454ragtop

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Joined
Mar 24, 2008
Messages
5,010
Location
Carver, MA
Love the factory cabinet base. Believe Van Dorn was eventually acquired by Black and Decker. Do you have the jig to chamfer the ends of the valve stems?
 

txvwnut

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Joined
Jan 1, 2015
Messages
7,588
Location
Bedford, Texas
It sure does look similar to a Black&Decker one I had twenty five years ago.

Does it have a coolant pump or is it set for dry grinding?
 

rsanter

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Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
18,487
Location
visalia ca
I'm using an old Sioux 680 that I have had for many years.
I have also had several of the old B&D units as well as an older Sioux as well.

Just used it a few weeks ago to build a couple sets of heads

Bob
 

oberst

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Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
205
That bent drawer front is just damn cool....

And I approve of the ambient music. I like to think that VanDorn would, also!

Hang onto that beauty. It's got another hundred years of life left, easy.
 

Mintgrun

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Oct 7, 2015
Messages
2,097
Location
Kingston, Wa.
I have an ancient seat grinding tool, which would go nicely with that.
A while back I saw a tool for setting the angles and truing up the grinding wheels, but it took me too long to figure out what it was for and I did not buy it. I regret that now.
 

Oregon rock crusher

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Jun 28, 2016
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West of Salem
Here are a couple pics of a Black & Decker version of the valve grinder, probably several years newer than your Van Dorn. Like others have said I sure do like that cabinet base you have for yours. This one has a coolant reservoir and pump and came with a ton of tooling. Ed.





 

gungatim

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Jan 8, 2013
Messages
8,101
Location
west mich
oooh, another valve grinder thread!

here's mine. I don't have the diamond point for truing the wheels but so far it had done dozens of small engine valves and one V6 Taurus...when I first got it it was missing the collet (I thought) and I almost scrapped it. then I started cleaning it and found the collet sitting in the oil pump drawer.

wish I had the vinyl cover like the photo!!!
 

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Edis

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Jul 30, 2011
Messages
1
I bought this one a couple of years ago for about 40$ on an auction here in Sweden. The owner of a local tractor workshop retired so he sold most of his stuff:
Van_Dorn1.jpg


Was a machine under the dirt
Van_Dorn2.jpg


I changed the long leather "wire" and got it to work, but a valve will not center correctly, so I´m looking for a new collet. I have found a couple from other models, but they are expensive, so I have not bought any yet as I don´t know it they fit. I would also like to buy some extra stones too if I find a collet.
 
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Dennis Leigh Henry

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Apr 8, 2013
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South Central, IN USA
Found object on Craigslist in mint condition! Works swell too!...


To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.

Cool machine.. Do you know how to dress the grinding wheel? It looks like it needs it. Its usually done with a diamond tipped dressing tool that somehow chucks up so you get the angle you need on the wheel itself. If you don't do that and run the machine dry (doesn't appear to have wet grinding capability), you stand the chance of grinder burning the valve..

I haven't ground valves on a machine like that since high school auto shop..
 

Schurkey

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Oct 27, 2011
Messages
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Location
The Seasonally Frozen Wastelands
I'm using an old Sioux 680 that I have had for many years.
I bought a 680 a few years ago. Came with a compressed-air-powered seat grinder, a few pilots, a few stones, two very ratty stone holders, some seat cutters, the cabinet, two stone-dressers but only one had the diamond-point, the fixture for ****-grinding the valve stem, and some miscellaneous ****. Did not come with the fixture for refacing rocker arms.

I had to re-mount the motor for the chuck; clean...everything. Twice. Apparently, the previous owners NEVER cleaned this machine. I made other minor repairs. The valve-holding chuck needed to be re-set on it's threads; it can be assembled four ways and three of them are wrong. I've played with the carriage ways, and the backlash on the handwheel adjustment. And then I cleaned it again.

I bought more pilots, more stones, a concentricity gauge, and a really crappy photocopy of the owner's manual from a guy on eBay that sells a lot of photocopied owner's manuals for various machinery.

At this point, it will hold 0.0005 runout pretty consistently; sometimes better. At the time, I thought the price was very ordinary, even a little high. I bought it because there just wasn't anything else available, and I had a cylinder head project. Wasn't until later I discovered that $650 was a screaming bargain, all things considered.

Fantastic machine, even if there are newer models. I might want the variable-speed chuck from one of the newer machines--but for automotive work I don't really need it. The only thing that it genuinely lacks is the ability to accept modern small-diameter valve stems; although I think I can finesse 5.5 mm stems, there's just no hope of anything smaller fitting the chuck.
 
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sberry

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Jun 18, 2005
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35,747
Location
Brethren, Michigan
At one point had considered it, and then engine work went away. My Bud had a Bud who saved one from a dumpster and it got passed to me for free and somewhere we scored seat tools in the deal. I did a dry grind on 1 valve the other day, just a touch.
We use it once in a while, if I was farting with old engines all the time would certainly consider today to hunt down a bargain sale set.
Allow for fix it now no cost repair. I can do golf carts ad the recent repair was a minor grind to 1 valve, didn't do anything to the rest of it but clean.
I use it so occasionally actually have a cox its covered with and put on a shelf out of the way with the forklift, its great to have,,, out of the way.
The seat stuff is used, a lot of stones though and I been able to make it. The grinder was NIB, sat in a half busted packing crate taking space in my Buds place and finally to me where I was the first one ever used it.
 

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Dennis Leigh Henry

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Apr 8, 2013
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South Central, IN USA
At one point had considered it, and then engine work went away. My Bud had a Bud who saved one from a dumpster and it got passed to me for free and somewhere we scored seat tools in the deal. I did a dry grind on 1 valve the other day, just a touch.
We use it once in a while, if I was farting with old engines all the time would certainly consider today to hunt down a bargain sale set.
Allow for fix it now no cost repair. I can do golf carts ad the recent repair was a minor grind to 1 valve, didn't do anything to the rest of it but clean.
I use it so occasionally actually have a cox its covered with and put on a shelf out of the way with the forklift, its great to have,,, out of the way.
The seat stuff is used, a lot of stones though and I been able to make it. The grinder was NIB, sat in a half busted packing crate taking space in my Buds place and finally to me where I was the first one ever used it.

That's a beauty....
 

sberry

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Jun 18, 2005
Messages
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Brethren, Michigan
You're killing me. That's a Sioux 680, just like mine only...perfect.

And missing some parts; I don't see the coolant reservoir or pump.

Hat's off, dude. I'm envious.

If you were talking to me there is cooling on it, my tech was just zinging a face on 1 that wasn't going to seal, it was the only machine work we did to it. It was in a rusted seized engine we had to take apart to get unstuck. It all looked like it might work but for this little spot in one face.
See how there is interest will take some pics of the Hall when I have it out again.
I only looked in to old tools by accident.
 
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Dmoen

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Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
334
My $250 score . I picked up an old B&D. Came with a couple boxes. One has a nice blueprint seat grinder. Most of the stones are trash, but there consumables anyway.

The other box is a K.O BRAND setup to cut in seats.

Lastly, there is no cooling built into this that is evident. Was it optional? And does anyone have it? It leaves quite a rough finish on the valves right now even after trueing up the stone. If not I’ll look for a finer stone


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Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
 

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sporta

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Jun 10, 2019
Messages
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Location
Sun Valley, NV
Hey all,

First time poster and I need some expert help :)

I have a vintage Black and Decker Standard 550 Vibro-Centric Valve Seat Grinder Type D (ser# 669531) and its accompanying "Van Dorn" Heavy Duty Stone Dressing Stand for Vibro-Centric Valve Seat Grinder Type B (no serial number on it). I am searching for a Stone Dresser to adjust the angles of the seat stones...any help with an original part number or someplace to begin looking for a replacement dresser would be greatly appreciated...I have attached pictures of the old beast and I'll get a better picture of the base later this afternoon. The odd-ball part of the Stone Dresser is that the protruding portion of the stand would be hex shape with external threads behind it...kinda confusing but hopefully the pictures later will help.

Thanks in advance,

Steve
 

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chopperpilot356

New member
Joined
Jun 21, 2022
Messages
1
Hey everyone,
I have acquired a few items that I will be putting to use soon.
One is this vintage Sioux wet valve seat grinding machine . It looked like it had never been cleaned...so...I spent a week cleaning and painting it. I posted some pictures.
The other gem that I found is a Sioux 680 valve grinder. I had to do the same clean-up and paint on it.
Does anyone out there know how to resurface tappets on this machine? Do I need a special attachment? The tappets that I am resurfacing need to have a convex curve on them.
Any information would be helpful.
Thanks,
Chester
 

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