Tool Post Grinder

[MrRage]

This a good buy - or should I look / make something else?

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...ProductID=1275


I've got a 1hp lathe - 10x24"

[Konrad]

Might not bee too bad for the money?

I think it's only for very light duty work.
It would be nice to hear from someone
who uses one like this.
Konrad

[MrRage]

Well the lathe is only 1hp so I'm not sure how much power hp the post grinder should have in reation to the lathes motor. I guess up to 1/5hp would be alright but I'm really new at this stuff.

[Mcgyver]

MrRage, If it was me I'd take a pass - there is no way you can even buy the bearings for a quality grinding spindle for that money. There's a reason tool post grinder spindles are 1000's $

what is it you want to grind - how badly do you need at tool post grinder? are you working with a lot of hardened tool steel/ case hardened parts? The reason I ask is I think mine gets used maybe once every 5 years. In other words unless you have something specific in mind, its just not an in demand accessory worth paying the big $$$ for.

If you do have something specific in mind, its a choice of mucho $$$$, outsource, or make your own imo. There have been articles in model engineer over the years, but you still need expensive bearings and balanced motors.

The other consideration is that many feel the best way to use a tool post grinder is with the lathe in one rool and the grinder down the hall in another - in other words don't. The grit is extremely hard on the machine, it wasn;t designed to keep it out.

[MrRage]

Well I want to be able to grind surfaces and use this as a finishing operation with making a leadscrew with my lathe, or simply grinding down shafts to a smooth surface. I know off the top of my head you could probably make a tool post grinder with Angular contact ball bearings for roughly $250, but you would charge upwards of a thousand dollars for such a unit.

It’s a nice unit for what it is, but your probably right in the sense that its not built with the highest quality parts and its limited HP probably isn’t going to serve me well either. I don’t know if I’ll make a tool post grinder but if I do decided on making it will be a decent product.

[mxtras]

I think for the $, you can't go wrong. Seems like a good deal to me.

Scott

[Mcgyver]

if its not a hardened part, just turn it, there is no need for a grinder. I think you'd be challenged to make a high quality one for 250, but hey, prove me wrong.

[MrRage]

Maybe someone here could answer this – I’ve read that tool post grinders don’t use coolant. I would think that it would be very beneficial to use coolant, at the very least to keep dust controlled. So does anyone know why its not recommended to use collet with one of these units?

[miljnor]

I believe the grinding wheels (and the machine) has to be made for it. If the wronge wheels the oil will just load the thing up. but just a guess. My tool post grinder would short out if coolant got on it.

[MrRage]

interesting, well that does make sense. If you use such a device on a lathe my guess is you would have a very specialized lathe by the time you were done.