Help with an Elliott 921 SG

We have an old Elliott 921 in the workshop thats not seen any use in a while since one of the hoses came off (hydraulic line returning to the tank). Apparently it was working before this.. I've reattached the hose and been having a play with it. The cross traverse goes back and forth between the trip dogs but the longitudinal traverse only seems to work in one direction? Even when the trip dogs hit the direction control (or I change it manually) it continues in the same direction Any ideas where my problem might lie/where to start? (There seems to be a few features not working but to say I'm a beginner would be a massive understatement, so I'll start with the one problem

I don't know about the internals of that machine but one that size is worth some effort. It looks clean too and that's a good sign.

It is probably that you are not pulling the right levers as it sounds like the table is moving to one side and stopping to facilitate putting work on the chuck or taking it off ,it is probably supposed to do this .

There will almost certainly be another lever to set the table reciprocating but the first lever will also need to be in the correct position ,sorry I am not familiar with this machine but they have been discussed on PM before so hopefully someone will know the procedure

tottiecharlottie,
Elliot bought a lot of UK machine tool companies & then produced the same machine with their name on it. They bought Burdett & did exactly that. Tony´s Lathe site has manuals for Burdett grinders & also take a look at this old post from 2011: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/abrasive-machining/elliott-8-20-surface-grinder-info-222843/

PS, your chosen name is not PC!

Ray

daredo222 said:

tottiecharlottie,
Elliot bought a lot of UK machine tool companies & then produced the same machine with their name on it. They bought Burdett & did exactly that. Tony´s Lathe site has manuals for Burdett grinders & also take a look at this old post from 2011: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/abrasive-machining/elliott-8-20-surface-grinder-info-222843/

PS, your chosen name is not PC!

Ray

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I don't know the origins of this model but I had an Elliott Burdett rapid grind 618 and it was completely different than the Elliott 618 (which is pretty much a smaller version of the 921 in this thread),I think both types were available at the same time.

Apologies Ray, no offense meant of course just a childhood nickname.. maybe should start using something else.

"Elliot bought a lot of UK machine tool companies & then produced the same machine with their name on it. They bought Burdett & did exactly that. Tony´s Lathe site has manuals for Burdett grinders & also take a look at this old post from 2011: Elliott 8-20 Surface Grinder info"

Thanks, yes it was that thread that bought me to posting here.

Aah sable, if only it were that simple.. (Or maybe not, I'd feel pretty silly if thats all it was) I've got the manual so all levers are where they should be
I was thinking more is it possible a valve could be jammed preventing the hydraulics doing their thing in one direction. The cross traverse wasn't working initially which turned out to just be direction control was jammed but longitudinal direction control not jammed, just not having any effect on direction.

Hi Charlotte, Could you have an air lock within the system ? Sounds like you aren't getting oil pressure to either side of the longitudinal cylinder. Is there any way you can bleed the cylinder ? Slightly release the fittings at either end ? Don't do this with the power on, release the fittings slightly then switch the power back on, see if oil comes out of the fittings. Last time I worked on one those was 50 years ago and I was in College.

Regards Tyrone.

You wouldn't need to feel silly at all ,I had a guy working for me who had been a toolmaker for about 30 years using surface grinders all the time .

I set him on a job on my Jones and Shipman surface grinder and asked him if he new that particular model ,he assured me that he had been using surface grinders all his working life and he would soon figure this one out.

At that point I had to go out for a bit ,when I returned 2 hrs later he was still trying to make the table move and assured me that it was broken ,It took me minute to put all of the controls in the right place and away the machine went.


Does the table always move to the left ,that is the usual park position and I see that in your pic 3 8L it mentions having that facility ,as you say it could be a valve sticking but it would be that area that I would be looking at first.

Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Hi Charlotte, Could you have an air lock within the system ? Sounds like you aren't getting oil pressure to either side of the longitudinal cylinder. Is there any way you can bleed the cylinder ? Slightly release the fittings at either end ? Don't do this with the power on, release the fittings slightly then switch the power back on, see if oil comes out of the fittings. Last time I worked on one those was 50 years ago and I was in College.

Regards Tyrone.

Click to expand...

I have all the technical manuals for this in PDF if you get stuck, mine actually had a hydraulic leak that prevented cross traverse so i ended up dismantling it.

if you need them drop me a line @ mike dot mcdermid at btinternet then the dot again com