eKretz
Diamond; Mod Squad
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2005
- Location
- Northwest Indiana, USA
I like the idea of adapting a compact surface grinder. Would be nice to have one anyways for other things as mentioned, like cylindrical and... well, surface grinding. Truthfully my sticking point was that I had no idea any existed which are small enough (and self-contained enough) to be removed from their stand and placed on a different surface. My only exposure up until now has been the great big 36"+ clapped-out behemoths which tool and die shops out here regularly put out to pasture for dirt.
Do you have any recommendations for specific fixtures (makes/models) to adapt a surface grinder to the task of tool and cutter grinding? Features to look for aside from air bearings, indexing and collet compatibility? I might be able to elbow somebody to borrow the use of their surface grinder once in a while. Starting out with a couple of fixtures would allow me to get my proverbial feet wet on the (relatively) cheap and figure out what I do and don't like/want/need in a grinder when scouting for my own.
Something like a Harig Air-Flo maybe?
EDIT: Also seeing a Weldon model 'S' relief grinding fixture complete with cams and 'ER' style collets available... wondering if that would serve dual-purposes for both drill relief and endmill flute grinding. Can't find info on it... looks like it has a plain bearing spindle.
If you can find one, Royal Oak made some excellent relief grinding fixtures. An Air-Flo is decent for flute grinding on a surface grinder. Also a Grind-All is pretty handy. And Harig made a nice powered cylindrical grinding fixture too.