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

[Cheeseking]

Wow been awhile I forgot about this thread. Sounds like you should maybe subscribe to a few industrial auction house email lists? Depending where you live focus on the local ones. Not all but many of the auction listings I see have a grinder or two. True auctions are a pita for the usual reasons but depending on how bad you need one it could take awhile waiting to get lucky on CL.

 

[tmarks11]

haha. Whoops, brought an ancient thread back to life.

 

[Cheeseking]

Out of curiosity i checked the Chicago area CL today and found several harig and boyar shultz for under 1k.
Some were quite beat but others half decent as used grinders go.

 

[easymike29]

....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.Ray

Do you have a specific question?

Gene

 

[Cheeseking]

What are you dealing with as far as logistics of getting it in your basement?? Are we talking going thru a window well, mammas kitchen then a creaky narrow set of wooden stairs? Many 6x12 or 6x18's can be broke down nicely into manageable pc's. The main machine usually is just sitting on top of the base cabinet so that can go down like a glorified filing cabinet. Mag chuck, table, cross saddle and wheel guards, all come off easy and hand carried by one or two people. The hard part will be the base and column. My Harig appears to have some big cap screws holding the column to the cast base but not sure if it was designed to ever come apart. Looks like it was bondo and painted after assembly. Not sure how other makes are assembled. I would try to avoid separating that joint unless absolutely necessary. Bottom line is your looking at roughly 300- 400 lbs chunk left to deal with. I suppose you could also remove the spindle/motor assembly to lose another 75 lbs or so.

 

[arvidj]

I have seen several K.O. Lee surface grinders available. How would they be rated for initial quality?

 

[laiterman]

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

A few years ago I found a "Rockwell/Delta Toolmaker Grinder" on Craigslist, which I bought for $800. Since then it's been collecting dust. What do hobbyists use these for? Any interest out there if I want to sell it?

 

[kb58]

...I found a "Rockwell/Delta Toolmaker Grinder" on Craigslist, which I bought for $800... What do hobbyists use these for?

Well, presumably you bought it for a reason!

 

[laiterman]

Haven't you ever bought a tool because you thought it was a great buy and you figured it would come in handy at some point?

 

[KBeitz]

Grizzly sells a small Southbend surface grinder ... 631 lbs...

South Bend Lathe Co.

www.southbendlathe.com