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WTB small bench top? surface grinder

jimmysgarage

Cast Iron
Joined
Jul 22, 2008
Location
Portland Oregon
Looking for a small (K O LEE?) surface grinder. I am not too familar with the sizing that I may need. I have a monthly job run of 2.5" diameter spacers and bushings that need a s.g. finish. A manual bench top seems to be what I would need. I am open to any and all advice. If you have something for sale, please let me know... you can email direct to... [email protected]

Thanks in advance :)

Jimmy
 
Sanford made a very nice small benchtop surface grinder. I think they had a 3 x 5 chuck. But they are old and likely to be in rough shape if you find one. A big grinder will do tiny parts and is easier to find than a Sanford. So you need a combination of good condition, good price and a weight/size you can handle.

Larry
 
Covel makes (or made) a small bench top SG, was offered one a little while back, probably should have picked it up.
Jim.
 
The Sanford SG48 is a nice little grinder but they are hard to find and expensive. You can find a nice 5x10 or 6x12 with a slightly larger footprint for the same money. The SG48 pictured below was listed on ebay for $2000 but did not sell at that price.
 

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I'd think a small benchtop T&C grinder like a kolee b360 would be far more versatile than just a little plain grinder. Should do little spacers just fine. W/ the motorized work head could grind things like the OD too. Not something a plain grinder can do. Definitely less than $2k:)
 
You don't say quantities, but I sure would not want to crank a manual surface grinder for what is basic production flat grinding. Get one with a micropole chuck that you can fill up with the order, nest/block them all snug, dress the wheel, set the stops, turn on the coolant, push the go button and do something else while it runs.

There's a lot of smallish surface grinders with 2 axis autofeed out there that aren't priced much if any more than a manual fed machine. The only reason for a manual machine with hard stops is if you do a lot of finicky tool making/grinding.

You want a fine pole chuck if the work is thin and small. For absolute size control without (significant) warm up time, a permanent mag chuck is better. For strongest holding along with a range of reduced power options, an electric may be better depending on your work.

6-18 grinders are about the most common. Sometimes a 6-12 may be a little better priced due to the "short" table. But the most cost effective options are going to be in that range. I know plenty of auto 6-18 machines in great shape sold for $~800 or less in the past few years. Just helped a buddy move a very nice auto DoALL out of a recently closed toolroom in Yonkers right before the holidays. It cost less than $200, about what the diamond wheel on it cost, for the whole shebang. It was on eBay, nice original paint, clean, with good magnet and set up for coolant. Maybe no one else wanted to move it in that neighborhood?

smt
 
Grinder

Hi,

I have a Swisher grinder that I would sell. This grinder operates like an Blanchard grinder; you just have to swing the wheel manually. It has a magnetic chuc

Ernie
 
Thanks for all the info guys.... I have a production run of 40 spacers that are 2.618 OD with a 1.5 ID, thickness of.135. Only 20 need to be ground to a 32 finish after heat treating. So listening to SMT thoughts, a semi/auto matic machine would be a nicer way to go... I could get them set and push go, then go back to other lathe ops...

More thoughts/ideas are appreciated!!
j
 
There's a learning curve to grinding, just like anything else.

Wheel grit and hardness, how to fixture/nest/block the work so it doesn't fly off the chuck, whether to use infeed or crush grinding. Then little niceties like how flat do you want it and how hard are you willing to work to get it flat, etc. "Tricks" like putting a sheet or 2 of typing paper down for the first pass, or not, or using torn paper bits for shims etc, etc, etc....

smt
 
Thanks to all...

I had the chance to run a G&L semi-auto last week. That was really nice, adjust the dial for the amount to grind (1/2 thou) then let the machine do the work. I was able to keep my eye on it while I was taking care of another operation. .... It's larger than what I can fit in my shop at this time but when I am able to get a surface grinder, I'll be looking for one like this...

Thanks for all the info... really helped out..;)

Jimmy
 








 
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