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Any info on Grenby surface grinder?

awake

Titanium
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Location
Angier, North Carolina
I put this in the General forum yesterday, but have gotten no response -- I guess I should have put it here instead.

I acquired a small surface grinder yesterday, for a very very good price -- free! Here are a couple of pictures:

grenby1.jpg


grenby2.jpg


In spite of its appearance, the table moves very smoothly; the column is not bad but clearly needs a little attention. The spindle turns smoothly and easily, but sounds "dry."

This is the perfect size for my limited needs. I plan to clean it up and to do as much as is needed to return it to light duty service. Obviously, any information I could get on it would be helpful. A manual would be a gift from heaven.

Anyone?
 
Here's my Grenby that I've owned for about 10 years and gets occasional use. Looks as if yours is missing the swivelling table. These are the best pictures I can get for now as the room I am using for grinding is becoming a spray booth and space is a bit cramped. If you need any measurements or detailed pictures for restoring, let me know.

Todd
 

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Here's my Grenby that I've owned for about 10 years and gets occasional use. Looks as if yours is missing the swivelling table. These are the best pictures I can get for now as the room I am using for grinding is becoming a spray booth and space is a bit cramped. If you need any measurements or detailed pictures for restoring, let me know.

Todd

Many thanks! I've already have a BUNCH of questions, some just from what I have seen on mine, and some from looking at your two pictures.

1) Under the motor, yours has some sort of thumbscrew arrangement -- presumably for adjusting tension on the belt? I'd love to see a closeup of that -- mine is missing any sort of adjustment screw.

2) Yours has a wheel on the right-hand side of the table; mine does not seem to have any provision for one. What does that wheel do? I am assuming the large wheel in front moves the table back and forth; does the side wheel give you fine adjustment?

3) Yours has small knobs in the front middle of the table, and a little ways in front of that on the cross slide. Are these table locks? Mine does not have those, and I don't think it has any place for them. When would you use them?

4) There is a protruding knob between two gib adjustments on the vertical slide; is this a lock? Mine does have that, but it doesn't look quite like that. :)

5) Is the wheel guard on yours original? It is quite different from what is on mine.

6) Are you using a single-phase motor? (The capacitor on it suggests that you might be.) How has that worked for you? I may go that route as well, if I can't come up with another motor to use for an RPC.

7) Have you ever disassembled any part of yours? In particular, have you been into the spindle? Mine sounds a little "dry" -- I'm debating whether it is better to oil it up and see what happens, or to disassemble and address what I find.

8) Mine has a threaded hole, around 3/8-24, in the middle top of the spindle housing. I'm presuming this is for oil? What type of oil do you use in yours?

9) I have found what looks like an oil port on the back side of the vertical slide -- it looks like about a 3/16 "pin" sticking out, with a little cap on it. The cap can be rotated to show an opening. Is this for oiling the slide? Where are the other oil ports (i.e., for oiling the table ways)?

Whew! Sorry to ask so much! Thanks for any help you can give me!
 
Ok, Sorry it took a bit of time to reply. I'll do my best to answer your questions.

1 See the picture below for a closeup of the motor bracket. Mine has an adjustment screw but it doesn't really bear on anything. I assume the motor on mine is a replacement and the weight of the motor puts enough tension on the belt.

2. Yes the small wheel on the table provides fine feed adjustment it becomes "engaged" when the lock is applied to the rapid feed handle.

3 and 4. They are table locks. They work in conjunction with a cap screw so that it only takes a quarter turn to lock. It's been a while since I've had this thing apart but I think the screw just puts pressure on the gib. I lock the table when dressing the wheel. I would think on yours without the fine feed screw you would want to do the same.

5. The Wheel guard on mine is an obvious replacement.

6. The motor on mine is single phase. Having an RPC or rather a VFD might be pretty handy as my grinder goes a bit too fast for the RPM requirements of some of the stones I have.

7 and 8. I've had much of my machine apart to move it but I've never had the spindle apart. You can see in the second picture I have an adjustable drip oiler. I've always used a thick way oil in mine. For some reason I think the dealer I bought my grinder from suggested it. Perhaps someone else here can inform me (us) otherwise but mine has never run hot or dry with this type of oil.

9. I count two oil caps on the main table (compound?) and 4 total (2 in front, 2 in back) on the cross slide.

Hope this helps out. I'm no expert at grinding, although I did have a brief stint in a toolgrinding shop a while back. As you can see by the dust on my machine, it doesn't get much use, which may be remedied by moving it to a better place.

Todd
 

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Grenby Grinder

Gentlemen,

I also have a Grenby Surface grinder, search has failed to find any info manuals etc. Interesting that the base and column are fabricated from 1/4" plate? I will attempt to attach photos before I stripped it down for restoration.
This grinder is in Australia

Regards

Garry
 

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Thanks, Todd and Garry,

It is helpful to see how other Grenby's look -- and interesting to see the differences. Based on these pictures, it looks like mine is more like Garry's -- Todd, it looks like the spindle casting on yours is straight-sided; mine has the "curved" spindle like Garry's, and neither of ours has the extra "fine feed" handle at the end of the table. OTOH, since both of you have drip oilers, I guess I need to get one!

Andy
 
i am working on a lead for gremby grinders

i have 1 univ od id in the shop and it is marked prop of us navy cant read
the rest but it was aboard ship in the40s great mach. lost one in a shop fire
in the 90s like it but a little smaller also marked us navy have a friend that
said he had a cd with shop manuals for the gremby grinders that was a copy
of some kind of micro film dont have it yet but it looks promising if it works
out i will post that i have it till then good luck with your fixin up
 








 
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