Thread: Need guidance. Any Gorton 265 Owners? Info?

Hi guys. I just made a deal for two Gorton 265 grinders. A 265-5 and a 265-6. Both of them run fine and need a good cleaning. I paid $150.00 each. They each come with a couple of collets. (I couldn't resist).

Is this a good deal? The other grinders I see like this are pretty expensive. I pick them up tomorrow afternoon.

Also, I have been doing some research and the collets appear to be a rare or expensive item. Information on these grinders in the form of specs or manuals seems to be hard to find as well.

Are there any 265-X owners around that might be able to point me in the direction of manuals, info, or some sources of the collets? I found out they are a 4NS. Seems like every machine I buy has fairly rare accessories. From my South Bend Heavy 10R (small bore) to these things. (Grin)

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Matt;
That price is good. I paid $75 for mine and that is probably rock bottom. I've seen them going for $1,000. They are nice heavy single lip grinders.

See mine here:
Riser's Gorton 265 Grinder

4NS collets show up on ebay now and then.

Manuals are here:
History of, and reference material for Gorton Machine

Jim

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the info. I think your site is the only one I could find that actually has pictures of a 265 in action. I've been all over it. Keeping my eyes open on Ebay. I sure don't want to pay $200.00 for collets for this thing. I think, eventually, I'll be selling one of them. First, I'll be stripping and repainting the little machines. I couldn't pass up the price this guy was asking.

Since my lathe and mill are now fully operational, making collets probably isn't outside the realm of possibility either. I've got a few machinist friends that are much more skilled than me that I could ask for assistance, I suppose.

Do you mind if I shoot you a mail from time to time. I'll post some pictures of my Gortons after I pick them up today.

Thanks again,
Matt

Matt;
If you have 1/8" and 1/4" collets, you will be in pretty good shape for making single lip cutters for engraving. It is also possible to machine brass sleeves with side slits for adapters to fit the limited supply of collets.

Do feel free to email me.
Jim

Well,

I picked up the grinders. Both run like champs. I suspect I need to get new grinding wheels for them at some point. I haven't taken pictures yet but I will very soon. (In case someone is watching. haha) Info on these things is sparce at best.

The grinders only came with one collet between them. It's not a 1/8. However it is a little on the small side for a 1/4. Maybe a 3/16. I didn't measure it yet.

Maybe a good thing, I have two different types of heads for it. The 265-5 came with the 331-1 tool head for taper shank cutters. The 265-6 came with the 276-1 for straight shank cutters. I assume the engraver cutters came with tapered shanks and this was what you used to sharpen or grind them. I don't see me getting too much use out of that head and have no idea if it's more rare than the other.

If anyone has more info on the heads, I would appreciate it. I'm in the process of putting together some stuff about this project on my website.

Last - It appears the spindle in the head can be removed. Has anyone ever doe anything like creating a new sleeve in a universal head to accomodate a different type of collet? Just 'spitballing' here.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

Here is a bunch of pictures of the Gorton's.

The head casting has a bronze sleeve pressed into it. A steel sleeve, much like a collet adapter in a lathe spindle, rides on the bronze. The adapter has an index wheel clamped to the end of it with an allen screw at the other end. The pin on top of the casting slides in and out of the this wheel.

I'm thinking it might be easier to turn another sleeve that would accept more readily available collets. That way, I just have to turn the sleeve and a nut for the collets, rather than a bunch of collets. What do you think?

What is a comparable sized collet that is very common? If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it. If they make them in the square and hex variety that would be a bonus.

Gorton 265's - a set on Flickr

Take care,
Matt

As far as I know, there aint no "common" collets that fit these.

the 4NS will fit. and those are darn hard to find- it was a pretty rare size, even when it was new, and that was 50 years or so ago.

plus, most of these grinders were sold with pantograph machines, and I would guess the vast majority of them were used for one thing- sharpening single edge engraving cutters.
Which take an even weirder, Gorton specific collet- its 4NS on the outside, but inside, its tapered, not cylindrical. This is because the standard engraving cutter has a tapered shank.
Engraving Cutters Page

So many of these machines only had the one collet, ever.

Famco/Lars parts prices are notorious for being quite high.
But if you need the tapered collet, for the engraving cutters, Famco is the only game in town, except watching ebay for years...

Originally Posted by mattgatten

I think, eventually, I'll be selling one of them. First, I'll be stripping and repainting the little machines.

If you ever want to sell one let me know as I have been looking for one for quite some time at a good price.
Paul

Well, the second one will be for sale, more than likely. It has been my plan all along. Where are you located. Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to talk off line. Note: I won't be selling it for $150.00 because I think I got a heck of a deal on these.

Also, the second one doesn't have the work head that accepts collets. It's the other 333-1 head that is for tapered shank cutters. Unless you're into engraving, I don't know if it would be much use.

More importantly, I just finished restoring the first one. You can see it in my flickr collection. Reposting it below.

Matt's Gorton 265's

Thanks,
Matt

Originally Posted by mattgatten

Hi guys. I just made a deal for two Gorton 265 grinders. A 265-5 and a 265-6. Both of them run fine and need a good cleaning. I paid $150.00 each. They each come with a couple of collets. (I couldn't resist).

Is this a good deal? The other grinders I see like this are pretty expensive. I pick them up tomorrow afternoon.

Also, I have been doing some research and the collets appear to be a rare or expensive item. Information on these grinders in the form of specs or manuals seems to be hard to find as well.

Are there any 265-X owners around that might be able to point me in the direction of manuals, info, or some sources of the collets? I found out they are a 4NS. Seems like every machine I buy has fairly rare accessories. From my South Bend Heavy 10R (small bore) to these things. (Grin)

Thanks in advance,
Matt

I found 4ns collets at http://flywheelmachinetools.com/Smal...e/10050944.pdf