More Tricks of the Trade
hmmmm...I guess I would consider grinding the table a Machinist job because that's the way I was trained. Over the years as a machinist* I have discovered quick ways to grind surface grinder table. A good grinder machinist has learned to speed up grinding a table top that is off .010" by plunge grinding straight down with tons of pumped coolant. At the end of each pass feed it down .0005 or more...have to experiment till you get it right and doesn't burn. This has to be done with coolant. Do Not try this with out coolant. So you use a coarse wheel dressed open and then instead of feed down .0002" and then feeding the table in and out. You do not use the cross feed, but you only feed down until you reach .009". Then raise it up and re-dress the wheel, calculate the amount removed feed the cross slide over the width of the wheel and plunge down and do it again and again until your all the way across the table. Then dress again and grind it the same old way.
As far as how much to grind off. I would say 2 or 3 thousands. If you scrape it with carbide 3 or 4 scrapes. You will feel the difference in the way it scrapes and grinds. The top is hard faced or some call it work hardened. I have never measured it, just did it. I have ground scored ways with a angle grinders to get them close, I have used air angle grinders to grind hardened ways, but have never ground a grinder table like that. Just seems crude to me. I suppose you could try it if your careful not to get it to hot or grind it to deep. I don't have problems re-generating old threads. There are tons and tons..or years and years of great info on practical machinist. Reincarnate as much as you want. Rich
* I am a Journeyman Machine Tool Rebuilder and part of being a rebuilder I had to learn to run machines. In my shop I had surface grinder's. I won't say I can program CNC's but I can hand sharpen a drill bit, sharpen lathe tool bits, run most types of conventional machines. I love running a single point planer or shaper. I have run VTL's. HBM,s, etc. One of my favorite machine was my Thomson Grinder. That is the type of machinist I am. I won't pretend to be a production machinist. But I know how to grind, mill, drill, turn, etc. . I love my trade! I love teaching my trade!