Horizontal Grinder

M

Manderioli

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I would like to surface grind some parts and do not need high precision like a traditional surface grinding machine. Has anyone setup their VN with a horizontal arbor and a grinding wheel?

I am almost finished with my motor driven feed table (since the belt driven transmission did not come with the machine). This will allow me to move the table left and right at a set speed and then I would manually move the table in the x direction to progress the grinding along the surface.

Any tips on setting up the VN for grinding and grits?
 
Grits on a milling machine makes me shiver. I would plan on a very thorough machine cover which would keep swarf and abrasive grit a long way from the works. Also I would expect your spindle speed would be 'way to slow.
 
For the prices I find on used surface grinders, I'd never turn a mill into a surface grinder. Here recently I've Senn several under the $500.00 Mark with listed as usable condition. I too cringe when I think of the grinding paste just eating the ways and lead screws and nuts. Mills aren't grinders . The one time I ground my chuck jaws on the lathe , I taped every exposed way and covered with moving blankets even then I was worried.
 
Thank you for the comments and advice. I will look for a surface grinder.

Has anyone had experience with a phase-a-matic to convert 220 single into 440 three phase?
 
I'm not aware of anything that Phase-a-matic has that would convert 220 single phase to 440 3-phase. They mostly deal in rotary phase converters and the like. To do it without a big transformer to step up the voltage would require some pretty fancy (and expensive) electronics.

Why do you ask? Most smaller 3-phase motors can be wired up to run off of either 220 or 440 Volts.
 
There is a brown and sharpe no 2 surface grinder within 50 miles of my shop. Currently the grinder is wired for three phase 440v. I saw phase a matic did a electronic conversion for about $200-$300 (no rotary noise). Wasn't sure if I need to require motor for the 220 out put of converter. As of now, I do not have confirmation if the machine runs, when it last ran, and when any service was performed. I'm assuming for the price it will need work to run correctly.

My other concern is buying a used surface grinder. I enjoyed tearing down the van Norman to learn about the history, design, and mechanics. Not sure I have the time or want to throw money at a surface grinder since it will have limited use compared to mill. The grinder is going for $700 obo and needs electrical wiring. Off the bat it would cost me close to $1000 for the machine, conversion box, and transport. I'm sure additional costs will be needed once machine runs to ensure proper operation. So I am torn between buying a decent surface grinder and spending time to make it work or passing on the deal and opportunities to grind surfaces flat.
 
You wouldn't be able to spin the grinding wheel fast enough off the spindle. A surface grinder is the way to go.

I should also add the the bearings in surface grinders are very expensive, so if you buy one and it has bad bearings, it's going to cost more than the value of the machine, ask me how I know...

Jason
 
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