisement doesn't say the reversible part, the grinder manual does! http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/sh_grindingwheelguard.htm

charlese wrote:Yes, that may be the case, but it is just too bad because the Shopsmith Grinding Wheel Guard can easily be flipped with the open side to the back of the machine. Then when grinding from the rear of the shopsmith, the wheel will turn upward. Although the advertisement doesn't say the reversible part, the grinder manual does! http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/sh_grindingwheelguard.htm

Annnnd with a power pro, that 'reversing' is done from the control panel!:)

Trouble is that causes the grinding debris to fly 'up'. That becomes concern #2. But then the strip sander/lathe tool holder does the same thing!

P.S. Figgered out that the Power pro reversing capability allows simultaneous strip sander sharpening at the left(run in reverse) and lathe turning with no setup changes(other than speed/direction from the control panel).

I think youre right Bill ,that was my take on the subject ,too many accidents in home workshops, that could be avoided by fitting some sort of a shield so the tool could only be held the right way ,maybe thats why Shopsmith doesnt supply it now ,.they can still be bought elsewhere however,but caution is needed Ted

Hello everyone
the rubber wheel is also called a de-buring wheel.

You are correct about the soft wheel causeing problems when useing it like a normal grinding wheel.
I was told that you have to run the wheel in a way that the wheel is moveing away from the work,(Not into the wheel) this means to grind under the center line of the wheel, or to grind on the top from the back side of the wheel. as long as the wheel is moveing away from the work/tool being ground there will be no ketches.
Ive had one for ten years now and it still works great!
Just beacuse the wheel looks the same,dosent mean it should be use the same as a normal grinding wheel.
I belive you are right, Human error, has caused this idom to be pulled form many of the web sites that it use to be on.
At this time I do not know where to find the rubber-bonded abrasive wheel. but I belive it must still be out there. Good luck finding one.
If I find someone who still sells them I will post the adress.

Have a great day!
C.A.G.