Subject: Tool Post Grinder

From: "John Nicol" <[email-masked]>
Date: 20 Sep 1996 03:40:51 GMT

It seems as if quite a few of us have considered building a tool post
grinder.  It's hard to justify the cost of a new one for my hobby type
uses.  I really don't see where the $800 or more goes for such a simple
tool.  After all a good belt sander has about the same amount of parts and
can be had for under $200.

Why don't we make up a wooden pattern and have a dozen main bodies cast up?
 If we can agree on which bearings to use :).  I would'nt mind putting in a
little CAD time to help draw it up.  Any takers?

John Nicol			[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Steve Rayner)
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 09:00:02 GMT

There is no need for castings.  Over the years Model Engineer published 
several designs.  I am going to design one using bar stock, around 
available materials ( Read junk ).

-- 
Steve.

**************  BE ALERT, THE WORLD NEEDS MORE LERTS ************************

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From: jack yates <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 09:41:58 -0700

James Wilkins wrote:
> ...I took a piece of thick wall (nearly 1" thick) tubing from the scrap 
yard and turned the ID to fit the body of my air-driven die grinder, cut 
a slot in it to clear the hand lever, drilled and tapped for 2 5/16 
screws to hold the die grinder against the tube, welded a tang on it to 
fit the lantern-type tool holder on my lathe and used a fat rubber band 
to hold the hand lever down...the stone was  1" dia cylindrical, I 
dressed about half the length at a 30-or-so degree angle to pull the tool 
away from the work.

...Accuracy is determined by the ability of the operator, limitations 
of the tool seem to be only the recovery time of the air compressor 
driving it, cost was about a buck plus 2 hours shop time, not counting 
the value of the die grinder and stone which I already had and which can 
be bought reasonably cheap depending on the quality desired. It is also 
very light compared to the commercial grinders I have seen advertised.  
It was good enough to grind a roller-bearing surface on a shaft that I 
had built up with hardfacing rod.

...I recommend ear protection, the whiney little devil will drive you up 
the wall....

				Jack

...Noted for cheap, simple solutions (and complex descriptions of them)

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From: [email-masked] (James Wilkins)
Date: 20 Sep 1996 12:49:00 GMT

> can be had for under $200.

Dumore thinks that the MOTOR on a Model 14 is worth about $500.

> John Nicol                      [email-masked]

A Quorn?

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From: Mike Patrick <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 22:24:21 +0000

> John Nicol                      [email-masked]

If you're interested in a tool post grinder in kit form, Metal Lathe 
Accessories used to have a beauty, with a Baldor variable speed motor 
included...

Mike

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From: T Lipton <[email-masked]>
Date: 25 Sep 1996 01:06:55 GMT

> can be had for under $200.

 I contructed a tool post grinder earlier this year. The main spindle
contains two angular contact precision bearings. I machined a internal
taper and nut to fit a commercial precision collet. It is driven with
 a small cross section vee belt (approx .20" width) I used my 22,000 rpm 
3 hp plunge router to drive the whole works. I machined a step pulley 
with a half inch diameter shank to fit the collet of the router. 
My router has variable speed, and with the step pulleys I can use 
small mounted stones down to around a half inch in diameter without 
any trouble.

  TML

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From: [email-masked] (Russ Kepler)
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 17:00:20 GMT

>small mounted stones down to around a half inch in diameter without 

That's a *clever* idea.  I never would have thought to use a router
to drive a TPG, but once given the idea is a very good one.  Double 
use from the router as well.

-- 
Russ Kepler							[email-masked]

                    Please Don't Feed the Engineers

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From: [email-masked] (JBarry1000)
Date: 25 Sep 1996 20:07:41 -0400

I have recently found that a Dremel Flex shaft tool / mounted in a boring
bar holder, makes an excellent and inexpensive tool post grinder. Not yet
ready to give up my DuMore but the Dremel can get into plasces that the
Dumore can't. I recently fabricated some 0.015 dia X 0.009 rivets with
this on my Harding lathe and was very pleased.

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From: [email-masked] (Ole-Hjalmar Kristensen FOU.TD/DELAB)
Date: 26 Sep 1996 13:55:01 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> T Lipton <[email-masked]> writes:

     TML

An excellent idea! But, given that the router is variable speed, why
not just use the router itself, without another main spindle?
Imprecise bearings, wrong type of collet, or what?

Ole-Hj. Kristensen