- Joined
- Feb 18, 2016
- Messages
- 451
I found this Brown and Sharp surface grinder for sale for $218. Whadda think?
Comes complete with a mag chuck!
A 440 volt 3 phase motor:
And the motor controller electronics:
Ok, I already know this is going to suck all the nay-sayers out of the woodwork. But let's think about this in more detail.
First off, this thing weighs enough that if I took it straight to the metal scrap yard I'd probably get a full refund for what I paid for it. (worse case scenario)
But let's consider the fun we might be able to have with this thing.
To begin with the electronic motor controller relays look to be in pretty good shape considering how badly rusted the rest of the machine is. Let's pretend that the motor actually runs and doesn't sound too bad after a bit of oiling. Let's then clean up the motor and electronic controller cabinet to make them look pretty with a little bit of paint. Then put those items on Craigslist. Assuming the motor actually runs and isn't too noisy how much do you think we could recover by selling the 440 volt motor and control?
On a personal note, if the motor is completely shot, it goes to the scrap metal yard and I could use those nice big relays. Large relays like that aren't cheap!
Ok, now with the motor out of the way, what about the rest of the machine? I've been looking for a mag chuck restoration project so there's my mag chuck to play with. Again, no biggie if it turns out to be impossible to use. Scrap yard saves the day again.
Finally we're down to the actual machine. Is is possible to put this thing back into some sort of usable shape? We can't really answer that question without getting our hands dirty and giving it a shot. I'm willing to bet that this thing could be freed up enough to take it apart. Then go bananas with an angle grinder and wire brush to clean up all the ways. Clean up the rest of the outside of the machine. Paint it - reassemble everything. Put a 110 motor on it. And use it as a tool grinder.
Sounds good to me. Where are you going to get a nice tool grinder for $218 minus whatever you got for the motor and controller. Plus, there's always the wild chance that the mag chuck might actually turn out to be rebuildable. I realize it looks pretty bad, but I've seen some this bad being rebuilt before, so it's not necessarily an impossibility.
Think like a hobbyist. It wouldn't be worth the time as a business. But for a hobbyist? It sure would make a nifty tool bit grinder.
That's assuming the table can be brought back to life. I haven't seen the machine in person, so I don't know whether the table is free to move or rusted solid in place. It's impossible to tell from the photo. Sometimes things can look worse than they truly are. I'm betting the table can be freed up, even if it is frozen in place. Don't they have adjustable gibs? If so, then it should definitely be possible to free it up if frozen in place.
I wanna play with some junk! Would be nice to get it for free of course. But $218 is basically scrap metal prices. So it basically already is free from that perspective.
If nothing else it will serve as a conversation piece on a hobby forum. And I didn't even need to actually buy it to use it for this.
Comes complete with a mag chuck!
A 440 volt 3 phase motor:
And the motor controller electronics:
Ok, I already know this is going to suck all the nay-sayers out of the woodwork. But let's think about this in more detail.
First off, this thing weighs enough that if I took it straight to the metal scrap yard I'd probably get a full refund for what I paid for it. (worse case scenario)
But let's consider the fun we might be able to have with this thing.
To begin with the electronic motor controller relays look to be in pretty good shape considering how badly rusted the rest of the machine is. Let's pretend that the motor actually runs and doesn't sound too bad after a bit of oiling. Let's then clean up the motor and electronic controller cabinet to make them look pretty with a little bit of paint. Then put those items on Craigslist. Assuming the motor actually runs and isn't too noisy how much do you think we could recover by selling the 440 volt motor and control?
On a personal note, if the motor is completely shot, it goes to the scrap metal yard and I could use those nice big relays. Large relays like that aren't cheap!
Ok, now with the motor out of the way, what about the rest of the machine? I've been looking for a mag chuck restoration project so there's my mag chuck to play with. Again, no biggie if it turns out to be impossible to use. Scrap yard saves the day again.
Finally we're down to the actual machine. Is is possible to put this thing back into some sort of usable shape? We can't really answer that question without getting our hands dirty and giving it a shot. I'm willing to bet that this thing could be freed up enough to take it apart. Then go bananas with an angle grinder and wire brush to clean up all the ways. Clean up the rest of the outside of the machine. Paint it - reassemble everything. Put a 110 motor on it. And use it as a tool grinder.
Sounds good to me. Where are you going to get a nice tool grinder for $218 minus whatever you got for the motor and controller. Plus, there's always the wild chance that the mag chuck might actually turn out to be rebuildable. I realize it looks pretty bad, but I've seen some this bad being rebuilt before, so it's not necessarily an impossibility.
Think like a hobbyist. It wouldn't be worth the time as a business. But for a hobbyist? It sure would make a nifty tool bit grinder.
That's assuming the table can be brought back to life. I haven't seen the machine in person, so I don't know whether the table is free to move or rusted solid in place. It's impossible to tell from the photo. Sometimes things can look worse than they truly are. I'm betting the table can be freed up, even if it is frozen in place. Don't they have adjustable gibs? If so, then it should definitely be possible to free it up if frozen in place.
I wanna play with some junk! Would be nice to get it for free of course. But $218 is basically scrap metal prices. So it basically already is free from that perspective.
If nothing else it will serve as a conversation piece on a hobby forum. And I didn't even need to actually buy it to use it for this.