# Restoring the Queen City 12 in grinder



## invisabledog (Jan 29, 2015)

Since I had to tear down the recently aquired Queen City grinder, to see  about rewiring it to 220v, I thought I'd clean it up and repaint.  The  blue paint must have been sprayed on to make it look good for sale at  some point.  They sprayed everything, even over the 1/4 inch of grinding  swarf on the base of the pedestal.  They also got some on the wheels.   The wheels appear to be near new and not used since the paint job.  Blue  paint is on the faces of both.  I cleaned up the pedestal, motor mount  and both motor bells.  The windings are at the motor shop.  It will be  painted osha safety green when it goes back together.  That's the  closest match I could find to the original color, without a custom mix.


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## old_dave (Jan 29, 2015)

I think that's going to be really nice when it's done. I'm glad to see that rewinding is a feasible solution to getting it to run on 220V. Looking forward to seeing the finished result.

David


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## invisabledog (Feb 4, 2015)

Making some headway.  Got some paint on the base.  Still waiting for the windings to be done.


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## moddy (Feb 10, 2015)

Holy Smoke! That is a nice grinder!

Looking forward to see it finished! Good Luck!


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## invisabledog (Feb 11, 2015)

Going to combine all my queen city grinder stuff into this thread, since it all falls under restoration, now.  Got the base and switch painted and temporarily mounted the switch.  Also got the windings back from the motor shop.  I now have a modern 9 wire 220/440 3ph winding.  Today I hope to get the new bearings installed and the end bells back on.  Maybe even some paint.


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## george wilson (Feb 11, 2015)

That will make a fine,powerful grinder. The windings are dipped. I don't know of any Asian motors that have dipped windings. They sometimes short out because of that.


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## invisabledog (Feb 11, 2015)

george wilson said:


> That will make a fine,powerful grinder. The windings are dipped. I don't know of any Asian motors that have dipped windings. They sometimes short out because of that.



The shop does quality work.  Started by a vet when he came back fom Viet Nam.  Logically called it G.I. Electric.  Not sure if it's still the same family.


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## invisabledog (Feb 13, 2015)

It's starting to look like a grinder again.  I did run into a bit of  trouble.  After fixing a crack I found, I painted the left guard.  After  painting it, several more cracks showed up that I didn't see before  paint.  This guard has a lot of old repairs.  I'm going to try to repair  it, but am getting a bit leary of it.  Would love to find a good used  one.  Can't really afford to have a new one cast after putting a lot of  money in the motor rewind.


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## 18w (Feb 14, 2015)

I like your color choice...kind of grows on you and reminds me of old equipment seen in many old shops. Nice job on the resto.

Darrell


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## invisabledog (Feb 15, 2015)

Good news and bad. I repaired the guard and got it installed, that's good. The repairs failed, catastrophically. This thing is basically shattered. The pic is the worst of it. There are many fine cracks radiating out from the large ones, worse on the inside where the paint isn't hiding anything. This guard was extensively repaired in the past I preheated and slow cooled, but to no avail. This guard is now scrap. So if anyone knows of one, let me know.


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 15, 2015)

do you have a brazing rig???
i have put together many cast iron Humpty Dumpty's with LFB brazing rod (low fuming bronze) over the years,
maybe you can too.


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## 18w (Feb 15, 2015)

Thankfully this happened before the guard needed to do its job. I have two suggestions depending on funds available. First look into Cattail Foundry. Amish owned foundry known for one off castings using your old part and reasonably priced. Lots of info on them at vintage machinery.org. I have replicated parts like your guard and yours is a good candidate because its shape and features are easily fabricated in mild steel. I would turn the clamping portion, weld on a piece of round stock where the clamp bolts go, drill for clamp bolts and then slit the whole assembly. Burn out the sides, top and weld everything together. Make up some round and square pieces and weld them on to replicate the various features on the casting. Grind and blend your welds and then if you have access to a needle scaler, peen the dickens out of the whole affair. This gives the fabricated piece the texture of a casting. Done, jobs a good un, and you can start looking for another project to restore.  Mike typed faster than me...brazing is a good option also.

Regards
Darrell


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## invisabledog (Feb 15, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> do you have a brazing rig???
> i have put together many cast iron Humpty Dumpty's with LFB brazing rod (low fuming bronze) over the years,
> maybe you can too.


Brazing on it for an hour is what got me to this point. lol.  I think the problem is it has been welded and brazed many times in the past and it's stressed quite a bit.  It's got me frustrated to say the least.  I'm going to step away from it for a bit and give it some thought.


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## invisabledog (Feb 15, 2015)

18w said:


> Thankfully this happened before the guard needed to do its job. I have two suggestions depending on funds available. First look into Cattail Foundry. Amish owned foundry known for one off castings using your old part and reasonably priced. Lots of info on them at vintage machinery.org. I have replicated parts like your guard and yours is a good candidate because its shape and features are easily fabricated in mild steel. I would turn the clamping portion, weld on a piece of round stock where the clamp bolts go, drill for clamp bolts and then slit the whole assembly. Burn out the sides, top and weld everything together. Make up some round and square pieces and weld them on to replicate the various features on the casting. Grind and blend your welds and then if you have access to a needle scaler, peen the dickens out of the whole affair. This gives the fabricated piece the texture of a casting. Done, jobs a good un, and you can start looking for another project to restore.  Mike typed faster than me...brazing is a good option also.
> 
> Regards
> Darrell



I've thought about Cattail.  They are here in PA, somewhere.  May need to take a road trip to see them.  I need an outer cover for the other guard as well.  I hesitate to make one from mild steel  While I don't do concourse restorations, I like originality.  Would like to have original parts.As for looking for something else to restore after this is finished.  I don't have to look far.  5 feet or less to be exact,lol.  My shop and another building have many possibilities to keep me busy long after I'm dead and forget to lay down.


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## invisabledog (Feb 18, 2015)

Put some single phase power to it for a few seconds and it runs!  I then wired in the switch and a power lead and put the switch back in the base for what I hope is the last time.  My rpc panel from American Rotary, arrives today.  Hopefully I'll have it powered up by the weekend.  Stripped the paint off the cracked guard to see how bad it is.  Going to try another brazing repair when the weather warms up.  I think I need a better preheat and a longer, more controlled, cool down.


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## invisabledog (Feb 21, 2015)

She lives!!!! Temporarily hooked up my newly aquired rpc and powered up the grinder. Smooth as silk. Can't wait to grind something. Sorry no video, but do have a couple pics. Be assured the hookup was very temporary and was removed right after the run. Will wire it properly before it runs again.


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## invisabledog (May 4, 2015)

Finally done and in service.  This grinder runs as smooth as silk.













20150504_075927



__ invisabledog
__ May 4, 2015


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## Tony Wells (May 4, 2015)

For brazing complex shapes that are hard to control the pre/post heat on, I use my old gas grill. Can get it to 500°F easily as long as it fits with the lid down.

Nice job on the grinder.


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## invisabledog (May 5, 2015)

Thanks Tony. I used my blacksmith forge'


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