# Grinding wheels for grinding the cutters on lathes etc. & slip stones



## Round in circles (Nov 20, 2014)

I went to visit a supposedly good tool shop today and said  what sort of  abrasive grinding wheels have you got for me to grind some high speed steel on to make some cutters for my lathe.
 The guy behind the counter scratched his head , looked blank and showed me a baby grindstone machine with a pair of real cheap & nasty carborundum wheels on it.

So I said, " They are usually some sort of white silicone grit material or a green material , you buy them as replacement wheels ". 
" Sorry mate ... We only have those grinders " ,he said .
  I then asked  about slip stones and was shown a range of 1/2 inch wide three inches long industrial diamond impregnated perforated nickel steel knife sharpeners .

 So my question is ... As I've not purchased a decent grinding wheel in donkey's years and have never purchased an India slip stone as I never wore one out or broke one  ( But some bugger did steal them over time) . 
 How do you guys and gals describe the wheels and slip stones / honing stones when you're asking for or ordering them ...UK  machinists , help here would be most helpful as well .


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## SG51Buss (Nov 20, 2014)

Sounds like you entered the wrong store.

Try googling "tool grinder" and "lathe bit grinding", then stand back.


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## Round in circles (Nov 21, 2014)

Thanks Steve, 
 I'll check them out in a few minutes .

 For 50 miles around here it appears that there is no such thing as a quality engineering tool shop ( it's all on-line these days )  , they all seem to sell to utter rubbish from cheap labour force countries . 
There is very little high quality precision engineering done in South Wales UK these days .

I've found one place  locally with 30 or so  cnc machines etc  , they get orders from all over the world .

There is not a guy in there under 25 yrs old , quite a few are over 65 yrs old .  
They simply ring up the distributors and ask for parts for the tools or the consumables for the machines . they run the JUSTIN TIME system & hold very very few stocks.

 I tried to get eyeball sight of a decent QCTP a while back .. It seems I'd have to travel a couple of hundred of miles to see any .


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## dave2176 (Nov 21, 2014)

The white wheel is aluminum oxide which is my choice for HSS. The green wheel is silicon carbide for use on carbide tools. Arkansas stones are common for final sharpening or touching up the edge of HSS. Simple oil or water stones like those used to sharpen a knife are useful as well. 

Dave


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## 12bolts (Nov 21, 2014)

It is a bit problematic finding stores that employ staff that know the basics of hardware. I know I needed to drive 100 km to my nearest city (Pop. 200 000)  to find a decent tool store and even then it took me a while to locate one there. Otherwise best I can suggest is find a small engineering shop and see if they have a local supplier for their consumables. I have also found the "farm centre" type places good for bearings, drill bits taps'n'dies etc

Cheers Phil


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## atlas ten (Apr 1, 2015)

It seams the world revolving around china. Every thing made there. I drive 160 km to city for any machine parts and tooling that i may find. Same goes for parts for antique pump engines. I have couple of them. Tried to get plug and wires. The young man at a local auto parts store was going to try sell me hi tension wire. Will not work with magneto. And for the plug he was searching for a tractor. I'm  still young for the interest that I have but I enjoy working on the old stuff.
Jack


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## stupoty (Apr 1, 2015)

Machine mart might have grinding wheels.

Shops I remember them , they were amazing things.

Stuart


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## davidh (Apr 1, 2015)

is the postage the problem if you were to order from USA companys ?   or is it duty and import fees ?


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## w9jbc (Apr 1, 2015)

generally speaking I use aluminum oxide (white) on HSS, silicon carbide (green) to rough out T/C then finish with a diamond wheel


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## Round in circles (Apr 1, 2015)

davidh said:


> is the postage the problem if you were to order from USA companys ?   or is it duty and import fees ?



 These days it feel like I'm buying half of the USA every time I import stuff from the USA  due to the taxes you levy what adds insult to injury is that I get slapped with even more taxes and handling fees  at this end and even more if it enters the UK 's Royal mail or Parcelforce  system instead of coming via an international carrier service.


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## w9jbc (Apr 1, 2015)

I mailed a lapel pin to a chap in England last year cost me just under $10 to mail it declared values was about $3


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## John Hasler (Apr 1, 2015)

Round in circles said:


> These days it feel like I'm buying half of the USA every time I import stuff from the USA  due to the taxes you levy…



Explain?


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## davidh (Apr 1, 2015)

yes, please explain. . .   i would not be opposed to helping with stuff you'd like shipped out of this country.  the post office here is dang easy to deal with as far i my experience goes.  certainly would be a bit more problematic if i were a manufacturer. . . . but as a person. . . no big deal on this end/.


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