Grand Rapids Surface Grinder

J

j elky

Member
There is one for sale locally and I don't know much about them. It has a Browne and Sharpe magnetic chuck and several grinding wheels. Are these good machines? Is it going to be a maintenance nightmare? I was thinking of using it to grind of mill scale and possibly taper some tangs. Thoughts?

Jeff
 
For me it'd depend on what their asking price is, as well as what you're expecting to do with it "accuracy" wise.
Looks like that's on the smaller side of your average surface grinder, so I probably wouldn't expect to be hogging material with it. No idea what size motor it has on it, but I'm gonna guess less than 1hp? Also looks like it has a 12" chuck, so travel is gonna be on the shorter side. For tapering tangs, that shouldn't be a problem, though if you're trying to clean up longer billets, it may be more trouble than it saves to try to grind them.

It's hard to tell from the picture what kind of condition it's actually in too. A worn out surface grinder can be next to impossible to get any kind of decent results on, as far as flatness, surface finish, etc... If you're just using it for roughing passes, this may be less of a concern, but if, for instance, it needs new spindle bearings, that can get pricey fast. All that said, if the guy only wants a couple hundred bucks for it, the chuck alone is probably worth that. If the machine turns into a dud, just part it out and scrap the rest.

Then again, it may be in decent condition, and clean up pretty well, and be a nice little machine for you.

What's he asking for it?
 
Asking price is $400. I do not forge anything, stock removal only. Ad says it is manual, no electric feed. I know nothing about these machines, pretty much why I am here asking. thanks for the input...keep it coming.
 
Is it single or three phase? if it's three phase you'll have to add a VFD which is more than likely the case, now you have a $700.00 machine, and a really old looking one at that.
Personally I'd pass on that one.

I've been looking for a decent surface grinder for a couple years and just waiting for the right one to come along.
I'm in the Tampa Bay area so they come up on craigslist occasionally, verses the Tallahassee area where they are nonexistent.
depending where you are I'd wait on something better, I've passed up a few nice ones around $1500.00, I'm hoping to find a good one at $700.00 or so.
 
I have never seen this style of grinder. I have done a lot of surface grinding as a toolmaker years ago. I do have a surface grinder right now....

Here's my questions on this one. Is the wheel mounted directly to the motor? Is it rigid enough for scale removal on mill stock? I the base rigid enough?

Typically on surface grinder the head feeds down.(yours the table feeds up) The spindle rides on the two column legs which provide a lot of dampening. The motor is mounted on the same casting that in ground to fit the column very rigidly. The motor and spindle are coupled by a rubber/silicone cogged coupler to minimize motor vibration.

The base on most small surface grinders (most seem to be a copy of the Boyer Schultz...an industry standard for smaller shops) they are very heavy a squat base which sits on a heavy sheet metal cabinet that holds some of the goodies. Yours looks to be a single shaft coming up from the the feet which could have vibration issues.

I would not buy that unless you can try it on a piece of knife steel doing exactly what you want it to do. The table should float pretty effortlessly when cranking the wheel. peer underneath at the ways and look for scarring or grooving...grinders last a long time with good way lube habits. They turn to crap pretty quick without.

That looks lighter duty than I would want to spend $400 for. But if it grinds well and you like the results...it's close...and that means something too...lol.

sometimes if you go knock on machine shop doors you will find a gem they have not had time to get rid of. Just a thought...
 
Yeah, that's probably a little steep of an asking price, but again, it's hard to say without seeing it in person, or seeing what kind of work it can produce. It's gonna be a "light duty" machine for sure, as there's really no way to set up flood coolant on it, at least not without some serious fabrication.
Is it better than nothing? Maybe. Is it worth $400? Not to me it wouldn't be. I paid about $450 for a Reid 618 with power feed and an electric mag chuck. There's no real shortage of machine tools in and around that part of Michigan, so I'd personally keep looking, or maybe offer him $200 and have something to play on.
 
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