Surface Grinder - what's an idiot to do?

mmcmdl said:
For use in an indexer or spin fixture . :encourage:
Click to expand...
I used mine last week to reduce a small bushing by .006".( For one of the guys at work)
A spin indexer -5C and a surface grinder has lots of possibilities.
 
Anyone have feedback on the Tormach, can't seem to find much information here? Seems like a capable machine - reviewing the manual - the table and ways are built and hand scraped.
 
Interesting.
Automatic or manual.
400 lbs, 110v.
Perfect for a hobby machinist.
$3995

PSG 612 Surface Grinder

The Tormach PSG 612 Surface Grinder is an economical solution to automate repetitive surface grinding tasks featuring 4 selectable grinding patters.
tormach.com tormach.com
 
Janderso said:
Interesting.
Automatic or manual.
400 lbs, 110v.
Perfect for a hobby machinist.
$3995

PSG 612 Surface Grinder

The Tormach PSG 612 Surface Grinder is an economical solution to automate repetitive surface grinding tasks featuring 4 selectable grinding patters.
tormach.com tormach.com
Click to expand...

Seems a bit steep, but worth it - should scratch the itch and teach me a lot. Looks like that's what i'll dive into.
 
I'm almost certain the same Chinese manufacturer/foundry is making the castings for Central Machinery, Grizzly, Tormach, and others.
I have a central machinery (CM) grinder that I completely scraped in. It will maintain a tenth of flatness within the 6 x 12 grind area. So I know the machine quite well. The quality of the different brands of machines will depend on what the machine brand ordered from the Chinese manufacturer as far as tolerances and quality. Quality, ie, tolerances can be improved by the brand when received by the Chinese manufacturer. Post quality inspection and improvements. Central machinery is at the bottom of this range. Not sure about Grizzly. Since Tormach is accentually adding on their stepper drive and HMI package to the manual grinder, I would hope they purchase higher quality and inspect every machine from china.
One draw back from the CM and Grizzly machines is the ability to lock the X axis traverse table. If you use an indexer it will be needed.
You will be limited to 0.002" max depth of grind per pass. And that's pushing it. Grinding large flat/long pieces will be tedious and time consuming so an automatic machine like the Tormach will save you a tremendous amount of time that you can utilize doing other things. Especially if you producing a product to sell and grinding on a daily basis.
Also, the manual machines have a 30-40 lb cast iron counter weight inside the vertical casting post. This is attached to the Y axis vertical slide to off set the spindle motor weight and make it easier to raise up. When I finished scraped my machine, I no longer needed the counter weight! So I assume the weight was making up for poor tolerance fitting dovetail slides. Just my 2 cents.
 
JFL4066 said:
I'm almost certain the same Chinese manufacturer/foundry is making the castings for Central Machinery, Grizzly, Tormach, and others.
I have a central machinery (CM) grinder that I completely scraped in. It will maintain a tenth of flatness within the 6 x 12 grind area. So I know the machine quite well. The quality of the different brands of machines will depend on what the machine brand ordered from the Chinese manufacturer as far as tolerances and quality. Quality, ie, tolerances can be improved by the brand when received by the Chinese manufacturer. Post quality inspection and improvements. Central machinery is at the bottom of this range. Not sure about Grizzly. Since Tormach is accentually adding on their stepper drive and HMI package to the manual grinder, I would hope they purchase higher quality and inspect every machine from china.
One draw back from the CM and Grizzly machines is the ability to lock the X axis traverse table. If you use an indexer it will be needed.
You will be limited to 0.002" max depth of grind per pass. And that's pushing it. Grinding large flat/long pieces will be tedious and time consuming so an automatic machine like the Tormach will save you a tremendous amount of time that you can utilize doing other things. Especially if you producing a product to sell and grinding on a daily basis.
Also, the manual machines have a 30-40 lb cast iron counter weight inside the vertical casting post. This is attached to the Y axis vertical slide to off set the spindle motor weight and make it easier to raise up. When I finished scraped my machine, I no longer needed the counter weight! So I assume the weight was making up for poor tolerance fitting dovetail slides. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

They do come with an inspection sheet and tolerances (let me find the link), it seemed like a thorough enough process for what I'm going to be doing. It seems like besides the motors, the grizzly might be close in quality. What's unfortunate is the ability to buy something more robust, new, that doesn't cost 2 to 3 times the amount (unless you're in the used market - which requires skills above my current level, well beyond my current level, to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze)....

 
I recently got an old B&S #2 surface grinder, about $700 with a nice B&S 6x18 mag chuck and a bunch of wheels of unknown status. I don't really have any particular requirements to meet, but I just wanted to know more about the capability. Lifting off the table, I see that there are rollers in a ladder type nest, one flat and one "V". The parts manual does not show this. Just wondering if this is standard or something added?

Whichever, it operates amazingly smoothly. The machine is actually pretty simple (it's manually operated) so I expect good results as I learn to use it properly.
 
DustinY said:
They do come with an inspection sheet and tolerances (let me find the link), it seemed like a thorough enough process for what I'm going to be doing. It seems like besides the motors, the grizzly might be close in quality. What's unfortunate is the ability to buy something more robust, new, that doesn't cost 2 to 3 times the amount (unless you're in the used market - which requires skills above my current level, well beyond my current level, to determine if the juice is worth the squeeze)....

Click to expand...
Their perpendicularity and parallelism could be better IMO, roughly 0.002" in 4"
Flatness should be corrected when grinding in mag chuck.
You get the idea of what money should buy. A 15,000-20,000 grinder would be 0.0001" (0.0025mm) in most inspections.
 
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