Surface Grinder for a hobbyist

Well I've decided, I'm going tomorrow to look at it... We'll see how it goes.

Anyone have one if these, does the table just lift off?
 
If you are talking about a Boyar Shultz, then yes, it lifts straight up. May have a bit of suction holding it, so slide to one end of travel and lift that side up first.

No reason to take a table off to move the grinder UNLESS the machine has rollers or balls under the table. With a normal BS lock the table down in center of stroke, crank table towards rear, place a 2x4 under the spindle, then lower the spindle onto the 2x4 so it can't bounce. All the BS that I ever saw were bolted to the base cabinet, so no danger of it coming off the base
 
I bought my Micromaster from a shop that bought it from the place I served my apprenticeship at . I found my tag inside the electrical box when examining the grinder . We powered it up and ran thru the feeds , then loaded it onto my trailer . It now rests in the back of the garage , unpowered still . One of these days .................! :grin:
 
Same design as the second one I was looking at. That is Central Machinery, not General. Harbor Freight. So even though I have a shop full of their stuff I'd be very skeptical this would be useful for precision work. The one I was looking at was the original maker from Tiawan and even had roller guides. But it's very light for a surface grinder. I talked to guy down to $500 with a new little mag Chuck and decided it was going in the wrong direction.
 
Here's another twist on this topic: I just picked up a little Sanford bench top surface grinder for a fairly low amount of money. The spindle had been converted to a Sopko tapered type, using 1 1/4" hole wheels and wheel adapters. Since these are made to use 4" wheels, and no one sells a 4" wheel with a 1 1/4" hole, the ones that came with it were obviously reduced down from larger wheels. There are enough of them that with my level of use I may never need to grind down another one. The spindle seems good but there is visible wear on the X-axis ways and the motor seems like it might need bearings some time (it's a little noisy). The table needs to be flattened (probably because of the wear on the ways) so I haven't ground in the new Shars 4' X 6" magnetic chuck that I bought yet. I had never operated a surface grinder before, and to be honest I think my use will be more for aesthetic finishes than super precision. I made a wheel dresser holder for it and quickly ground the top and bottom of it and was very satisfied with the finish that I got, considering it was my first time grinding. I understand that most people buying surface grinders are striving for perfection and extreme accuracy, but I'm very happy that I have the chance to enter the world of surface grinders even if this one isn't perfect. It was fairly cheap and is small enough to fit in the shop space I have available. If I find a lot of uses for it in the future that will be the time for me to start looking for a "perfect" one.
 
Ok, just got home with it. I heard no noises when it's running, it seems to run smooth.. I need to order a vfd and a mag Chuck, as well as wheels. Any suggestions on grinding wheels? It looks like a 1.25" bore.
 

Attachments

  • 39113.jpeg
    39113.jpeg
    118.2 KB · Views: 187
  • 39116.jpeg
    39116.jpeg
    149.1 KB · Views: 195
General purpose wheel / Norton 32A 46 or 60 , g or h . Silican carbide ( green ) for carbide .

Surface Grinding Wheels

Norton surface grinding wheels and segments are a universal choice for heavy, rapid stock removal and production work to precision tolerance operations. Our
www.nortonabrasives.com www.nortonabrasives.com
 
Driveslayer45 said:
Ok, just got home with it. I heard no noises when it's running, it seems to run smooth.. I need to order a vfd and a mag Chuck, as well as wheels. Any suggestions on grinding wheels? It looks like a 1.25" bore.
Click to expand...
Man I wish that Chevalier would have looked like that. Looks like a winner, good job.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top