Surface Grinder opinions? 12” or 18”?

[Mill Lee farm]

There's a nice looking Jakobsen 824 for sale on FB marketplace, Paramus, NJ Maybe a bit large for you, but....

Wow… that is nice. Not familiar with Jakobsen but it looks like a quality piece… what is that mess of knobs on the side? Fine feed of somekind?

About twice the price I was hoping for… but a heck of a lot of machine!

 

[Mill Lee farm]

like a fairly large surface with a fairly deep cut and small stepovers. One pass might take 20 minutes or more.

That is exactly the kind of information an amateur like me is looking for. I’ve got a lot to learn…. It never occurred to me you would make a 20 min pass!!!

Every video of surface grinders I’ve ever seen was moving fairly fast…
That definitely puts a different spin on manual.

Again, I’ll probably be great in manual, but it’s better to know all these things before deciding!

Thanks everyone for the input. I hope I’m not annoying everyone with my dumb questions?!?

 

[GT-6 Racer]

That is exactly the kind of information an amateur like me is looking for. I’ve got a lot to learn…. It never occurred to me you would make a 20 min pass!!!

Every video of surface grinders I’ve ever seen was moving fairly fast…
That definitely puts a different spin on manual.

Again, I’ll probably be great in manual, but it’s better to know all these things before deciding!

Thanks everyone for the input. I hope I’m not annoying everyone with my dumb questions?!?

I’ve a 6x18 Harig auto. Can’t say enough about auto feed. Manuals are great for little parts but grinding a large part gets old fast. also get coolant. Some stuff can be done dry but if you are looking for accuracy, coolant is a must to control heat Induced distortion. You get better surface finishes too. As far as size goes, really understand your work. Occasionally I find myself wishing for a few more inches width but a bigger grinder gets expensive fast. So are the bigger wheels.

 

[682bear]

I have a B&S Micromaster 818. It has automatic feed on the table, but not on the cross feed or head. My old Taft- Peirce was full manual.

I really disliked running the T-P... it always seemed like I was going to crank my arm off, and it was too short, even after raising it 4"...

The B&S is a lot more enjoyable to run, even without the cross feed... and my back is much happier, also.

-Bear

 

[projectnut]

I have an older Sanford MG, which is a 6"x 12" manual machine. It's been in the shop around 10 years and so far, has been able to handle everything I've asked it to do. I would have preferred a larger hydraulic machine and was even offered a DoAll similar to the one linked below. It was an excellent machine but took up far more room than I was willing to give up for the amount of use it gets. I also wasn't that keen on having a 10-gallon hydraulic reservoir and pump assembly setting in the shop. They have a tendency to stink, and often have minor leaks that collect crud, and leave stains on the floor.

DO ALL SURFACE GRINDER D6 618" automatic | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for DO ALL SURFACE GRINDER D6 618" automatic at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

I must admit sometimes grinding a larger part does get mind numbing. It's easy to get into the rhythm of advancing, retreating then stepping over. However, after close to a hundred cycles I sometimes lose concentration and get the step over and retreat out of sync. Then I have to step away for a few minutes to regain my focus.

 

[Beckerkumm]

The longitudinal feed is a big deal. I don't do a lot of grinding but when finessing a part I will often do the crossfeed manually so for a hobby guy I don't think it is necessary. I almost never use my downfeed. The heavy auto machines can cost less on the used market though as the 5000 lbs of a 10x20 limit the market. A small Matsui manual can go for a similar amount to a Taiwan auto. Dave

 

[gi_984]

Quote: "but I already need 6”x17.5” to regrind my Kurt vise…".
I've restored about a dozen milling machine vises. Almost all Kurts. Biggest was an eight inch Kurt. All done on a 12X24 Okamoto. Sandblasted, painted, installed rebuild kit if needed, ground top and bottom flat and parallel, trued jaws or replaced blah blah blah. On the Kurt website they have exploded parts diagrams and a little two page document detailing grinding and torque specs.
I don't think any 6X18 surface grinder will have enough travel to grind the bottom of a 6' Kurt. If the base is in good shape and stoned, you should be able to grind the top without issue.

 

[Dabbler]

I don't think any 6X18 surface grinder will have enough travel to grind the bottom of a 6' Kurt.

I don't think any 6X18 surface grinder will have enough travel to grind the bottom of a 6' Kurt.

Strictly speaking, you are both right, and there is always a way.

Because of the way that a Kurt is held down and structured, I see no problem at all grinding a couple of thou relief at the handle end, to a tune of .002 for a couple inches. Yes this will never make contact. In an ideal world we all have 12X24" surface grinders a a shop big enough for them.

I'd be very happy grinding the first 12" on my 6X12" (from the fixed jaw) Brown and Sharpe, and relieving the rest. My mill table on my 9X49 BP clone is 10,5 inches. The relieved area will never touch a table anyway.