- Joined
- Dec 27, 2014
- Messages
- 658
I had two things lead me to a tool grinder, I needed a threading tool to cut a 2 7/8" x 48 inside thread, and I needed 10 ogive spoon bit that would not leave any stray tool marks. Cobbling together a tool than can make a good threading tool is only a few hours worth of work, but making a 10 ogive spoon bit is a whole different matter.
I tried many times to talk myself into getting a Chinese one like this
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free..._73_74_75,searchweb201527_3,searchweb201560_9
Having plenty of experience with Chinese tools, I just could not convince myself that it could be made to be a precision tool with out a complete rebuild out of the box.
I then tried to talk myself into designing a grinder that would suit all my needs. I quickly discovered that I know almost nothing about grinding. I have been using a bench grinder since I was about 7 years old. I do almost all my work on it by feel and instinct, and I have a pretty fair hand at grinding about anything you can imagine. Real tool grinding is this weird esoteric world, full of obscure opinions, strange language, and stranger people. To make matters worse, I do not even know enough about the topic to ask any of these people what kind of grinder I need. I'm like you, I just want to say "machine that grinds a lathe tool," and be done with it, not some long description about lips and the like. I just want to plug the damn thing in, fiddle with some knobs, and grind.
I finally opted for the Quorn because I get good bragging rights for making it, it is extremely flexible, and has a good community of users that share how they use it, and the jigs they make for it. The castings are sitting on the shelf waiting for me, I have two projects in front of it, and I am having issues with both my lathe and mill. I hope to start by the end of the years and finish it by next fall.
Designing and building your own grinder would be an awesome thing. Check it out. If you can wrap you head around the info, then go for it. Building a good shop tool from the ground up is a real treat, and is something worth doing well and right.
I tried many times to talk myself into getting a Chinese one like this
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free..._73_74_75,searchweb201527_3,searchweb201560_9
Having plenty of experience with Chinese tools, I just could not convince myself that it could be made to be a precision tool with out a complete rebuild out of the box.
I then tried to talk myself into designing a grinder that would suit all my needs. I quickly discovered that I know almost nothing about grinding. I have been using a bench grinder since I was about 7 years old. I do almost all my work on it by feel and instinct, and I have a pretty fair hand at grinding about anything you can imagine. Real tool grinding is this weird esoteric world, full of obscure opinions, strange language, and stranger people. To make matters worse, I do not even know enough about the topic to ask any of these people what kind of grinder I need. I'm like you, I just want to say "machine that grinds a lathe tool," and be done with it, not some long description about lips and the like. I just want to plug the damn thing in, fiddle with some knobs, and grind.
I finally opted for the Quorn because I get good bragging rights for making it, it is extremely flexible, and has a good community of users that share how they use it, and the jigs they make for it. The castings are sitting on the shelf waiting for me, I have two projects in front of it, and I am having issues with both my lathe and mill. I hope to start by the end of the years and finish it by next fall.
Designing and building your own grinder would be an awesome thing. Check it out. If you can wrap you head around the info, then go for it. Building a good shop tool from the ground up is a real treat, and is something worth doing well and right.
