- Joined
- Jul 2, 2014
- Messages
- 7,594
Manuals and other information are not really of too much use with older surface grinders. They become obsolete and parts are not available for them anyway, especially at affordable prices. The good news is that they are pretty simple machines, and stay pretty nice if they are taken care of, and don't normally need parts replaced if not damaged when acquired and not abused in use.
With ball or roller bearing ways, take the table off (usually just lifts off) and carefully clean and inspect the ways and balls or rollers for damage. The most common types of damage are from moving the machine without removing the table, which hammers the bearings into the ways and dents the balls or rollers and the ways, making the machine near worthless without a major reconditioning, and Y axis (vertical!) lead screw damage from not blocking up the wheel head and then backing off the lead screw. Plain ways are more tolerant, and need to be inspected for wear. The other thing to look for while the table is off is neglect. Grit kills grinders, and if the carriage is full of grit and the ways are badly worn, don't walk away, run! Unless you are up for a major reconditioning of the machine, including lots of hours of scraping. The spindle is the heart of a surface grinder. If it is bad, the grinder is usually junk that looks like a good grinder. It is fairly common for bearings to cost more than $500, if still available, and installing the bearings is not like your car or truck wheel bearings, it is a fussy clean room job to get it right. The bearings should feel totally smooth when rotating the spindle, and no radial play or runout should be found in the spindle using a tenths indicator. It is important to run the grinder to listen for spindle noise as well. If you can't run it, you are taking a big chance, and that should be reflected in the price.
With ball or roller bearing ways, take the table off (usually just lifts off) and carefully clean and inspect the ways and balls or rollers for damage. The most common types of damage are from moving the machine without removing the table, which hammers the bearings into the ways and dents the balls or rollers and the ways, making the machine near worthless without a major reconditioning, and Y axis (vertical!) lead screw damage from not blocking up the wheel head and then backing off the lead screw. Plain ways are more tolerant, and need to be inspected for wear. The other thing to look for while the table is off is neglect. Grit kills grinders, and if the carriage is full of grit and the ways are badly worn, don't walk away, run! Unless you are up for a major reconditioning of the machine, including lots of hours of scraping. The spindle is the heart of a surface grinder. If it is bad, the grinder is usually junk that looks like a good grinder. It is fairly common for bearings to cost more than $500, if still available, and installing the bearings is not like your car or truck wheel bearings, it is a fussy clean room job to get it right. The bearings should feel totally smooth when rotating the spindle, and no radial play or runout should be found in the spindle using a tenths indicator. It is important to run the grinder to listen for spindle noise as well. If you can't run it, you are taking a big chance, and that should be reflected in the price.
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