Here’s the latest from me. I’ve switched over to the CBN wheels for my grinding and I think I’m happy. I use Diamondwheel’s 4 3/4” diameter 3/16” for round grind and gullet/raker removal and I sprung for one of Cowlitz River Rigging’s CBN Square grind wheels. At $300 it was a bit of a risk considering I had no idea what angles were set up in the wheel. It’s also an electroplated wheel so the abrasive is only skin deep. I was reassured it would be good for “hundreds of chains” and could be plated again for half the original cost.
When talking with the fellow at Cowlitz I was told the wheel would only work on the Simington swing arm, not on a Silvey RSII. After using it on the Simington I think the Silvey certainly could be set up to use it.
I went from one extreme to the other when trying to find a suitable grind and found the best (so far) by moving the chain in as far as possible and lowering the chain holder as low as you can go.
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Here are the results on a 3/8 .063. I was able to get this with very little material removal. It went very fast. There were a few cutters where the side plate didn’t fully develop and a few where I just nicked the chassis. I was having trouble getting the chain to lie flat in the holder (new .063) and I think that contributed to those exceptions.
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The wheel is 6 3/4” in diameter and is steel (heavy). There is NO dust and no dressing the wheel. That contributes to the speed of the operation. I back my grinder up to my gunsafe and the iron filings bounce off the door and fall to the floor where I can vacuum them up.
It’s great. The absence of the dust and no dressing is what I’m happiest with. The grinding is at least as good as with a stone wheel and maybe could be better with more experience .
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I’m very happy with all this. I will probably move it over to the Silvey and give it a try. I’ll measure the distance from the chain holder to the bottom of the wheel and lower the slide on the Silvey to match. It should run fine.
Edit: I was so pleased with the outcome I forgot to mention a big CON concerning the Cowlitz wheel. It didn’t fit my 1” arbor. It should have, it’s advertised as having a 1” hole. It came in at .980 as best as I could measure. Wasn’t too big a deal for me as I have access to a lathe, and was able to get it just right. But for someone who does not and paid $300, I recon it’d be a big deal. I called Cowlitz and was told they were aware and were working to get it fixed with the manufacturer.
