Home Built Surface Grinder

Yep, the inside red part is what tightens the slide up to prevent the side to side movement. The locking plate you're showing on the side seems to be for locking slide in position so it doesn't change adjustment during use. Looking at the photo I'm not sure your slide has that side to side adjustment Natlek is showing in red.
 
If it has gib screws for adjusting the play, maybe put a dab of adjustable thread locker on them so they stay in place. I have used vibratite VC-3 for similar things and it has worked well.
 
That's what I originally thought, the three holes were for gib screws, but then I found the picture with the brace. My table didn't come with the screws or brace.

I don't suppose anyone would know the size for the three screws?
 
Bill, there is no way for anybody to know what size your table has, or even if it came with a gibb. If you're wanting to make a gibb to have the ability to adjust the side to side movement, then the size of screws will depend. I'd use something on the order of #6 or #8 range. I prefer a socket head type screw.

Good luck
 
Alright.. ya got me... Gotta make one of these now after reading though the 31 pages in that thread. Freaking awesome community builds and details.

I have a few questions.

There are two travel sliding tables available though this link. Is one superior?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32612615636.html

What were the dimensions of your aluminum blocks used for the magnetic chuck? (16''x2''x1'')

1/2'' between magnets and the aluminum is 1/8'' proud of the magnets? Just making sure.

Are these two pieces steel or aluminum?


I have a 4'' wheel currently. Not sure how square it is. Yall think there is a way to square it up to the axis?

Lastly... My 2x72 grinder has 1.5'' x 0.75'' aluminum tooling arms.. Think that's ok? Or should I go ahead and modify by grinder up to 1.5 x 1.5 before this SGA build?

Thanks for any information! Yall's post were awesome on this thread and your SGAs looked amazing! I can't wait to have flat things.
 
That slide looks good. Do not buy a ball screw guide. I did and don't like it. I made my chuck 2 1/2" wide and bought a 3"x6" wheel. I bought 3"belts from Phoenix Abrasives.
 
Jesse Latham said:
That slide looks good. Do not buy a ball screw guide. I did and don't like it. I made my chuck 2 1/2" wide and bought a 3"x6" wheel. I bought 3"belts from Phoenix Abrasives.
Click to expand...

I don't do much (any) work wider than 2'' at this point so I figured I'd get my feet wet with a 2'' table. Thanks for the tip on the ball screw guide!

I may need to buy a new wheel though. This is the one I have that came with my grinder:






What type of epoxy do yall use on the magnets? JB Weld?
 
J. Keeton said:
1/2'' between magnets and the aluminum is 1/8'' proud of the magnets? Just making sure.
Click to expand...

I have never built one of these, but 1/8" sounds like a lot to me. Magnets don't hold very well unless they are very close, but I guess you can always grind it away when truing it up. Also, why not use steel instead of aluminum? Should hold better.
 
Ken H> said:
Yep, the inside red part is what tightens the slide up to prevent the side to side movement. The locking plate you're showing on the side seems to be for locking slide in position so it doesn't change adjustment during use. Looking at the photo I'm not sure your slide has that side to side adjustment Natlek is showing in red.
Click to expand...

Looking a little closer, the screws on mine do not act as gibs. It looks as though they are just to hold the bracket in the photo. And it certainly not enough to take out the movement in the table.

At this point, if I can't find some way to tighten the two together, it's useless for this surface grinder attachment.
 
Guys , permanent magnets are an easy solution I know, but they have many drawbacks.
Why not like this ? I don t see that this is complicated to build or expensive .........of course no need to be that masive like in this video.
 
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Jesse Latham said:
My work is 2" or under also. A 3" belt allows me to move the belt to vary where the contact point is on the blade. 2" knife on a 2"chuck on a 2" belt, everything has to be perfect. 3" not so much.
Click to expand...

Ahhh I see! So you're using a 3'' wheel with 2x72 belts on a 2'' chuck, and then tracking the belt to meet your work. That sounds handy. Thanks for the explanation!

Did you use JB-Weld for epoxying in your magnets to the chuck?

Also I'm thinking of building this system in the vertical position. (Straight up and down) Has anyone else done this and how is it working for yall? Just seems like it's a little more of a workout, but shouldn't negatively effect the performance? (My Grinder doesn't go horizontal, and I wanted to keep the build as simple as possible without an angled plate)
 
mr keeton, the .75 x 1.5 arm should be fine. as long as the area between the wheel and sliding table does not flex it will stay true. i have the genuine tw-90 attachment. i took out 1/2 of the magnets and it still works fine. i took them out because the magnetic pull was so strong i ended up putting deep scratches in the blade just from removing it, and for safety. for me vertical orientation would not work that well because i do lots of tapered tangs, and examining the scribe lines on the end of the tang would be annoying. a tip- i injured my finger when i first got the S/G attachment. the pull is so strong that the tip of my finger got in between the blade and magnets and left a nice blood blister. now i use a small magnet ( my bubble jig) to hold the blade when putting it on the magnetic table so my fingers are safe. my magnets were not glued in, they had to be pushed out the side to remove them. they are very fragile like glass. be careful, if you put two of them several inches apart on the table, they will go slamming into each other and crack.
 
Hubert S. said:
I have never built one of these, but 1/8" sounds like a lot to me. Magnets don't hold very well unless they are very close, but I guess you can always grind it away when truing it up. Also, why not use steel instead of aluminum? Should hold better.
Click to expand...
I don't think anybody has addressed your question about 1/8" below surface. While 1/8" might be a tad much, for sure have 1/16" to 3/32" to have plenty of material to remove for truing up the magnetic chuck.
While steel might hold more, you'll find aluminum will still provide plenty of holding and the steel dust is a bit less of a hassle to clean. For me, the aluminum is easier to machine than steel would be.

I built a 2-1/2" wide chuck and got 3" wide wheels for grinder (drive, tracking, & contact). Getting wider sanding belts more of a hassle than having only the 2X72" belts in stock. For my 2" wide blades I will grind a tad of the bevel first, not much, 1/4" to 1/2" wide area and only a few thou. Just enough so surface grinding the rest of blade gets full width with a 2" belt.
 
john april said:
mr keeton, the .75 x 1.5 arm should be fine. as long as the area between the wheel and sliding table does not flex it will stay true. i have the genuine tw-90 attachment. i took out 1/2 of the magnets and it still works fine. i took them out because the magnetic pull was so strong i ended up putting deep scratches in the blade just from removing it, and for safety. for me vertical orientation would not work that well because i do lots of tapered tangs, and examining the scribe lines on the end of the tang would be annoying. a tip- i injured my finger when i first got the S/G attachment. the pull is so strong that the tip of my finger got in between the blade and magnets and left a nice blood blister. now i use a small magnet ( my bubble jig) to hold the blade when putting it on the magnetic table so my fingers are safe. my magnets were not glued in, they had to be pushed out the side to remove them. they are very fragile like glass. be careful, if you put two of them several inches apart on the table, they will go slamming into each other and crack.
Click to expand...

Awesome notes there! Thank you sir. I can see the vertical position being an issue with tapered tangs for sure.

I'll be very careful with the magnets.

As far as the tooling arm goes; I got froggy today and decided to modify my grinder to accept 1.5 x 1.5:








Ken H> said:
I don't think anybody has addressed your question about 1/8" below surface. While 1/8" might be a tad much, for sure have 1/16" to 3/32" to have plenty of material to remove for truing up the magnetic chuck.
While steel might hold more, you'll find aluminum will still provide plenty of holding and the steel dust is a bit less of a hassle to clean. For me, the aluminum is easier to machine than steel would be.

I built a 2-1/2" wide chuck and got 3" wide wheels for grinder (drive, tracking, & contact). Getting wider sanding belts more of a hassle than having only the 2X72" belts in stock. For my 2" wide blades I will grind a tad of the bevel first, not much, 1/4" to 1/2" wide area and only a few thou. Just enough so surface grinding the rest of blade gets full width with a 2" belt.
Click to expand...

Thanks for calling out the 2-1/2'' dimension. Made me look at my magnets which are 2.36''... So somewhere in between those two values will be my chuck!

I ordered the 3'' wheel as well.

Thanks for the feed back on magnet height. I figure I'll shoot for 1/8'' and then adjust the height if needed. From what I've read about these magnets... the extra height may be an advantage. I'm going aluminum for sure based on the ease of machining with my mini mill.

Also sweet tip on grinding thicker blades!

Thank yall for the help! Now I'm waiting on China!
 
I'm trying to make sure I have these estimates right to help me conceptualize the build, and make sure I order the right thickness of stock, etc.

Do yall read this diagram the way I am? Is the distance from the base of the bearings to the top of the rail 36mm?... And total height of table plus rail = 64.2mm?





 
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