Abrasive 3b Surface grinder

I bought this Abrasive 3b surface grinder at auction a few months back. the machine seems to be in good condition and works great however I am having a heck of a time finding information about it.

One thing I found odd is that the wheel hub has no weights for balancing. Is there a way to balance the wheel that I am not aware of? Like I said I do not have a manual.

If anyone has manuals they are willing to share that would be greatly appreciated.

Way more modern than the one I ran.. very good machine. Suburban tool Don Bailey suggest using a carbide drill and take stock to balance..Think you might find on youtube.. seems an OK method IMHO. 7" wheels I normally don't balance unless needing a super spec finish. Yours

I think yours a 10" wheel.. still could not balance with having a close fitting name brand wheel but balancing is a good idea.
Think the one I ran was from mid 1920s and ran like a top but a bit heavy to crank handles...yours perhaps mid 1940s.

Fresh dress should skim .0002 with a smooth flow of sparks to prove balance and bearings OK..

Here's a brochure.http://www.sterlingmachinery.com/db-files/Abrasive-Surface-Grinders-General-Brochure.pdf

michiganbuck said:

Way more modern than the one I ran.. very good machine. Suburban tool Don Bailey suggest using a carbide drill and take stock to balance..Think you might find on youtube.. seems an OK method IMHO. 7" wheels I normally don't balance unless needing a super spec finish. Yours

I think yours a 10" wheel.. still could not balance with having a close fitting name brand wheel but balancing is a good idea.
Think the one I ran was from mid 1920s and ran like a top but a bit heavy to crank handles...yours perhaps mid 1940s.

Fresh dress should skim .0002 with a smooth flow of sparks to prove balance and bearings OK..

Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. What you said about removing material from the hub makes sense because the back of the hub has evidence of drilling. At first I thought it was to balance just the empty hub but it looked too sloppy to be factory. That would make sense why even with a brand new wheel I am a tad off.

Front wheel mounting face should run reasonably true for best performance. True the wheel OD diamond dress will make the bottom true and if in balance the wheel bottom grinding should be OK to good.The wheel front and back can be dressed if grinding with that. I like to put a line up mark on the spindle end and on every mount. That way they are much closer with removal and return of the mounted wheel.

With finding a mount that fits the taper well (blue in) and still having face run-out I would mount a single point lathe bit to a solid mounting and and take a skim cut off the mount face. Take a very light cut perhaps .0005 or so. Yes one could mount a die grinder and grind a skim off the mount. To run true it should be lined up to a mark on spindle end and on the mount.
Problem face run out..would not worry about tenths..you can just face dress when needing zero face...

Your Abrasive grinder has hydro static (?) bearings. It should have an oil cup next to the spindle for spindle oil. The bearing is made so the act of rotating builds up a film of oil that the shaft floats on. The harder the grinding the stiffer the bearing.

I have had 2 of these grinders and they can produce an excellent grind.

Because of the bearing design you do not usually need to balance the wheel. The only wheel adapters I used were non balance-able ones from the factory.

On rare occasions you may see a slight chop, under the proper lighting, try loosening the wheel and rotating and redressing.

Search this site for your machine--Use "search entire site" with google. It will dig up some of the archive stuff. There have been other discussions.

If you need a adapter with balance weights search Sopko --they make them for most machines

Lost

Thanks lost.. I agree that with decent fitting name brand wheels that are not coolant logged they run very well for balance with not being balanced for normal finish needs. Good storage of wheels is so they don't set out so just the room air and dust don't get them out of balance..I like a peg board with a visqueen drape.

Good also if easy to shut coolant for a moment to let coolant spin out of wheel.

Thanks for the tips. Based on what you said I think the balance issue might be due to holes drilled in the hub presumably to balance a wheel in the past. I initially though they were there to balance the bare hub. The machine works good as is and the finish is good I just know it could be better.

My biggest complaint with the machine is electrical. It was wired for 480v but I only have 240v so I changed the motors and transformer over but due to the increased amperage after about ten minutes of run time the thermal breaker pops. The breakers are ancient I cant find direct replacements at the correct amperage so I am afraid I am going to have to rewire the machine.

If your still looking for the manual send me a pm I have it in pdf form.

Can you send me the manual @Fregoe