Elliott Tool Grinder #5

[Pete Deal]

Overland, I have the same grinder. Not sure if this one has a manual with it but fyi I got a manual from the guy in the uk with the web site with all the equipment documents. Also, fyi, the one down side to this machine is that it takes special wheel adapters that as far as i could find are not standard. I got a price of $500 or so each from Sopko. Mine came with two but I made 6 or so more so I'm good now.

If you have any issues/ questions pm me.

I’m amazed this was such a hard sell. For paying work I try to stick to all cnc work. I use my machine all the time for necking and other small cutter modifications. I do a job sometimes that needs a 7/16 dovetail cutter with a .035 tip radius. The first time I had a Harvey cutter modified by a local tool grinder. He's gone now. I tried to get another the best I could do was a month+ lead time and $300 for two cutters. I'm now cobbling a radius jig together for mine from a jig i got from another T&C grinder so I can do this in the future myself. It’s a tremendous asset to the shop. I was very tempted by this one myself. Looks very nice, nicer than mine.

My experience is very limited but from what I've seen one of the biggest deals with a t&c grinder is getting one with good tooling, as this one is.

 

[Overland]

Overland, I have the same grinder. Not sure if this one has a manual with it but fyi I got a manual from the guy in the uk with the web site with all the equipment documents. Also, fyi, the one down side to this machine is that it takes special wheel adapters that as far as i could find are not standard. I got a price of $500 or so each from Sopko. Mine came with two but I made 6 or so more so I'm good now.

If you have any issues/ questions pm me.

I’m amazed this was such a hard sell. For paying work I try to stick to all cnc work. I use my machine all the time for necking and other small cutter modifications. I do a job sometimes that needs a 7/16 dovetail cutter with a .035 tip radius. The first time I had a Harvey cutter modified by a local tool grinder. He's gone now. I tried to get another the best I could do was a month+ lead time and $300 for two cutters. I'm now cobbling a radius jig together for mine from a jig i got from another T&C grinder so I can do this in the future myself. It’s a tremendous asset to the shop. I was very tempted by this one myself. Looks very nice, nicer than mine.

My experience is very limited but from what I've seen one of the biggest deals with a t&c grinder is getting one with good tooling, as this one is.

Thanks Pete for info.
I have no experience, but will be another interesting learning experience.

I have one of those magnifying glasses - very useful !
Bob

 

[michiganbuck]

Just for facet grinding drills points and end mill ends such a machine can quickly pay for itself.. For your own cutters, you don't need fancy looking. Things like hand grinding the heal and the gash can make an end mill a 3 to 5-minute task. And when you need an altered standard into a special the machine can be a life saver.

 

[Overland]

I'm trying to get my head around this machine, from the pics posted here, and other research.
Seems that in the college video you posted, Buck, the end mill is in a collet. However I don't see any way to hold an endmill in any of the pics posted here.
Seems the "work holder" on this machine is MT5, so how would I hold an endmill, please ?
Secondly, I guess I'd have to disconnect the drive, remove the belt or something.
Thanks,
Bob

 

[Pete Deal]

Mine has a 5c spindle adapter in the work head. I've never had the 5c adapter out so not sure what the taper is. You will need some sort of adapter if it doesn't come with one. Maybe an er collet adapter would be good too.

 

[Overland]

Mine has a 5c spindle adapter in the work head. I've never had the 5c adapter out so not sure what the taper is. You will need some sort of adapter if it doesn't come with one. Maybe an er collet adapter would be good too.

Pete,
Yes, just dawned on me I can get ER / MT adapters, so I just googled that, and there's lots of them, even as low as $23 with a bunch of collets, LOL !
Bob

 

[michiganbuck]

You have a motorized universal ( tilt) work head that in its current position it is functioning as an OD grinder work head so can hold work between centers or directly straight or straight and at an angle.
.
With rolling off the belt it becomes free to swing, rotate and tilt for tool and cutter work, the index rings go on the work head nose to provide indexing, or indexing can be accomplished with a tooth rests finger.

You need a collet holder or a chuck that fits your work head taper to hold tools like end mills. A mild steel or brass slugger knock-out bar is often used to bump the end on the taper to knock it out with a light tap.
An Ok tool holder is a 3 or 4-jaw chuck on a shank that fits a holder, that secures into your work head.

Angled work head tilting accomplishes clearance angle but can be a time consumer because of the need to raise and lower the wheel head.. to work on the wheel arc edge or the wheel OD rather than the wheel front-facing edge can often accomplish changing the clearance angle much faster. On angled end tool /cutters simple to increase the tool/cutter rotation gives increased clearance a double length tooth rest finger can also be used so the shorter length of the finger gives the increased rotation.

Another clearance option is grinding the primary..and then butterfly the tool/cutter end to continue/clear the under the cutting edge in a circle grind fashion.

The secondary clearance also functions as a space for chips, and the gash as
a guide to flow the chips in a desired fashion/exit so the shape and angles of the gash is impottant for chip flow...but are not important for looks because the dish of the end makes the inside of the end completly miss touching the part.

A simple spin index can be used for a tool /cuter collet holder but often is not long lived if one is not carful to keep grits out of the works. With it being a straight device the wheel arc is used for the clearance angles.

Wheel arc is created by turning the wheel head so the work/part is facing the edge angle that is also part of the wheel OD.

Angle gauges can be a strip of .030 x1/4 x 4" long that has perhaps a 5*, 8* and 12* end angle that one can hold to the wheel and eyeball where the wheel arc gives the desired arc angle.

Thumb screw/nuts can make removing the belt guard quick.

Oh, ...and turning/rotating the wheel head one way or the other with using a cup wheel can give a concave or convex wheel arc facing the tool/cutter so raising or lowering the wheel can give different angles of clearance..Imagine sharpening and putting on the clearance at the point end of a reamer held between centers.

Cup wheels are self-dressing and can be shaped with a Norbide stick so you often don't need a bunch of wheel mounts, even diamond cup wheels quickly self dress...still it is good to have a mount-up line on the wheel and a line-up line on the wheel mount and a line-up line on the spindle end.

 

[Overland]

Went up yesterday and got it.
Thanks Joe for the help.
The machine is bigger footprint than I expected, and weighs as much as a Bridgeport !
Thanks,
Bob

 

[michiganbuck]

If it is a ball way long travel machine and you are capable it would not hurt to clean the balls
I like to put the balls in the same position found
likely the table has keepers like a Cincinnati TC grinder, you can free download the Cinci manual.
If scraped ways be sure they have way oil.