Great progress you're making
Question regarding your wire wheel. What are you using? I've had poor luck finding a "good" wire wheel for my bench grinder, they just don't last very long. I turn them every so often so they don't flatten down, and they also work better with less force once flipped, but they don't seem to go far before the wires start flying out.
When I was young, over at our company's shop, they seemed to last much longer, but I suppose like everything today, nothing is built as good as it used to be.
Sorry for jumping your thread, but any thoughts?
Thanks