Cleaning up a tired old carbide grinder

Using a plunger with a salvaged micrometer head would be real sweet...

I just did some I.D. lapping the other day. I chucked up and turned a piece of steel (12L14 was handy) to dimension, and used 340-grit lapping paste to lap the parts. I powered the lap in the lathe and hand fed the parts. If I were to make lapping tools that were meant as durable equipment, brass or aluminum would be good for the lapping grit to embed into. Since it was a one-time, I didn't care, and the finished product came out great. If you don't have the right reamer, laps work well, but you need to be within a thou on your dimensions so that you lap minimally to achieve the result. Laps get inaccurate when you are relying on them to remove material.
 
You thinking something like this?
dressing_tool_1.jpg
that's the one I copied. I got it online somewhere.
I later learned that the angle helps keep the diamond tip shaped, you just keep rotating it each use so you are not grinding it flat, you are grinding it at an angle... yes the diamond wears, slowly , but it wears.
And this like the original I found has 2 sides.. Nicely done.
My diamond is a few inches long.. I got it when Enco was still in business.. Got it for this type of sharpener.
 
I did some lapping with a piece of wood the other day..
First with some emery cloth , then with the little bit of valve lapping compound I had.
I realized the brake hone might break on the open sides when redoing the quill stop on my head, so I used my head and used a dowel, turned to size for the emery, and larger for the lapping compound... It did the trick.. Used them both in a drill, the air grinder found them to be too tight.

They do make nice polished finishes... they didn't for me, but they did clean up the roughness that I left, and did even the hole out a little bit...
 
Put in the slit and screws to tighten it on the holder above. Kind of a moot point at the moment since the dial indicator doesn't fit. I machined some 6061 down to 0.375". Put some 320 grit paste on in and a drop of oil and chucked the other end in a drill. Ran it in and out of the hole. Slowly the the hole is getting bigger. Still can't fit the indicator in all the way. Think I will use some 12L14 instead of 6061. The 6061 is prone to self threading on burrs on the slit. If using steel doesn't work I will try a slotted dowel and some coiled up sandpaper. Kind of caveman, but it should work.
 
Some success. Made another lap, except this one is out of 12L14. Made a mad dash out to the garage, rummaged around while my teeth were chattering and found some valve grinding compound. This grit is like boulders compared to what I was using previously. I could really feel it cutting. It opened up the hole another thousandth pretty quickly and suddenly things were looking up. Now the dial indicator slides in easily into the clamp. Since there is a functional indicator holder for the table, it was possible to true the right table to within 0.005" of the grinding wheel base. I can align it a little better, but it felt pretty good to finally get back working on this grinder. The back plate on this CBN wheel is pretty coarsely turned, not sure how it is going to run. I may replace the SHCS that fasten the wheel with a lower profile version. I don't like the screw heads that close to the table. They are about 0.1" from hitting.
PXL_20211223_203222642.jpg
Feeling a little more upbeat, I replaced the broken socket on the light. The switch had been broken off, which I found to be unusually irritating. Fortunately the switch was ON, but it still bothered me. Felt like, I don't know, tool abuse. So that's fixed. Now there is a working light and switch.
PXL_20211223_203249504.jpg
Next is to align the left table (with the white wheel). Then to tackle the diamond dresser. The aluminum bar stock for the dresser just arrived today.
 
Some success. Made another lap, except this one is out of 12L14. Made a mad dash out to the garage, rummaged around while my teeth were chattering and found some valve grinding compound. This grit is like boulders compared to what I was using previously. I could really feel it cutting. It opened up the hole another thousandth pretty quickly and suddenly things were looking up. Now the dial indicator slides in easily into the clamp. Since there is a functional indicator holder for the table, it was possible to true the right table to within 0.005" of the grinding wheel base. I can align it a little better, but it felt pretty good to finally get back working on this grinder. The back plate on this CBN wheel is pretty coarsely turned, not sure how it is going to run. I may replace the SHCS that fasten the wheel with a lower profile version. I don't like the screw heads that close to the table. They are about 0.1" from hitting.
View attachment 389585
Feeling a little more upbeat, I replaced the broken socket on the light. The switch had been broken off, which I found to be unusually irritating. Fortunately the switch was ON, but it still bothered me. Felt like, I don't know, tool abuse. So that's fixed. Now there is a working light and switch.
View attachment 389586
Next is to align the left table (with the white wheel). Then to tackle the diamond dresser. The aluminum bar stock for the dresser just arrived today.
good idea to replace the screws... some button heads would be better for sure.
that looks like a diamond wheel, is that CBN.. I am used to CBN being nickel plated on.., That looks like a resin bond..
You can always true up the back of the plate if you feel it's rough.. If it's just rough, but flat, it probably won't make a difference.

That's still going to be a better machine than a bench grinder, so don't let it get you down.
And of course if you don't want it.... :grin:
 
good idea to replace the screws... some button heads would be better for sure.
that looks like a diamond wheel, is that CBN.. I am used to CBN being nickel plated on.., That looks like a resin bond..
You can always true up the back of the plate if you feel it's rough.. If it's just rough, but flat, it probably won't make a difference.

That's still going to be a better machine than a bench grinder, so don't let it get you down.
And of course if you don't want it.... :grin:
It's a CBN wheel, though it looks like a diamond wheel. Resin bond. Think it will be ok, but will know for sure once I flip the switch . The grinder will be clamped to the bench for that test.

Trying to decide if I want to use a micrometer head or a differential screw. A micrometer head would be easier, but haven't thought it through completely. I need to put in a bit of adjustability, more than the 1 inch of a head, because the wheel and table variability exceeds that. Also want the diamond to be spring loaded against the anvil, so the point retracts correctly. Never have made something of this complexity, be a first for me.
 
It's a CBN wheel, though it looks like a diamond wheel. Resin bond. Think it will be ok, but will know for sure once I flip the switch . The grinder will be clamped to the bench for that test.

Trying to decide if I want to use a micrometer head or a differential screw. A micrometer head would be easier, but haven't thought it through completely. I need to put in a bit of adjustability, more than the 1 inch of a head, because the wheel and table variability exceeds that. Also want the diamond to be spring loaded against the anvil, so the point retracts correctly. Never have made something of this complexity, be a first for me.
your other choice is a screw going all the way thru next to the diamond, and a disc on the end of the screw (screwed on or silver soldered on) with a groove in the diamond shank.. the disc keys on the diamond shank and pushes it in and out.

I went for a long shanked diamond because I wanted to use it in this type of holder. I figured short wouldn't do it. You can always mount it to another piece. Just put threads on one and tap the other. screw them together with loctite and turn it to true it up... Leave the diamond area a little bigger... did your diamond come with a protector?

so many ideas, so many choices... Don't let your head explode with all of them.
 
your other choice is a screw going all the way thru next to the diamond, and a disc on the end of the screw (screwed on or silver soldered on) with a groove in the diamond shank.. the disc keys on the diamond shank and pushes it in and out.

I went for a long shanked diamond because I wanted to use it in this type of holder. I figured short wouldn't do it. You can always mount it to another piece. Just put threads on one and tap the other. screw them together with loctite and turn it to true it up... Leave the diamond area a little bigger... did your diamond come with a protector?

so many ideas, so many choices... Don't let your head explode with all of them.
:chemist: Too late, head blew up! Been puzzling over this today.

Came up with something, using a micrometer head, but decided I couldn't machine it. I think if I break the assembly into more pieces it is possible for me to machine. The travel is less than 1" due to spring coil bind, which doesn't make me comfortable, but I guess it will be ok. I was going to machine a test piece, but I don't have the right size stock. My stock is either too small, or too big. I looked into scaling my drawing to the smaller diameter stock that I had, but the hardware (screws) didn't want to scale in a helpful way.

My diamond has a little plastic cap for the tip, it works, but isn't anything special.

Yes, lots of choices! I can see now, that a longer point would have been useful. But I have the diamond tool, so might as well get some use from it.

But you gave me an idea. It will allow some additional adjustment without giving up travel. I'll externally thread the assembly and make an internally threaded housing. Well, that's the basic idea, it will need refinement. I will need to sketch it up. Need to learn Fusion360, this drawing is killing me.
 
:chemist: Too late, head blew up! Been puzzling over this today.

Came up with something, using a micrometer head, but decided I couldn't machine it. I think if I break the assembly into more pieces it is possible for me to machine. The travel is less than 1" due to spring coil bind, which doesn't make me comfortable, but I guess it will be ok. I was going to machine a test piece, but I don't have the right size stock. My stock is either too small, or too big. I looked into scaling my drawing to the smaller diameter stock that I had, but the hardware (screws) didn't want to scale in a helpful way.

My diamond has a little plastic cap for the tip, it works, but isn't anything special.

Yes, lots of choices! I can see now, that a longer point would have been useful. But I have the diamond tool, so might as well get some use from it.

But you gave me an idea. It will allow some additional adjustment without giving up travel. I'll externally thread the assembly and make an internally threaded housing. Well, that's the basic idea, it will need refinement. I will need to sketch it up. Need to learn Fusion360, this drawing is killing me.
funny emoji..
mine came with a silicone /rubber like tip..
Whatever you do, make it work.. Tis better that way :grin:
 
Back
Top