Dave, I was an engineer for 41 years. I was also HSE for all the grinding wheels throughout the factory. We used wet, dry and diamond grinding wheels, all a pain to set up and keep cleaned and true. Then, one day we had a belted grinder for some special parts and wow, what a difference. Once the belt had its angles set up, we were knocking out hundreds of these parts out every day. Four fold the numbers with the previous old grinding wheels we had.
To the point of this essay, the pro edge take less of the gouges steel on the grind, also form the perfect angle every time and polish to a very fine edge, which you don't get with a grinding wheel, believe me! Once set up, you can go back and forth to re-grind, or I should say re-polish, your gouges edge, just change the grit size, not the whole grinding wheel.
Even if you move the grinding angle from one angle to another, you will always go back and the previous angle, which is always correct.
I tried wet stones, sold them soon after. To slow and you send more time grinding than turning.
I will say one other thing, I do use a grinding wheel, to reprofile a gouge, or to take away surplus steel, but do not use it grind to the finished gouge.
Hope this helps, we have all been there, and yes they are expensive I agree, but I think you will not go back to wet wheels again.
Kelvin
