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Surface grinder....

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AdeV:
I'm seriously considering buying a surface grinder; but it's not your usual type. I want it do to cylinder heads. It looks like this (sorry for the oversize image):



Are there any particular disadvantages to this sort of machine, rather than an overhead wheel grinder? The main problem I have is, resurfacing a Jaguar V12 head requires over 2ft of horizontal travel under the wheel, and most inexpensive surface grinders just don't have that sort of travel. Plus, there's no way to stick the aluminium heads to the magnetic chuck most seem to be fitted with...

Using the type pictured above appears to fix all of those issues. I can grind anything I like so long as it's no wider than about a 10-12" (the ring dia is 14"); I don't need a fixture to hold the head down (again, presumably, one uses hand pressure & simply keeps it moving). Problems I can foresee include uneven grinding due to varying pressure on the work piece and/or inconsistent feed rates.

Of course.... I could just go and buy this thing:



Hmmm....  :scratch:

vtsteam:
This is total inexperience speaking with either of the two. But the ring  in the base style machine reminds me of a wood joiner, which I have used a lot. The hand pressure is usually not a big factor in depth of cut --  that's determined by the step in table height. If there's no step (looks that way in this case with a circular ring inset) I dunno. Best practice with a joiner is to reduce hand pressure as you get to the end of the cut to avoid rocking or bending and increasing the cut depth.

One nice feature is starting the cut by lowering the workpiece onto the joiner head just back of the forward end of the workpiece. This leaves a step and cuts a taper (useful if you need to even the thickness of a wedge shaped piece, or conversely, want to make a tapered piece). You repeat until just shy of the desired end thickness, and then join the full length to remove the step on the last cut.

lordedmond:
Ade

They had one of those in the fitting shop at the iron works , now I was a sparks there but dad was the Forman in the fitting shop ( that's why I was not a fitter) anyway it was considered a quick and dirty rough grinder to knock the lumps off, non of the fitters considered it as a presision tool it always seemed to round over the start of the cutt and wobble the rest .

When any one had a big cylinder to do ( plenty of home work was done ) it was the old flat belt planner , cars were done on a grinder or vertical mill ( I mean the ones that used a Bridgeport for a toothpick )

Sorry to be negative but you asked

Stuart

(sorry, hit wrong button -- now restored -- vt )

AdeV:

--- Quote from: Stuart on May 28, 2015, 12:37:28 PM ---Ade

They had one of those in the fitting shop at the iron works , now I was a sparks there but dad was the Forman in the fitting shop ( that's why I was not a fitter) anyway it was considered a quick and dirty rough grinder to knock the lumps off, non of the fitters considered it as a presision tool it always seemed to round over the start of the cutt and wobble the rest .

When any one had a big cylinder to do ( plenty of home work was done ) it was the old flat belt planner , cars were done on a grinder or vertical mill ( I mean the ones that used a Bridgeport for a toothpick )

Sorry to be negative but you asked

Stuart

--- End quote ---

Stuart,

No problem, I'm glad you told me. I want to do precision race car heads, not "knock the lumps off"...

So, I should buy the bigger grinder at the bottom of my post then? The price is right (£1500), shame I'd need another £3k/year unit to put it in...  :bugeye:

vtsteam:

--- Quote from: Stuart on May 28, 2015, 12:37:28 PM --- it always seemed to round over the start of the cutt and wobble the rest .

--- End quote ---

Makes sense to me since there is no step -- the ground part could rock forward when half the weight was forward of the cutter.

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