Brown & Sharpe 618 Surface Grinder

[ErichKeane]

So, this guy popped up on my local craigslist for really cheap, and I jumped at it. It seems complete and has about every feature I could want, as well as being rust-free. That said, I know absolutely nothing about it! I've got 220v in my shop, so I can run this with a VFD (which I've done before), but I have to find the data-plate first in order to size it! Anyone know where I can find that?

I found a manual for it on vintage machines, but its pretty information heavy, not sure I will know how to operate this guy.

Also, an interesting side note, apparently my grandfather worked at Brown & Sharpe (likely in the factory) for a few years!

 

[Janderso]

If you can't figure it out, I'll take it off your hands.
Do you know how rare that surface grinder is?
At least on the West side of this great Nation anyway.
Good for you!!

 

[ErichKeane]

If you can't figure it out, I'll take it off your hands.
Do you know how rare that surface grinder is?
At least on the West side of this great Nation anyway.
Good for you!!

Actually, I don't really know anything about its rarity. It apparently was in a machine shop for a while, though not used often once they moved to 5-axis CNC stuff. It apparently was listed on craigslist for a few days with no bites, so they lowered the price to $1250. For that, I figured it was worth it even if I had to scrap it, so I jumped at it.

It came with the coolant pump as well (up against the tailgate) so I get to figure out how that works as well, but getting it into my shop is obviously 1st priority.

 

[Bob Korves]

Those are hydraulic powered machines, the pump may be for the hydraulics to run the table and power feeds, or it might be for coolant, can't tell from the pics. Come to think of it, the hydraulic pump and reservoir may be in the machine. Benmychree on this site has one, and can probably answer any questions you have.

 

[Norseman C.B.]

Lucky DOG !!.......................

 

[benmychree]

On my Micromaster, the hydraulic pump is in the base/reservoir, and it also does all the oiling of the machine via Bijur metering nozzles, they should be checked out to be sure they are feeding oil, the ones on mine had to be replaced; I think this one has manual table travel and hydraulic crossfeed, as I do not see the requisite levers, etc for automatic table travel. I would like to see a better picture of the unit against the tailgate to know what it is. I do not see any splash guards, so wonder about the coolant hose running up to the wheel guard, mine has all the splash guards, and the wheel guard is also equipped for a dust extraction system.

 

[ErichKeane]

On my Micromaster, the hydraulic pump is in the base/reservoir, and it also does all the oiling of the machine via Bijur metering nozzles, they should be checked out to be sure they are feeding oil, the ones on mine had to be replaced; I think this one has manual table travel and hydraulic crossfeed, as I do not see the requisite levers, etc for automatic table travel. I would like to see a better picture of the unit against the tailgate to know what it is. I do not see any splash guards, so wonder about the coolant hose running up to the wheel guard, mine has all the splash guards, and the wheel guard is also equipped for a dust extraction system.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback! Here are the photos from the ad (below). Otherwise I can give more pictures when I get home if you have something in particular of interest.

 

[benmychree]

I have not seen anything quite like that unit, it seems to have both a coolant pump and a blower incorporated in it. According to the manual I have, the coolant unit for a "wet" machine such as mine, has only a coolant pump in a rectangular sump on wheels, I have the pump, but not the tank, and have been using the machine dry; yet another project to fabricate a sump. It looks to me that the hydraulic system is contained within the sump of the machine, you could remove the front cover and see to it, and you should do so to clean out the sump and replace the oil, mine specifies Vactra #2, a combination hydraulic and waylube oil.
You have quite a nice grinder there, capable of very close tolerences; did you see that the knob on top of the downfeed unit has 1/10 ths of a thou graduations that are about 3/8" apart? The grads on the handwheel are 2 tenths each. The feed movements on these machines are quite sensitive. Post a pic of the top of the apron , centered on the middle handwheel, the controls on this machine are a bit different than mine, which does not have the lever on the right side , just back from the downfeed handwheel.

 

[ErichKeane]

I have not seen anything quite like that unit, it seems to have both a coolant pump and a blower incorporated in it. According to the manual I have, the coolant unit for a "wet" machine such as mine, has only a coolant pump in a rectangular sump on wheels, I have the pump, but not the tank, and have been using the machine dry; yet another project to fabricate a sump. It looks to me that the hydraulic system is contained within the sump of the machine, you could remove the front cover and see to it, and you should do so to clean out the sump and replace the oil, mine specifies Vactra #2, a combination hydraulic and waylube oil.
You have quite a nice grinder there, capable of very close tolerences; did you see that the knob on top of the downfeed unit has 1/10 ths of a thou graduations that are about 3/8" apart? The grads on the handwheel are 2 tenths each. The feed movements on these machines are quite sensitive. Post a pic of the top of the apron , centered on the middle handwheel, the controls on this machine are a bit different than mine, which does not have the lever on the right side , just back from the downfeed handwheel.

The place I bought it from called that device the coolant pump and tank. Its heavy, and seems to have had some sort of liquid in it.

The hydraulic system label says:
"Use high lubricity way and hydraulic oil - 150 SUS AT 100F

ASLE W-150 Mobil Oil Co.
Vacuoline No 1405

Renew oil and filter annually, tank capacity approx 22 gal".

Do you have any good source for the oil? I searched vacuoline 1405 and found this: http://shop.sclubricants.com/mobil-vacuoline-oil-1405 though $20/gallon seems steep, even without shipping! Is there a good alternative/cheap way to buy a drum?

I'd noticed the downfeed 10ths, but didn't pay much attention to it. I'll definitely try to get those photos. Thanks!

 

[benmychree]

If you could find a crossover chart, I think that Mobil Vactra #2 is the same spec. You might be able to get by with less gallonage since the machine will not operate all day long 6 days a week; renew oil yearly? Don't hold your breath!