Who makes a good surface grinder small enough for a basememnt home shop?

[4GSR]

Another one to check out if you can find one is the old Rockwell-Delta 6 x 12 surface grinder. They weigh in at about 800 lbs. They can easily be tore down in small enough pieces to handle by hand or with help of a two wheeler. The base that sits on top of the legs weighs in at about 150 lbs., being the heaviest piece to handle. They are not the greatest surface grinder around but they can be tuned up to do a nice grinding job when needed.

Ken

 

[Daver]

Nevermind, I'm an idiot.

 

[atwatterkent]

The Enco is 33" deep with the wheels attached. It should easily fit through the 28" doorway with the wheels removed.

 

[Ray C]

OK, I've been gently poking Matt in the ribs for not carrying surface grinders in-stock.

He does offer several and one is a 6x12 that he says is pretty decent. He and Nicole are going to get more information and I'll post it when it arrives.


Ray

 

[Ray C]

OK, Matt (Precision Matthews) sells the the equivalent unit to what Enco has (shown here http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=619-2879&PMPXNO=16720603&PARTPG=INLMK3) but the cost is 1899.00 and a base is available for 199. MUCH better price! Weight is around 580lbs which is very manageable... Be apprised, he's working on a model that will be made in Taiwan. -No details on that unit at this time and no timeframe yet on availability.

Ray

 

[Rbeckett]

I imagine if Matt goes directly to the manufacturer he will be able to spec out what he really wants and can adjust it to make them more affordable. Matt is pretty good at filling a niche in his market, just hope he can make enough to stay open a good long time. He will easily be the go to place in no time at all if he keeps going and keeps his service high like it is now.

Bob

 

[Ray C]

The folks who use/need surface grinders are usually doing high-end work. For those folks, he also carries 3-4 industrial units made by Sharp -but they're not cheap.

I lucked-out when my SG came to me and it was the first piece of "lucky" equipment I scored. If for some reason my SG tipped over and got bent/distorted (a ficticious event) I'd go with this smaller one he currently offers as A) I get a lot of mileage out of it and they open the doors to many new things and B) it's easy to fix the mechanical things on a used SG but, if the ways or bed are in bad shape, the repairs will cost serious money and I'm not skilled enough to scrape and do it myself. My hands/fingers are way too messed-up and even a good session with hand filing will cost me a couple days on Advil. I can't imagine the agony after scraping all day.

Anyhow, Matt really does his best to offer good stuff that meets the needs we have. I have no doubt about Matt's determination or ability to remain in business. He's no rookie and has been at this a long time.

Ray

I imagine if Matt goes directly to the manufacturer he will be able to spec out what he really wants and can adjust it to make them more affordable. Matt is pretty good at filling a niche in his market, just hope he can make enough to stay open a good long time. He will easily be the go to place in no time at all if he keeps going and keeps his service high like it is now.

Bob

 

[Ray C]

One other thought worth mentioning... On a lathe or mill, if the ways are a little worn you can usually still do OK work. On a surface grinder, the whole goal is to make things perfect within 0.0001 or so. That won't happen on a surface grinder with a bad bed, worn ways or if the mag chuck is a parallelogram instead of a cube or if it's all dinged-up.

I wish there were more SG people on this list as I often struggle with it despite a lot of use and practice. -Getting there but not to my satisfaction.

Just a thought...

Ray

 

[itsme_Bernie]

I hope to be one soon Ray! I have an opportunity for a 6x12 Sanford in pretty sweet shape- from the same guy I got my lathe from.

He hasn't been well, and I haven't been able to go back yet. I'm itching to get it!


Bernie

 

[ome]

Nevermind, I'm an idiot.

someone said to me "harig and Boyer something' for well made machines
thanks,

Jon