What make is this surface grinder

[f350ca]

I found a couple of manuals Vinny but not for this one, thank it might be vintage. Curved legs and all, a little touch of Victorian. The manuals all show a direct drive spindle where this one has a belt.

[PixMan]

Spindle bearings on a surface grinder are very critical. Any defects show up in the finish. Be careful, be thorough.

[f350ca]

They may already be damaged Ken, this was a lets see attempt. The belt was totally shot, so I couldn't tell when we ran it at his place. I'll see if I can get 4 conductor cord today to get it wired.

[Dr Stan]

You made a nice score, especially with all the extras.

One way to check bearings is to use a stethoscope, but obviously it needs to be running.  The real test is checking the surface finish on a ground part.  If you end up needing new spindle bearings they will be pricey.  Just don't go with the cheaper lower class of bearings as you'll be throwing money away due to an unacceptable the surface finish.  Bite the bullet and buy the correct ones if needed.  You'd also need a clean room environment for the bearing installment which can be easily made with some clear plastic sheeting and positive air pressure in the "room".

BTW, good advice from Vinny regarding the way oil.

[Vinny]

Greg, the manual doesn't show the belt but does mention it, I think, once. The belt was an option, just like power feed, coolant, the lamp and oilers. Mine has the optional spindle oiler. There was more than one stand available too. One had a dust collector built in.

[PixMan]

Belt driven surface grinder spindles are usually capable of achieving better surface finish than direct drive because it isolates motor vibration from the grinding wheel. Mine is a direct drive type and I can't achieve the finishes that others can despite having more wheel choices.

If those bearings are shot, that's the one area on the machine itself where you would be wise to invest in the best quality bearings you can get, and pay close attention to orientation of the races, pre-load, cleanliness and lubrication when you assemble.

[f350ca]

It made its way to its final resting spot. Ran power to it and fired it up. Im half deft but all I can hear is belt whine, think the bearings might be alright. After about half an hour the spindle is slightly warm so the belleville washers must be achieving their preload.
May need to invest in a better indicator now that we have something that should consistently work to 1/10ths. With a 0.001 indicator the table shows no movement down the axis and maybe 0.0002 high in the middle across it but the indicator is bouncing over the T-slot so that ones a bit iffy. The magnet face is true across and about 0.0007 high at the right end. Will remove and clean again and see what we get. So Im happy with that.

 I don't know enough to be even dangerous when grinding so we dressed this orange coloured wheel and gave a piece of mild steel a go.
The washers are covering the specs, does that even look like a candidate for mild steel?
The result,


In better light




There is a sort of pattern there or is that the saw marks telegraphing through, only took a few thou off. A 1 though cut would blue the finish, this was about 1/2. How fast do you feed the table? This was at a pretty good clip, didn't want to blue the metal. May need to come up with a spray coolant.

[Mayhem]

(05-28-2016, 10:32 AM)Dr Stan Wrote: ...You'd also need a clean room environment for the bearing installment which can be easily made with some clear plastic sheeting and positive air pressure in the "room"...

He had best do this in Ed's shop

[Vinny]

It almost looks like the table will hit the bench on the right, or is that just an illusion?

[f350ca]

Just slips over it.