Recommended Wheel Hardness
- Thread starter MT Knives
- Start date
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
The reason you commonly see 70 durometer is because its the most commonly available hardeness. Most grinders use them simply because they are the most readily available.
Typically the softer the wheel, the slower it removes stock, but the better the finish. The reverse is also true....a harder wheel will remove stock more quickly, but leaves a "harsher" finish. Along those same lines, a serrated wheel removes stock faster, but leaves a rougher finish.....a plain (non-serrated) wheel removes stock slower, but leaves a better finish. If your application is going to be mostly "hard hogging", and your not concerned about finish, a harder wheel will hold up better/longer, but as with everything, theres a give-n-take. In this case you'll likely realize shorter belt life with increased wheel hardness.
In practical application, a 70 durometer is sort of "middle of the road"......its hard enough that the corners of the wheel don't get easily rounded off, removes steel fairly rapidly, but is soft enough to provide a slight cushion for the belt, helping to prevent "grain strip".
Personally, my 10" wheel (used mainly for profiling and heavy stock removal) is a urethane wheel, 70 durometer, serrated. I had mine made by SunRay Inc.
The one application where I insist on the hardest wheel I can get is when converting a surface grinder to a belt..... the contact wheel on my surface grinder is a 100 durometer urethane. Using a 70 durometer wheel on a surface grinder will cause your work to come out with a convex surface due to the "give" in the wheel, and the down pressure exerted by the surface grinder.
In the end, between a 70 and 90 durometer wheel, you will not be able to notice a great deal of difference when it comes to the rate at which each removes material.
Typically the softer the wheel, the slower it removes stock, but the better the finish. The reverse is also true....a harder wheel will remove stock more quickly, but leaves a "harsher" finish. Along those same lines, a serrated wheel removes stock faster, but leaves a rougher finish.....a plain (non-serrated) wheel removes stock slower, but leaves a better finish. If your application is going to be mostly "hard hogging", and your not concerned about finish, a harder wheel will hold up better/longer, but as with everything, theres a give-n-take. In this case you'll likely realize shorter belt life with increased wheel hardness.
In practical application, a 70 durometer is sort of "middle of the road"......its hard enough that the corners of the wheel don't get easily rounded off, removes steel fairly rapidly, but is soft enough to provide a slight cushion for the belt, helping to prevent "grain strip".
Personally, my 10" wheel (used mainly for profiling and heavy stock removal) is a urethane wheel, 70 durometer, serrated. I had mine made by SunRay Inc.
The one application where I insist on the hardest wheel I can get is when converting a surface grinder to a belt..... the contact wheel on my surface grinder is a 100 durometer urethane. Using a 70 durometer wheel on a surface grinder will cause your work to come out with a convex surface due to the "give" in the wheel, and the down pressure exerted by the surface grinder.
In the end, between a 70 and 90 durometer wheel, you will not be able to notice a great deal of difference when it comes to the rate at which each removes material.