The Tool & Cutter grinder is basically done. I will be adding fixtures and will post them as they are made. I decided to grind a couple of tools and see how it works. I must say , I am impressed with the sturdiness and stability. Everything is working as it should.
I removed the air bearing to make room to use the vise. The first tool I ground was a lathe tool. It is simple and will check the grinder operation.
The lathe tool Was ground by putting the blank in the vise and just setting the desired angle and grinding. It grinds really nice at .005" per cut. It is much faster and nicer than anything I could do by hand. I am very pleased so far.
The next tool to grind is an acme threading tool for internal threads. I was going to buy an acme boring bar until I found out they cost over $100 EACH.
I took a piece of drill rod and turned an offset on the end in the lathe. Then put it in the grinder vise and ground one angle at a time.
I ground the top side flat and then the 29 degree included angle on the end.
All the clearance angles were ground next.
The finished tool was heat treated to harden. A file won't scratch it , so hopefully it will cut bronze OK. I polished the black off to make it look better. This was basically a test grind , but I will use this tool. From now on, I think I will harden the tool and then grind it to finish. I am pleased anyway.
This is the grinder set up. The hand wheels were a little stiff at first but after a good bit of cranking they are MUCH better. As everything wears in and the gibs get readjusted, I think the machine will work very easily and smooth.
(oops.. I must have forgot to edit this photo . It loaded sideways.) I put a cloth over the grinding area to catch the grit as it goes everywhere and i don't want it on the table ways. Cleanup is easier also.
I figure at the cost of micro boring bars, This grinder will pay for itself after making just a few bars. The machine works excellent and I will be adding the air supply for the air bearing and making a wheel guard. I still have to make a radius fixture for ball end mills. and get a 5C spin fixture for grinding pins or anything round.
This is a learning process, but I can see that it will give great improvement to my tooling capabilities.