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Searching For Elementary Books on Surface Grinding

Apostle

Aluminum
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Location
Charlottesville, VA
I've recently acquired my first surface grinder, a Harig 612. It's been quite an experience restoring the machine and I'm writing my story for later posting.

I'm a serious hobbyist that's searching for a book(s), perhaps a textbook, that covers the use of surface grinders. I have books on lathes, mills, etc, but have not been able to find a comprehensive book on the use of surface grinders.

Typical stuff I'm looking for; achieving best finish, safe use of thin cutoff wheels, wet vs dry, feeds vs finish, etc, etc.

Can anyone recommend a comprehensive book on using the surface grinder? I'd truly appreciate a list of titles.

Mike

BTW, I've searched through the threads here and have downloaded the DoALL manual (some good info) and the brochure on Grinding HSS (also good info). Want more info..
 
I've recently acquired my first surface grinder, a Harig 612. It's been quite an experience restoring the machine and I'm writing my story for later posting.

I'm a serious hobbyist that's searching for a book(s), perhaps a textbook, that covers the use of surface grinders. I have books on lathes, mills, etc, but have not been able to find a comprehensive book on the use of surface grinders.

Typical stuff I'm looking for; achieving best finish, safe use of thin cutoff wheels, wet vs dry, feeds vs finish, etc, etc.

Can anyone recommend a comprehensive book on using the surface grinder? I'd truly appreciate a list of titles.

Mike

BTW, I've searched through the threads here and have downloaded the DoALL manual (some good info) and the brochure on Grinding HSS (also good info). Want more info..

Machine Shop practice Volume 2 (Moltrecht ) has a lot of good stuff on specifically grinding wheels, fairly comprehensive overview to help one find one's feet before causing major mayhem.

Personally I've found YouTube to be a bit more useful for technique and doing stuff just as you get to see how it all goes from folks that are well practiced in the 'Art".

YouTube channel of Solid Rock Machine Shop inc (with Steve Barton, he's really trying to transfer useful knowledge in a very concerted and conscientious way.).

Related to that is Shaden HKW ("Stan", at Bar-Z ) I personally really dig the way he goes about stuff.

More generally the Suburban Tool guy(s) (Don Bailey ) have some really excellent stuff, both rudimentary but a few cool tricks and few other things that make you think a bit.

Robrenz he's doing an awesome restoration of his surface grinder / rebuild, can't wait till he finishes that.

Also for more advanced hacks with surface grinder in various catalogues and accessories you can find from the Moore tool company, has some pretty cool examples of what you can get away with in some cases with the right accessories, not just jig-grinding. In the Moore book "Holes Contours and Surfaces " ( located , machined Ground and inspected by precision methods ) has a really good couple of chapters on linear form grinding. Some really interesting that one would not normally think of.

A few other Youtubers are doing interesting hacks with surface grinders too like Steffan Gotteswinder (sp).
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Will edit add links / clean up.

Not sure what the "Bible" on surface grinding is ? Will be interesting to see what some of the other experienced "peeps" chime in with.
 
I'v been around the block with surface grinders and have not seen a very good book on them. I have some books on grinding and have read many but most if not all barely nick the surface of Surface grinding.
 
I'v been around the block with surface grinders and have not seen a very good book on them. I have some books on grinding and have read many but most if not all barely nick the surface of Surface grinding.
I thought The Grinding Wheel was the most informative. Not very hands-on, more of a high-level view but had a bunch of interesting information and things to think about.

Norton used to publish some pamphlets with a lot of wheel info .... not sure where you'd get those now tho.
 
The Grinding Wheel is good, but I've never seen a book just on surface grinding. It seems to be a skill handed down from generation to generation, or at least you pick it up from somebody else in the shop. Alas, that somebody doesn't always know how to get the most out of it.
 
I've not read The Grinding Wheel so I can't comment on it but I don't think I've ever seen a book on surface grinding that I'd recommend either. Aside from wheel selection most information about surface grinding is about the application. Sure some things like heat, surface finish, and dressing can be written about and I trust that you already have that covered. To me, the most important aspect about grinding (any) would be to learn safe practices. How to block in a piece so it doesn't fly off the chuck, knowing where the risk is for any job you're contemplating, how to load/unload a piece off the chuck safely, what it takes to explode a wheel, etc. A grinder can be one of the most dangerous machines in the shop due to things happening in an instant with little/no warning. Grinding accidents can be fatal or even worse than fatal if you're maimed for life. Many things about grinding can be learned by observing the effect and finding the cause. Sounds vague but if you're observant you'll listen for the sound differences of a sharp/dull wheel or the sound of the grind per depth of cut. When the sound changes on a .0015 cut the piece may be raising up off the chuck and now you're grinding .012 off. How does the surface look during grinding? Is one corner exhibiting burn marks? Why? Are you seeing skip marks in the surface? Why (loose grains in the wheel?). Many effects can also be discovered by use of a good indicator and a surface plate. If you do not have both I would suggest you get both. For the hobby level, wheel selection isn't as important for one-off pieces as it is for production work. You'll do well to determine the accuracy of your grinder. No point in expecting greater accuracy than that machine can deliver. I would also suggest making your own tooling/fixtures as there's a great opportunity learning how to work with what you don't have. You'll also increase your capability with every piece you make. You haven't stated what you'll be making but you're doing your homework and that's a good habit to be in. Plenty of experience with the members here so do ask questions. Sorry I can't help you out with a book but do try to find the pamphlets/catalogs the grinding wheel companies (Norton, Radiac, Bay State, etc.) used to hand out for free. It's their product and they know more about it than most people. Be safe, post photos of your grinder when ready. Ganbatte.
 
Can anyone recommend a comprehensive book on using the surface grinder? I'd truly appreciate a list of titles.

This grinding web site has a list of the books that are available.

ABRASIVE ENGINEERING SOCIETY

Click on the books tab on the home page.

My first recommendation for a how to do it book would have been "Grinding Technology" by Krar and Oswald This was a 15 dollar paper back book for use in community colleges. In is still in print in a revised second edition. However the publisher is demanding 155 dollars for a copy. When the first edition was published there were no government loans for community colleges. $15 was what a student was willing to pay. The publishers have raised their prices to absorb all the excess taxpayer funded loan money that is now available.

Your best source would be Ebay or one of the online used book stores. Just do a Duckduckgo search on this title or one of the other textbooks and see what shows up on the used book web sites.


I also have a copy of "The Grinding Wheel" by Lewis, "Grinding Practice" by Covin, "Tool Room Grinding" by Norton, "Holes, Contours, and Surfaces" by Moore, and "Handbook of Machining with Grinding Wheels" by Marinescu. None of these books will give step by step instructions on how to square a block on a surface grinder. That is what the Krar book does.

If you are interested in grinding technology I would recommend a used copy of the Marinescu book.It covers abrasive selection, wheel design, wheel dressing, coolant selection, machine design, grinding process control, and the application of surface, cylindrical, and centerless grinding. However, it provides no information at all on how to run a grinder. The other books are interesting but very old and not too useful.

The Cincinnati No. 2 "Operator's Instruction Book" and "Cutter Grinder Basics" book will provide very detailed how to do it information for tool room applications. This is limited to tool sharpening. It will be of no use if your interest is limited to surface grinding.
Robert
 
There are a number of places where one can get free download of technical books.
PDF Download Handbook Of Modern Grinding Technology Free

Operator's Instruction Book, Cincinnati No. 2 Cutter and Tool Grinder : The Cincinnati Milling Machine Company : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Gallmeyer & Livingston Co. - Publication Reprints | VintageMachinery.org

most operators books are for tool and cutter grinding not surface grinding.

The operators hand books are perhaps the best, illustrated with photos or sketches of actual set ups.

I have started to write such a book but with not having photos it gets so repetitious
and boring likely would be not that enjoyable. Still I will nick away at it and perhaps some day publish it, or not.

I have two books of children's stories now done and never published likely to go in the dumpster when someone decides to toss away my old computers... along with my books.
I had one book down on my desk that disappeared that was likely worth a thousand dollars as it was a very rare first edition, it was not on grinding.
 
I've recently acquired my first surface grinder, a Harig 612. It's been quite an experience restoring the machine and I'm writing my story for later posting.

I'm a serious hobbyist that's searching for a book(s), perhaps a textbook, that covers the use of surface grinders. I have books on lathes, mills, etc, but have not been able to find a comprehensive book on the use of surface grinders.

Typical stuff I'm looking for; achieving best finish, safe use of thin cutoff wheels, wet vs dry, feeds vs finish, etc, etc.

Can anyone recommend a comprehensive book on using the surface grinder? I'd truly appreciate a list of titles.

Mike

BTW, I've searched through the threads here and have downloaded the DoALL manual (some good info) and the brochure on Grinding HSS (also good info). Want more info..

.
some stuff the abrasive tool manufacturer will have info same as wheel manufacturer has recommendations on grinding wheel use. if all else fails read the manuals. usually a good ideal to reads the manuals and catalogs first though. saves learning the hard way.
.
if you work at a company that uses work instructions. they will say how to do stuff and usually a old timer nearby to ask questions if unsure what some terms mean. i write work instruction often adding pictures to better explain if needed. Microsoft office Powerpoint program is made for that
 
I agree wholeheartedly that The Grinding Wheel is a terrific book but for a good how-to book on surface grinding I'd go with Machine Shop Practices by Kibbe. The surface grinding section actually walks one through the process of squaring up a block of steel using an angle plate on top of the magnetic chuck. Lots of useful info with clear line art and photographs.
 
I agree wholeheartedly that The Grinding Wheel is a terrific book but for a good how-to book on surface grinding I'd go with Machine Shop Practices by Kibbe. The surface grinding section actually walks one through the process of squaring up a block of steel using an angle plate on top of the magnetic chuck. Lots of useful info with clear line art and photographs.

I'm assuming you meant "MachineTool Practices," by Kibbe and Neely? Hope so. I found a used 7th edition for under $8 delivered. Have ordered it on your recommendation. New 11th edition is $200+

Searching for other books now..

Thank you for your recommendations.

Mike
 








 
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