Tool and cutter grinder build

Mark,

I have no intention of building a tool and cutter grinder, at least at the present time, but I have been watching your build thread since you started it. I've been around machine tools my entire career and I'd like to think I know something about machining. Your build thread has been fascinating and informative and I've learned a few new "tricks" along the way.

Thanks for the opportunity to watch a craftsman at his trade.

Tom S
 
Got started on the spindle today. Had to wait till I was in the mood for this because it is the only piece of material I have that will make this housing. I can't afford to mess it up....BUT I DID ANYWAY!!!!! .... almost. I put it in the 4 jaw chuck, got it running true, drilled a 1" hole all the way through, bored it out to 1.125", all is good so far.

boring spindle housing.jpg This is the hosing being bored out.

I bored the first bearing hole to within .010" of size, then came out and bored the end for the oil seal. Still good. I went back and snuck ( is that a word... or sneaked) up on the size cutting .002" at a time. The pucker factor is unreal at this point.:nail biter: I got close and polished with emery cloth.... the bearing is a stiff hand press in :grin: " whewwww!
spindle housing.jpg First side is done. Now turn it around in the 4 jaw, get it running true and bore the second side. Bored to within .010" and came out and bored the end for the oil seal, good so far.... now back to sneaking up on the last bore .002" at a time. ..... Still needs .004" to come out ..... WHAT THE..... that looks like more than two thousandths. The bearing falls in the bore with a couple thousandths to spare!!!!!! :cry:......:faint:. After I cooled down a little , I thought .... the bearing is 12 mm wide....I will bore deeper .250" and get it right, that will hold the bearing and just move it in .250" more. I bore a cut and check fit, bore and check fit, getting close bearing sticks in the end of the bore...... Oh rats... it seems to be stuck... I'll give it a little bump out to get it loose and .... OOPS!!! the angular contact bearing comes apart and the little balls are rolling all over the shop floor :cry:..... after an hour of crawling and looking, I found all ten balls, washed everything up and put it back together and it seems fine.
spindle housing1.jpg If you look close , that is why this bore looks deeper. It is .250" deeper than the other end. I will put this on the pulley end. It should be ok.

spindle housing2.jpg Drilled an oil fill hole and fit a 1/8" pipe plug to it. and the housing is done. GOD...... I hope the spindle goes easier than this did.:(
 
I am going to New York tomorrow to pick up a disassembled Burke mill for parts to fix mine with. Will make the spindle on Wednesday, I hope. Boy.... I can't wait till this part is done. That was why I kept putting it off because I knew it was going to be roughest.
 
Mark,

Pertaining to air bearing build discussed previously: Home Shop Machinist ran an article by Philip Duclos, in the September & October issue of 1985 , "Floating End Mill Sharpener".
I built one back then, haven't found the origional issue yet, but I did find the Xerox copy I used in the shop.
It's complete with pencil marks, oil stains and the usual shop grime that gets on drawings.
Scan is attached. I do not know if its all there, I scanned what was in the folder.
For the Bonelle size machine I think it should be scaled down somewhat.
Hope this helps!

Did you get the Burke parts home? I had one of those years ago. It was a WW-2 production machine, rack & pinion feed, no back gears etc. thus I sold it.

Enjoy !
Restorer
 

Attachments

  • Floating End Mill Sharpener.pdf
    5.7 MB · Views: 71
Yes, I got the parts and have been working the last few days getting them on the mill. It is so much better. The mill is a joy to use now. I can't believe how much better it is.

Thank you for the article. I had heard about it but couldn't find it. It will make good reading. I have heard it is very difficult to build. How did yours work out. Everything I read says an air bearing is difficult to make successfully.
 
Today , I started the spindle. Turned a piece of 1" CRS to rough size and the bearings fell on and off, ....SCRAP!!! ..(it pays to double check things). Got another piece of 1" CRS and rough turned the shaft to +.030". Turned the .875" step for the oil seal then turned it around and chucked it in the 4 jaw to turn true (.0005"). Now to drill and turn the ER 20 collet taper.
turning taper for collet.jpg Here I am turning the taper for the collet. Next will be the threads for the collet nut.

threads complete.jpg The threads are done. Since I can't single point metric threads on my South Bend (yet), I had purchased a 25 x 1.5 die from China for $10. If it does only this job, it is worth it.


Now, Before you start laughing..... I was desperate. I needed a die holder and did not have any material big enough to make one, so I got my Ch.... I mean import die holder to do the job.
import die holder.jpg It actually worked really well.

nut fits.jpg The nut fits!

Concentricity ( is that a word?) is important on this high speed spindle. I turned the collet taper and the oil seal step in the same operation , so I know they are true. Now I need to turn the bearing journals to be concentric with the collet, So I put a 1/2" dowel in the collet and put a 1/2" collet in the lathe too hold the other end of the dowel. When I first rough turned the shaft I had center drilled it first, so I put a center in the other end and everything is turning true.
turning setup for bearings.jpg This is the setup. I will turn the bearing surfaces tomorrow.
 
Love the die holder. As a Marine we were taught to improvise, adapt, overcome. Looks like you went to a similar school. :)

And yes, that is a word.
 
Mark - that spindle looks great. A lot of talent in those seemingly simple operations.
Did you have any trouble with a die that large keeping it straight while starting the thread? How did you set up to machine the taper?
R
 
I had an American made Die Mark. It still gave me the fits. Extremely hard to start. As said somewhere else by Tony. The Dies we get are not true Dies, they are thread chasers. To start the Die I used a piece of round stock between it and the tail stock.

"Billy G"
 
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