Harig Super 612 Wet Grinder, Walker Ceramax Magnet, Teflon Ways

[Dr Stan]

I'm seriously considering the purchase of a Harig Super 612 Wet Grinder, Walker Ceramax Magnet, Teflon Ways for $795.00.  The dealer also has a Powermatic of the same size for the same price.  I've corresponded with the dealer (by the way he's trustworthy and I've bought from him before) about the two machines.

The Powermatic is newer and consequently has fewer hours on the machine, but is much lighter than the Harig.

The Harig is older and more hours, but it also has teflon ways.  He told me the spindle bearings are starting to growl so I looked at the tech website and they are pricey to say the least.  A FleaBay search turned up NOS Barden bearings for way less and reading up on rebuilding a grinder spindle the stress was on CLEAN ! ! !  Effectively set up a temp clean room.

So my questions are:

1) Which one would you tend to pick?

2)  Anyone here have any grinder spindle rebuilding experience?  (I've rebuilt many different spindles, just never a surface grinder.)

3)  Has anyone purchased replacement bearings from a source other than Harig?

Thanks in advance.

Stan

[PixMan]

First question is does the Powermatic come with the same tooling?

Next, are they both manual reciprocation, or is the Powermatic a hydraulic?

The Harig 612 is a well regarded grinder, I know nothing about the Powermatic. I have never taken apart a surface grinder spindle, but know well from other spindles that cleanliness is secondary to getting the bearings of the right grade, aligning and preloading the right way.

What is the spindle drive method on each? When it's a direct drive as it is on mine, the bearings are super critical for a good finish as everything from the motor is magnified. If it's belt driven, you have the belt helping to diminish any feedback from sketchy motor bearings.

Tough choice, Dr. Stan.

Ken

[Dr Stan]

Both come with a good mag chuck and are manual machines. In addition the Harig has a dust collector. As part of the deal I'm going to buy a Weldon end mill sharpener and a fixture for resharpening the ends of end mills.

The Harig is a direct drive and the Powermatic is a belt drive.

I've never run a Powermatic surface grinder, but my Logan lathe was built by Powermatic and am quite satisfied with its performance. I understand they also make excellent wood working equipment. The first surface grinder I ever ran was a Brown & Sharpe Micro Master. It spoiled me as it had hydraulic feeds, and overhead dresser and one could split tenths (.0001") with it. Not bad for being on board a ship.

A major plus is that the Harig is still made & supported here in the US, so parts (the ones I cannot make which should be minimal) are available from Harig or on FleaBay.

I'm going to take a stethoscope with me to listen to both spindles and can run test cuts on both machines. I do have a couple of parallels that need touched up from drill bit damage.

[Dr Stan]

Brought the Harig home yesterday.  Need to finish cleaning it up, buy some wheels, build a coolant system, and install a longer cord so I can plug it into my RPC.  Found the manual on line for free just need to install a new cartridge in my printer.  One more item on my continuously growing to do list.

BTW, it was colder than a well diggers a$$ in Chicago!  I grew up just south of Cleveland and moved south soon after my 18th birthday.  Received a good reminder as to why.