Hi,
There have been several posts lately about the Toolmaker grinder. I have one, complete with all the accessories.
I have put a copy of some pages from a 1972 Rockwell catalogue that gives a description of the machine and the accessories into the Dropbox.
Two files: page 1-4 and 5-7
Thanks.
".. can be used for surface grinding accurate, flat surfaces where the surface pattern and RMS finish are not critical..."
Yep, that's my grinder.
Jim Wilkins
Jim,
Not exactly the most rigid machine, but useful. I actually do use it for sharpeing, and it's good for that.
Do you get a regular scalloping on the surface? I haven't check it out, but I think it's caused by the rack and pinion drive. I think the teflon on the ways is getting thin which is causing the pinion to engage too deeply in the rack
Bruce
I have one in very nice condition that I bought from Dick Trimstra in Detroit. It does ok as a surface grinder. It will not produce the same surface finish that the Harrig Hydrolic drive unit at the local Jr. College but its still a nice addition to a home shop. Another plus is that it was pretty easy to move into my basement shop.
chuck
Mine is an older model with well-worn flat ways and no evidence of Teflon. The scalloped pattern doesn't show as much if I crank the table in or out steadily while traversing, so the wheel follows a zig-zag path.
Jim W
My grinder say Rockwell. I have one V and one flat way. I do not see any teflon coatings. Perhaps I should ask what a Teflon way looks like! Did they all have them?
Do you have a single phase or 3phase motor. If its 3phase, what are you using for a power source?
My grinder has 3phase motor and I run it from VFD. Works pretty well considering I'm grinding dry. Someday I want to hook up the mist coolent and see how much difference it makes.
chuck
It came with a 3-phase 240V motor which I ran a little with a home-brew static converter, but I assumed that it would be much easier to sell quickly (if I find a -good- surface grinder) if it ran on single phase
120VAC so I tried a 1/2 HP Weg TEFC motor on it as a test, and it's stayed there ever since.It works pretty well despite all the wear. I use it to put a better finish on milled parts and to sharpen end mills, taps, reamers, planer blades, etc, and only rarely to grind large flat surfaces. It did a nice job of cleaning up that warped air compressor head that was blowing gaskets.
Jim Wilkins
Yes, a V and a flat way.
It's been a while since I had the table off, but it's a thin layer of telfon with an adhesive back. I think the telfon was on the stationary base, not the table. Lee Valley Tools sells a roll to telfon tape that I've used on other grinder ways. Sort of a poor man's Turcite.
Bruce
My manual states that the motor is a special balance and the motor is also balanced with the pulley in place. They continue on stating that if the motor is replaced, the new motor must be dynamically balanced with the pulley in place.
This was enough to convince me that I should not replace the motor with a generic single phase motor. It also convinced me that running a static converter on a SG was probably not a good idea. Others in this group reported problems with rotary phase converters that disappeared when they changed to VFD. I decided to bypass all this misery and bought a VFD.
My point is: The original poster was complaining about scalops. Perhaps those scalops are related to motor vibration.
chuck
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.