Brown & Sharpe 2l Surface Grinder -- "before"

Bob Korves

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Rest In Peace
Joined
Jul 2, 2014
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A Brown and Sharpe 2L, 6 x 18" surface grinder found its way to my shop from the shop of another H-M member, benmychree (John York). Another H-M member, Ulma Doctor (Mike Walton) was my chauffeur and grunt laborer helper for the day ;-). The move went just fine, except for the 102 F temperature we had while manhandling it off the trailer into my shop. We were literally dripping sweat all over the floor.

The grinder is s/n 17047, which with a bit of study appears to be from 1946 or 1947. Older than me... It is in quite good condition for its age, aside from a known spindle issue, the spindle locks up after running it a while. When John got the machine it had the problem, and he did some work on it, but the spindle still locked up. John is truly a master machinist, but he was GIVEN a very nice B & S Micromaster surface grinder while working on the spindle and quite understandably gave up work on the 2L. At that time, the spindle did not have the correct automatic level oiler, and was not running the specified and special Mobil Velocite #3 oil (ISO 2!). This is a plain bearing removable unit spindle, and when correct is purported to have less play and runout, and to achieve quicker spark out, than the ball bearing spindle that was optional on the grinder. The included maintenance and parts manual (5/46), has fairly comprehensive instructions on how to repair the spindle. Regardless, this will certainly be a challenge to get right.

Aside from the spindle, the grinder shows little wear, is complete, tight, no broken parts or mechanisms, and the ways are excellent. This machine has power table traverse both longitudinally and transverse. This is not hydraulic powered. It is entirely mechanically driven, starting with a 126" long belt that snakes all over the rear of the machine, and then another belt to drive the feeds, twisted in a figure eight to reverse the direction, then a pulley, gears, ratchets, pawls, and whatever other mechanisms that are hidden under the carriage. I am sure there are at least 50 Gits oilers and Alemite oil fittings on the grinder. The separate 1936 parts book I downloaded has 57 pages. John previously owned another #2 grinder and showed me the clever ways that B & S made the machine mostly idiot proof. B & S made the number 2 surface grinder from before 1920, perhaps before 1910, and it was in continuous production well into the 1950's, and was highly regarded, from my limited study so far.

The pictures show that plenty of cleanup will be required to make it meet even my utilitarian standards. Probably some paint as well. That will wait while I work on the spindle. Also included with the grinder is a 5+ by 11+ inch electromagnetic chuck and two rectifier units, one an old tube type, the other a SCR type which has a drum switch. Both require significant work. I will be looking for a 6 x 18" chuck, and I will also purchase a VFD and some grinding wheels to get started using it. It also came with a new main belt, a bottle of the Velocite #3 oil, a diamond wheel dresser, 2 wheel hubs/adapters and a wheel changing tool, no wheels included. $500.

I cannot say enough about the kindness and helpfulness of John, and the amazing shop tour he gave Mike and I (drool). Also the incredible spirit of helpfulness and strong back that Ulma Doctor contributed. This deal could not have been possible without him.

Continued at http://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/brown-and-sharpe-2l-surface-grinder-during.49658/

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After a little TLC that should be a great machine for you Bob. Nice that you have forum members fairly close by to lend a hand. Cheers, Mike
 
After a little TLC that should be a great machine for you Bob. Nice that you have forum members fairly close by to lend a hand. Cheers, Mike
Me not having a truck, Ulma Doc drove his truck about 70 miles to my shop, we picked up the trailer, drove another 85 miles to the grinder, and then loaded it and came back to my shop to unload it. Then took the trailer back and Mike still needed to get back home. About 320 miles in all for him, and a pretty much all day project. Naturally, I was as generous as I could be about covering his expenses and buying lunch and stuff, but there is no way to repay the kindness, skill, hard work, and friendship that Mike extended to me with money alone. I will need to repay that in kind the best I can...
 
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