Author Topic: Home made tool & cutter grinder modifications (Read 75373 times)

cfellows · « **on:** January 25, 2012, 12:34:33 AM »

This is my home built tool & cutter grinder...

And here are some more pictures as I'm tearing it down...

It's made from 4" channel iron and a 5,000 RPM treadmill duty motor with a variac to adjust the speed. I rebuilt the front bearing carrier on the motor from aluminum to increase the accuracy and seal the motor from grinding dust. There is no air flow through the motor but so far it has never overheated. The motor has ball bearings on front and back and runs very quietly with virtually no vibration. I rarely run it more than half speed and have never put any appreciable load on it. I have several spindle attachments for it that allows me to use an assortment of different grind stones.

The grinder has served me well and is reasonably accurate, but is somewhat deficient in user friendlieness. The motor is fixed solidly to the frame and all angle and height adjustments must be made on the work holder attached to the table. I've long been contemplating modifications which would let me adjust the height of the spindle as well as the overhang of the grind stone over the table. So, that's what this thread is about.

Here you can see the 1/4" thick angle iron I added to the side for mounting the vertical column which will carry the motor. The angle iron has two slots that allow it to slide forward and back by about 2 3/8" inches which will give me more or less overhang over the table.

More pictures to come...

Chuck

sbwhart · « **Reply #1 on:** January 25, 2012, 01:59:27 AM »

Thats a very intersting little bit of Kit Chuck, thanks for showing,

Stew

Fergus OMore · « **Reply #2 on:** January 25, 2012, 02:57:20 AM »

Hi Chuck,
There is very little wrong with your machine, I like it. Actually, I wrote to one of our regular posters with published details of both the 'Nixon' in Model Engineer and the Brooks which was published in Model Engineers Workshop. One became the Kennet and the the Worden whilst the Brooks is a modification of the Clarkson which was miniatured as the Stent from Blackgates.

Actually, fairly recent Model Engineers Workshops have shown very fancy 'improvements' including a radius attachment on the lines of the very expensive Clarkson one.

Again, Miner and I were writing about the four facet drill grinding and me about grinding the ends of end mills and slot drills.

You mentioned the need to be able to raise the tool holder and this is what the Stent has. OK, it is a casting in the Blackgates version but I have one which was fabricated. In fact, the whole thing is fabricated- not by me- but came from a deceased estate.

So, If you would like me to send a few bits and pieces on the various tools mentioned, write giving your e-mail add to tramuntana(at)btinternet.com

Meantime, nice!

Norman

lockstocknbarrel · « **Reply #3 on:** January 25, 2012, 06:41:55 AM »

Hi Chuck,
As Norman said "NICE"

Regards Beagles

cfellows · « **Reply #4 on:** January 25, 2012, 01:09:13 PM »

Thanks, all, for the comments.

This first picture shows how the column which holds the motor attaches to the base. I have 3 holes in the angle iron platform so the column can be mounted in the middle or on either end for moving the motor forward and back.

Here is a view underneath the column platform. It's slotted to allow forward and aft adjustment by about 2 inches. There are also two sets of holes which allow further adjustment forward and back.

Do you get the idea that I want a lot of forward and backward positioning of the motor / grindstone????

Here is the motor clamp that I fashioned from 1/8" thick steel sheet.

And here is what the motor holding assembly will look like.

Chuck

bvd1940 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 25, 2012, 07:32:58 PM »

Dont stop now, I will be watching your progress.

I have picked up a 3in1 mill/lathe that I am going to convert to a tool grinder as it has both vertical & horizontal grind capabilities.

Real nice job on yours cfellows.

cfellows · « **Reply #6 on:** January 25, 2012, 11:03:41 PM »

Quote from: bvd1940 on January 25, 2012, 07:32:58 PM

Dont stop now, I will be watching your progress. I have picked up a 3in1 mill/lathe that I am going to convert to a tool grinder as it has both vertical & horizontal grind capabilities. Real nice job on yours cfellows.

Thanks, here are some pictures with parts temporarily hung in place.

Think I'm getting close to being able to put this thing back together. Tomorrow I will remove the metal feet from the motor so it will fit in the ring clamp I made. That will be the point of no return.

Chuck

DICKEYBIRD · « **Reply #7 on:** January 26, 2012, 11:47:52 AM »

That's the best shop-made grinder I've seen yet! Best means to me made from real-world stuff using real-world machines and is easy to use and understandable by folks like me.

Now, how-in-heck did you make the motor clamp ring?

Pete. · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2012, 02:42:10 PM »

That's great Chuck - thanks for showing!

Incidentally - what is the stepped diameter turned in the side of the left motor mount bracket for?

Chuck in E. TN · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2012, 04:42:48 PM »

Thanks for starting this thread, Chuck. I have a similat treadmill motor just waiting for a project.

Chuck in E. TN

cfellows · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2012, 09:01:25 PM »

Quote from: DICKEYBIRD on January 26, 2012, 11:47:52 AM

That's the best shop-made grinder I've seen yet! Best means to me made from real-world stuff using real-world machines and is easy to use and understandable by folks like me.

Now, how-in-heck did you make the motor clamp ring?

Thanks, DB. That clamp ring turned out nice, huh? I wasn't at sure it would. I started with a flat strip of steel, about .110" thick by 3" wide and 10" long. I used my (home made) press brake in my (home made) 20 ton hydraulic press to fold the tabs on each end. Then I laid the strip down across a 3" piece of channel iron with the flat part on the bottom. I put a 3" diameter billet of aluminum rod on top of the strip, then used my hydraulic press to push the billet down on the strip which pushed it down into the channel iron and made it curl up around the billet. Then I continued to use the press to form the ring around the billet. I should've made a video or at least took some pictures!

Chuck

cfellows · « **Reply #11 on:** January 26, 2012, 09:02:10 PM »

Quote from: Pete. on January 26, 2012, 02:42:10 PM

That's great Chuck - thanks for showing!

Incidentally - what is the stepped diameter turned in the side of the left motor mount bracket for?

Hi Pete, thanks for the kind words. The stepped diameter is just for decoration to make it look less clunky.

Chuck

cfellows · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2012, 09:04:14 PM »

Quote from: Chuck in E. TN on January 26, 2012, 04:42:48 PM

Thanks for starting this thread, Chuck. I have a similat treadmill motor just waiting for a project.

Chuck in E. TN

Thanks, Chuck. I'm really quite pleased with how quiet and vibration free this motor is. And, it has substantial ball bearing on the front end and a pretty beefy shaft for mounting things on. I run it with a full wave rectifier and a variac for variable speed.

Chuck

cfellows · « **Reply #13 on:** January 26, 2012, 09:09:09 PM »

I'm in the home stretch now. I've pretty much got everything reassembled. I still have to complete the crank assembly at the top of the z-axis. That crank on top of the z-axis lead screw is just sitting there, not attached. And I have to solder the motor connections back onto the switch, which is reversible, by the way.

I'm quite pleased with the rigidity of the column and motor assembly. I don't believe there will be any flex or vibration.

Chuck

Fergus OMore · « **Reply #14 on:** January 27, 2012, 03:36:33 AM »

As a sort of addendum, I've just written to DickeyBird on a few interesting( I hope) points.
The hard part is now ahead! That is the tool holders. Almost all the British builders have incorporated the Quorn tool holder.
OK, it is a lot of work but I did send you the drawings which Derek Brook took, modified, and added to his own machine.

For my modest 'improvements', I have my Stent sort of permanently fitted with a diamond wheel to lap a very fine finish my HSS lathe tools.

I'm working on a slitting saw grinding attachment- from an ancient book on the grinding subject by Ian Bradley

Meantime, enjoy

Norman

DaveH · « **Reply #15 on:** January 27, 2012, 07:08:35 AM »

Chuck,

That is very nicely made.

Fabulous job

Super post and photo's congrats all round

DaveH

cfellows · « **Reply #16 on:** January 28, 2012, 07:34:01 PM »

Quote from: DaveH on January 27, 2012, 07:08:35 AM

Chuck,

That is very nicely made.

Fabulous job

Super post and photo's congrats all round

DaveH

Thanks, Dave, much appreciated!

Quote from: Fergus OMore on January 27, 2012, 03:36:33 AM

As a sort of addendum, I've just written to DickeyBird on a few interesting( I hope) points.
The hard part is now ahead! That is the tool holders. Almost all the British builders have incorporated the Quorn tool holder.
OK, it is a lot of work but I did send you the drawings which Derek Brook took, modified, and added to his own machine.

For my modest 'improvements', I have my Stent sort of permanently fitted with a diamond wheel to lap a very fine finish my HSS lathe tools.

I'm working on a slitting saw grinding attachment- from an ancient book on the grinding subject by Ian Bradley

Meantime, enjoy

Norman

Thanks, Norman. I've begun looking over the files you sent me. Thanks again for the information.

Chuck

cfellows · « **Reply #17 on:** January 28, 2012, 07:42:39 PM »

I've got the grinder pretty much finished to the point where I've put it back in it's home spot, ready to go to work.

I've got to change out the crank handle on the y-axis since it interferes with the x-axis handle. I'm waiting delivery of a small timing belt which I will use to connect the lead screw to the handle after moving it a couple of inches to the right... the way it was before!

I finished the z-axis crank assembly on top of the column and re-purposed the tool post tightening lever from my mini lathe to now serve as the clamp screw for the motor assembly to the column.

Chuck

Next I'll be looking at some different tool holding fixtures to see if I can improve on what I've got...

Chuck

MadNick · « **Reply #18 on:** January 29, 2012, 04:17:22 AM »

A nice item which looks well made

Nick

Rob.Wilson · « **Reply #19 on:** January 29, 2012, 04:42:19 AM »

Hi Chuck

now that a nice bit of kit you have made ,,,

Is the fixture mounted on the bed for sharpening lathe tools ?

Rob

cfellows · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2012, 02:16:05 PM »

Quote from: MadNick on January 29, 2012, 04:17:22 AM

A nice item which looks well made

Nick

Thanks, Nick, a lot of work that was done when I was a bit younger and too foolish to realize what an undertaking this thing would be!

Quote from: Rob.Wilson on January 29, 2012, 04:42:19 AM

Hi Chuck now that a nice bit of kit you have made ,,,

Is the fixture mounted on the bed for sharpening lathe tools ?

Rob

Thanks, Rob. The fixture is primarily for doing lathe tool bits but will do pretty much anything that can be clamped to the round work surface. I plan to do a video later and show all the functions of the grinder, including the fixture.

Chuck

cfellows · « **Reply #21 on:** January 30, 2012, 02:27:04 PM »

I'm beginning work on updating my existing grinding fixture and perhaps adding some new ones. The first thing I did was spiffy up the piece of angle iron that attaches the fixture to the base. I radiused the side and the base and rounded over the outside edges. After 40 years or more of working around metal I'm finally learning to remove as many of the sharp corners and edges as feasible because sooner or later I'm going to bang my hand against one of them.

Here's the base attachment and a steel disk with newly scribed graduations. This will be part of the horizontal angle adjustment and has 5 degree and 10 degree graduations.

Here is the setup in my mill drill for cutting the graduations. The disk is mounted on my smaller rotary table. Each full revolution of the crank handle rotates the disk 5 degrees. The scribing tool is just a boring bar that takes 3/16" square high speed tool bits. The tool cuts on the upstroke which makes the inside end neater and the bit of metal that is removed comes out on the edge which is easier and cleaner to remove.

This is a closeup of the boring bar and the 3/16" tool bit. You can see that it is ground to a sharp point with the cutting edge on top.

Hopefully this will all make more sense as I get it put together.

Chuck

Rob.Wilson · « **Reply #22 on:** January 30, 2012, 04:53:28 PM »

Looking forward to seeing the Video Chuck

I could do with a lathe tool grinding fixture ,,,,,,,,,, or possibly build TCG one day

Crack on

Rob

DICKEYBIRD · « **Reply #23 on:** February 02, 2012, 02:59:26 PM »

Hi Chuck,

+1 on wanting to see the video!

Your grinder has my daydreamin' wheels turning furiously. I've had an old Sioux valve grinder sitting out in the shed for several years and thanks to your pictures, a plan is beginning to form to possibly convert it for tool grinding. Although limited in travel, it has a well protected, rigid x/y movement system on hardened round shafts with adjustable slides. I figure I could use its precision belt driven spindle on one side of a post with a treadmill motor and KBIC-120 speed control on t'other side. The post would be mounted to the y-axis where the motor & spindle used to be mounted. I'd get one of those universal fixtures off of eBay and mount it on the x-axis. It already has a nice back/forth lever feed mechanism and a coolant pump & tank!

Do you see any advantage in having the Z-axis motor "post" made from round rather than square stock? It would allow the motor/grinding wheel to be swivelled around to various angles as needed. Would that be a help or hindrance in making it usable for more tasks?

Fergus OMore · « **Reply #24 on:** February 02, 2012, 04:26:54 PM »

On my Stent, it is a square or square slide column, which can be raised or lowered but it is mounted on a calibrated rotary table.
This is a far more accurate configuration than round- and easier to return to zero.

Actually IMHO the Stent is better than my Clarkson on this. Again the rear leg is off set to allow calibrations in a fore and aft motion whilst there is room for the table to move in a normal manner- and to rotate if needed.

Nice, eh?

DICKEYBIRD · « **Reply #25 on:** February 02, 2012, 05:08:48 PM »

Quote from: Fergus OMore on February 02, 2012, 04:26:54 PM

On my Stent, it is a square or square slide column, which can be raised or lowered but it is mounted on a calibrated rotary table.

Hmmm, more grease for those daydreamin' wheels.

Fergus OMore · « **Reply #26 on:** February 02, 2012, 05:40:29 PM »

Might I come back to my earlier comments- and perhaps re-phrase a few bits?

Doing lathe tools only involves a movement across each edge of just over twice the edge. Perhaps, it is only an inch or so.
Again, doing end mills and slot drills often involves less than an inch of movement. So it doesn't need anything exotic to do all this.
What is does need is the correct abrasive wheels and some motive power- which can be a simple 6" cheap Double ended grinder.

What IS important is the ability to hold the tool properly. If you have doddery old battered hands and an unsteady body, you do need firm and sensible rests so that no shake or rounding off of edges takes place. Even with this pretty gimcrack stuff, you should get edges which reflect your dirty finger nails.

You then get results-- BOOOOOOOTIFULL ones

BillTodd · « **Reply #27 on:** February 02, 2012, 05:51:58 PM »

Quote

Hmmm, more grease for those daydreamin' wheels

Yes I know what you mean

I'm still thinking how to re-work my m/c fork-leg end-mill sharpener into something more flexible:

so far I've collected a B&D valve grinder spindle (good solid thing too), a slide from a cross-saw , various motors & VFDs, a couple of quality ball-slides, miscellaneous acme & fast acting multi-start screws and a selection of heavy steel to make it it out of.

Just got to decide how to put it together

DICKEYBIRD · « **Reply #28 on:** February 02, 2012, 06:02:31 PM »

Well, isn't that clever! Necessity's a muther, eh?

Seeing where you're from, surely that's a Norton or Triumph fork leg.

Fergus OMore · « **Reply #29 on:** February 02, 2012, 06:04:47 PM »

You have most of the ingredients. You also have a PM.

The 3 way vice is a good idea but you want the X slide to move more quickly. rack and pinion or as Derek Brooks did-

Again, you want a Quorn type tool holder. I sort that out for you on receipt of your reply.

Meantime

Cheers

BillTodd · « **Reply #30 on:** February 02, 2012, 06:05:54 PM »

Quote

Seeing where you're from, surely that's a Norton or Triumph fork leg.

I'm not sure but I think it's from a Honda ATV (three wheeler)

Bill

DICKEYBIRD · « **Reply #31 on:** February 02, 2012, 07:00:34 PM »

Quote from: BillTodd on February 02, 2012, 06:05:54 PM

Quote
Seeing where you're from, surely that's a Norton or Triumph fork leg.

I'm not sure but I think it's from a Honda ATV (three wheeler)

Bill

Ahh, so that's why it's doing a 3 flute endmill!

cfellows · « **Reply #32 on:** February 04, 2012, 09:55:00 PM »

I've got this thing pretty well finished, except perhaps for some additional attachments. Today, I made brass ball knobs for the x-axis spin handle.

I also added 5 & 10 degree graduations on the work holder...

And I reinstalled the belt drive on the y axis crank. I had to move it to the right so it wouldn't interfere with the x-axis spin handle.

Tomorrow I plan to make video tour of the grinder, time permitting.

Chuck

cfellows · « **Reply #33 on:** February 05, 2012, 07:29:47 PM »

Here's the video of my Tool & Cutter Grinder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6L8ZYrQm3U

Chuck

bvd1940 · « **Reply #34 on:** February 05, 2012, 08:38:16 PM »

Sure would like to see how the tool holder head works for grinding milling cutters.

BillTodd · « **Reply #35 on:** February 06, 2012, 06:49:32 AM »

Good work Chuck

Rob.Wilson · « **Reply #36 on:** February 06, 2012, 11:05:13 AM »

Great job Chuck

thanks for taking the time to do a video

Rob

Brass_Machine · « **Reply #37 on:** February 06, 2012, 11:49:14 AM »

Very nice Chuck! A very useful bit of modding there~

Eric

winklmj · « **Reply #38 on:** February 06, 2012, 02:16:01 PM »

Very nice grinder. Good job putting it together.

cfellows · « **Reply #39 on:** February 07, 2012, 10:55:21 PM »

Thanks, all, for the kind words. Here is a picture of my home made fixture for sharpening the flutes on end mills.

The spindle has just enough clearance so it floats on a cushion of air when hooked up to a low pressure air supply. This makes it very easy to spin while moving in and out. In it's current configuration it will handle cutters with a 1/2" shank on one end and 3/4" shanks on the other end. I can also do other shank sizes by using bushings. I'm going to try to adapt an er20 collet chuck to it so I don't need to use bushings.

Chuck

Pete. · « **Reply #40 on:** February 08, 2012, 02:19:34 PM »

That's neat! How much work did it take to get the air bearing working nicely Chuck?

BillTodd · « **Reply #41 on:** February 08, 2012, 02:38:44 PM »

Chuck,

Did you cut an annular groove internally to distribute the air and is the internal bore parallel? (if it is I'd like to try my fork leg spindle)

Bill

doubleboost · « **Reply #42 on:** February 08, 2012, 05:40:29 PM »

Chuck
Just read your post and watched your video

If you need any blunt milling cutter to practice on I have a box full of them

John

cfellows · « **Reply #43 on:** February 09, 2012, 09:48:14 PM »

Thanks, all, for the comments.

Quote from: Pete. on February 08, 2012, 02:19:34 PM

That's neat! How much work did it take to get the air bearing working nicely Chuck?

Thanks, Pete. Yes, I spent a lot of time getting this thing to work. I made the housing first. As I recall, I line bored it to get a uniform bore. I had to make several spindles before I came up with one that was parallel and worked.

Quote from: BillTodd on February 08, 2012, 02:38:44 PM

Chuck,

Did you cut an annular groove internally to distribute the air and is the internal bore parallel? (if it is I'd like to try my fork leg spindle)

Bill

Yes, I did cut an annular groove in the middle where the air inlet comes in. Not sure what you mean by parallel... It is uniform diameter for the full length if that's what you mean.

Quote from: doubleboost on February 08, 2012, 05:40:29 PM

Chuck
Just read your post and watched your video
If you need any blunt milling cutter to practice on I have a box full of them
John

Thanks, John. I mostly use carbide end mills and have only used this fixture a handful of times.

Chuck

BillTodd · « **Reply #44 on:** February 13, 2012, 10:37:21 AM »

Hi Chuck,

I've added an air input to my fork-leg end-mill holder. While there is certainly a reduction in the friction, it's not as much as I had hoped - just gauging from the number of complete turns it''ll do with a flick on the wrist say 2-3 dry and 4-5 under pressure - it is perhaps 50-80% better (although it does feel that much better)

Interestingly, the best pressure range is quite narrow, between 1 and 3 PSI. This is a much lower pressure than I was expecting , as the pressure increases above 3 PSI the 'bearing' gets progressively stiffer.

Any suggestions?

Bill

Pete. · « **Reply #45 on:** February 13, 2012, 01:45:26 PM »

Are you running that on the original sintered bush from the fork leg Bill?

MadNick · « **Reply #46 on:** February 13, 2012, 02:51:45 PM »

Good thread.

Im collecting the parts for my build at the moment.

Nick

BillTodd · « **Reply #47 on:** February 13, 2012, 04:09:15 PM »

Quote from: Pete. on February 13, 2012, 01:45:26 PM

Are you running that on the original sintered bush from the fork leg Bill?

No, Honda run the chrome legs straight in the machined alloy outer tubes, so the bore is just straight except for my new annular air groove.

Bill

cfellows · « **Reply #48 on:** March 09, 2012, 09:58:32 PM »

I got my end mill flute grinding fixture hooked up to the air supply and have been practicing sharpening on a 3/4", 2 flute end mill. The fixture will "float" the spindle at about 5 PSI and essentially becomes frictionless, except for the flute of the end mill riding on the small post which keeps it oriented withe grind stone.

I began thinking about a fixture that would easily let me grind the bottom cutting edges of the end mill and had visions of a fancy collet holder with indexing, etc., that would let me sharpen a tool at any angle, any rake, any number of flutes, etc. But when I got to looking for suitable material, my practical side kicked in (some might say it was my lazy side :-X) and I remembered this old, cheap Enco end mill sharpening jig I had bought years ago. After some searching I managed to locate it and after some head scratching, here's what I came up with.

Here's a couple of pictures of the lash-up I used to drill the holes for attaching the new base to the old one.

And, here's a picture of it sitting on my T&C grinder, ready to go to work as soon as I bolt it to the T-slot in the table.

Not real fancy, but it will do the job until I get the urge and the time to make something better.

Chuck

News:

Author Topic: Home made tool & cutter grinder modifications (Read 75373 times)

Rob.Wilson

Rob.Wilson

Rob.Wilson