Cincinnati Universal, what to look for?

Well, not really sure which forum is best; this one, Cincinnati, or Antiques.

The question at hand is what to look for, check, etc. in looking at an old Cincinnati Universal OD/ID grinder. I am not a grinder person, more lathe and mill experience. In the grinder I am looking for something to complement other equipment; mostly for restoration work on old woodworking and ag equipment. Not trying to split tenths, but certainly don't want a worn out anchor. The present owner bought the machine used, and didn't really run it much.

I've done a good bit of searching through the forum but haven't turned up much on grinder evaluation. If I've missed a good thread kindly point me in the right direction.

Thanks,
Aaron

Condition is everything with grinders, at the age most are its very much a hands on look at kinda thing. Some grinders design wise seam to age noticeably better than others, but out of all the machines to buy wear is the hardest - worst to fight on a grinder especially a cylidrical because to hit even tenths you need half tenths precision!

How old?...does it have 'Filmatic" bearings ,or is it older>pre WW2? Is it hydraulic,or mechanical?.........Im not knocking an antique machine,a machinist I used to know had a 1930s Landis with the sliding head,and used to produce hardchromed shaft repairs.......to super accuracy..Anyhoo..........about yoy machine..........first run the table to extreme ends ,lift the guards ,and look at the bed .......it may also have pocket oilers....that sometimes fill with cast iron dust.......see if its scored,badly.....beds can drop as much as fractions of an inch in some old machines....If the bed is good ,wear not major,and the spindle OK,then its probably a goer......The auto infeed is often U/S but for hobby work,that doesnt matter,provided the infeed does work without too much backlash.............the head backlash is eliminated by hanging a weight off the back,or a spring.

It's a 12x36 hydraulic. One thread I read did mention that Cincinnati used some oddball hydraulic solenoids.

Supposedly the current owner did use it some, but ended up hiring a buddy to grind his main product as this grinder is without follower rests. The lack of tooling worries me a bit, but expect rests and such can be shop made of needed.

I did watch some of the grinding videos on Suburban Tool's YouTube channel, and he offers some insight into taper, tailstock wear, and the like.

Reckon I need to schedule a time to give it a once over.

-Aaron

The rests arent difficult to make,unless you want the fancy spring loaded quick release ones......You only need a rest every 18" or so except thin rods.I only use rests if chatter sets in.Its very easy to substantially reduce diameter just by adjusting a rest........With a universal there are about a dozen competing factors making the work grind taper........meaning setup for a one off can be time consuming........an old machine can never be set parallel for one length and be expected to grind parallel on a longer length........IMHO,the only real use for a grinder nowdays is to grind hardchrome or hard spray coating........I repurposed my long bed universal to a lathe bed grinder for hobby lathe restorations........lot more profitable use .