"Big Ziggy" 1HP Craftsman Block Grinder Build

[torqueman2002]

DOC & ALL: i have a neighbor that bought a new Jet 10 inch bench grinder last year and i already see grinding marks on the side of his new stones. i asked or maybe it was more of a warning and he says he's used the sides of stones since he was a kid and he's been a Boeing Machinist for 30 years and worked at a Boiler making company for maybe 10 years before that.

he's still alive, but i think he's more lucky than wise in this situation.

Ziggy: I agree those tool rests look very much at home on your Block. nicely done AGAIN

Drives - I agree. We've all probably done it, and it's a matter of good living and the alignment of the stars in heaven that have kept us from a bad outcome.

Just because you have stuck your hand in a viper pit repeatedly, doesn't mean it's a good idea.

An old family friend Ken, worked in construction all his life, a time before safety equipment was common. His crew and my dad built several homes after WWII.

Just before he retired, Ken's hand held grinder cut-off disk came apart. He lost part of his lower jaw, and was blinded in 1 eye.

Work smart, be safe. Your friends and family love you.

 

[drivesitfar]

DOC: That's probably why i keep preaching safety all the time. i still have to remind myself to put on safety glasses when using grinder or chop saws or other power tools because years of not doing so still has me thinking it's ok not to.

good thought i try to remember if hitting a power switch on any tool is do i have safety glasses or full face shield on. slowly i'm getting better and hopefully i won't have an accident before i put on safety gear ALL the time.

sad story about your Dad's friend.

one funny add on to my last story about that neighbor is he replaced his working welding helmet with a $450 new welding helmet and let me use it for the first time out of the box while he was showing me how to weld. he does respect some aspects of safety and if he'd watch the videos on either my Grinder Safety 101 thread or see an accident of a co worker maybe he'll understand the power of a bench grinder. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263083&highlight=Grinder+safety+101

 

[JZiggy]

More about the label...

Jack sent me an Illustrator file which, with a little help from my photoshop-genius wife, I got looking very close to the original except for the Crown logo on top. I bought a font to better match the original text, "Futura Round Demi" in case anyone else wants to nerd out on this.

Jack also referred me to BayPhoto.com who can print directly onto a coated aluminum substrate. I had them cut a custom size to better fit the original label size. I opted to use their "sheer glossy" aluminum which lets some of the brushed aluminum show through. Here's what I got for less than $30 shipped:

I had assumed I would just glue this label on, but I realize that the steel face of the grinder was not perfectly flat. I decided instead to match the round-top label design with four fasteners in the corners. BayPhoto has an option to punch holes but in this case I had to take care of it myself.

I drilled and tapped 8-32 holes in the steel band. There's just enough meat for the screws to hold the label up tight against the band. This photo also lets you see how the metal shows through.

 

[drivesitfar]

Ziggy: so did you use self tapping screws or do you have lock washers and a nut on the back side of them?

also sorry, but i have to ask. is that an old Atlas or Craftsman XY table on your Drill press? also how did you find 3 jaws when most of them don't come with any?

thanks for the 411 on the label. it's awesome and just FYI you can't get too NURDY with the details because i bet if the guys reading your post weren't asking about the FONT they might have been thinking about it.

cheers

 

[JZiggy]

Drives, no one gave me a hard time about the FONT other than myself

I tapped 8-32 holes in the steel band with a hand tap and used standard machine screws, not self-tapping.

It is indeed an Atlas compound table. I was lucky enough to come across one table with the factory jaws, and a second table with only the stationary jaw. It can be very handy to have 3 surfaces for workholding.

 

[McBrownie]

JZ,

The label has me intrigued. Certainly nothing I need to have, but.... Do you think the method you used could replicate this label?

View media item 40367

 

[JZiggy]

Probably! You'd just need to spend a little time in an Adobe program designing a replacement.

 

[drivesitfar]

McB: i think G-20 or maybe a few other members have already made a 1/2 HP label so maybe getting them to email you or Ziggy the file and then Ziggy might be able to have one made and shipped to you if you don't have a supplier or a person in your area that can do it?

OR i think the Blockmeister might be ready for some added expense with a metal label to push him over the $1,000 mark.

 

[McBrownie]

McB: i think G-20 or maybe a few other members have already made a 1/2 HP label so maybe getting them to email you or Ziggy the file and then Ziggy might be able to have one made and shipped to you if you don't have a supplier or a person in your area that can do it?

OR i think the Blockmeister might be ready for some added expense with a metal label to push him over the $1,000 mark.

Drives,

The BlockMeister don't need no stinkin' label.

 

[Bobioz1]

Opinions wanted!!

Big Ziggy is borrowing the tool rests from an antique Stanley bench grinder. These things are *heavy* cast iron and fit well. Should I ask him to please give them back or...?

Those tool rests are awesome. Do you have a pic of the grinder they came from?

 

[JZiggy]

Thanks! Check the Vintage Bench Grinders thread.

 

[Bobioz1]

Thanks. Are they tall enough to adjust properly? They look a little short.

 

[JZiggy]

Yeah, maybe an RCH too short. I kinda like them adjusted low anyway, so it works out. Maybe there is a creative way to boost them up a bit.

 

[s14brent]

great job! i like the stanley tool rest!!

 

[95riosnake]

Absolutely beautiful work! I have a massive pre-block Craftsman that I have yet to get around to restoring, it's a beast and has the quench tray and such. I can only hope I get on your level with my finished product. I will definitely be using that Bay Photo site in the future for any and all badge/logo needs on tool restorations!

 

[Pupuhd]

More about the label...

Jack sent me an Illustrator file which, with a little help from my photoshop-genius wife, I got looking very close to the original except for the Crown logo on top. I bought a font to better match the original text, "Futura Round Demi" in case anyone else wants to nerd out on this.

Jack also referred me to BayPhoto.com who can print directly onto a coated aluminum substrate. I had them cut a custom size to better fit the original label size. I opted to use their "sheer glossy" aluminum which lets some of the brushed aluminum show through. Here's what I got for less than $30 shipped:

JZ,

Only thing I'm missing on my Craftsman Block 1/3hp rebuild I finished is the aluminum tag. I created a reproduction using MS Word (bad idea), however failed miserably on two occasions to install water slide decals onto to a new aluminum piece. Been thinking to get this finish is go your idea with Bayphoto, I just need to finish this rebuild asap to move on.

You mentioned "custom size", is there an extra charge for that or can you get a "standard" size then cut it down yourself? What type of files do they accept? Thanks-David

BTW: I invested into installing aluminum round head rivets (not pop rivets) using a HF air chisel gun with a rivet tool end. The round head rivets are 1/4" diameter by 1/8" diameter shaft. The rivet tool end accepts the 1/4" round head rivets. I've done several rebuilds in the shop using them.

 

[JZiggy]

Bayphoto's minimum size is 4"x4". They offer some standard sizes like 5x5, etc. I measured the label to be 3-7/8x4-7/16, so I settled for a custom size of 4x4-7/16.

You could probably cut it down yourself. It's just soft aluminum with a polymer coating.

Could you show us some pictures of the rivets you're able to make? Sounds cool!

 

[pendragon1998]

I was going to use bayphoto for my pre-block grinder, but they couldn't print one small enough and I was concerned that I would ****** up the larger one if I tried to trim it neatly. I ended up getting a photo magnet printed and trimmed that instead.

 

[JZiggy]

There! Looks better with matching paint on the tool rests.

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ ^ Wow . . . that is C-Man block grinder **** right there !! . .

Well done JZiggy on the restoration . . . .. that is pure awesomeness !!

My OCD has to mention it . . . shouldn't the stand now be painted to match ??

 

[CalsXS2]

Ya. And paint the plywood,,,,lol.

 

[JZiggy]

It's a grinder, not a dollhouse!



Fine, I'll paint the friggin plywood

Thanks for the kind words guys, it's been a fun project for sure!

 

[JZiggy]

I've always hated rattles and excessive noise in cars and machines. One of my professors opened a Machine Design course with, "the bane of all machines is: leaks, squeaks, and crud." I agree!

New grinding wheels (and wire wheels!) are often badly imbalanced. I bought a pair of 6" wheels for someone's grinder from a reputable supplier and the vibrated so bad it rendered the grinder unusable.

Some of this can be fixed by dressing the wheel to make sure it's perfectly round, but that does not account for variability in density throughout the wheel which shifts is center of mass a bit away from the axis of rotation.

I decided to try this One Way balancing system and wanted to share the results here. Spoiler alert: it works awesome.

The kit includes two balance-able hubs that you screw onto your grinding wheels. These are great because they are precision machined, so they have a perfect fit on the arbor and the sides have no side-to-side wobble. The hub forces the wheel to rotate as straight as possible, even without any balancing.

You set the assembled wheel & hub on the balancing rack and tweak the position of the screws until it no long wants to rotate but will stay put in any radial position. It only takes a few minutes.

First try with just one balanced wheel -- amazing! The grinding runs extremely quiet. Much better than I would have anticipated.

Here's the problem: the wire wheel was also very imbalanced, but OneWays hubs dont fit wire wheels. I threw it on the balancing rack and it needed 6 pennies crammed into one side to get it balanced.

Solution: overdrill the center of the wire wheel and the big flange washers so it will all fit on the OneWay hub. This picture is before balancing. I actually had to add an extra washer to get it balanced.

Now we have a nicely balanced wire wheel! Here's proof:

Also, during deceleration there are no resonant points. You know that phenomenon... 3600 rpm things are pretty good, 2500 rpm the grinding is shaking violently, 2000 rpm the tool rests are bouncing, 1000 rpm the lamp is wobbling all over the place, 500 rpm you've hit the washing machine's resonant frequency and you can hear it shaking from across the garage... None of that!!

(PS: I did this before swapping out the tool rests, in case you were worried... admit it, you were worried )

 

[drivesitfar]

Ziggy: i've never heard or seen of those so thanks for sharing. also the nickel standing on end with it running is a nice touch.

i think McB was doing something with washers on the side of a wheel about a year ago to balance one of his wheels and maybe he gave up on that idea because we were worried it might fly off and hurt or kill him.

yours seems to have all safety factors covered.

now i guess all you have to do is get the exterior paint out and paint the plywood and your done.

 

[JZiggy]

now i guess all you have to do is get the exterior paint out and paint the plywood and your done.

Yeah yeah yeah...

 

[CNGsaves]

Now with the balanced wheels, your 1 HP C-Man block has reached ULTIMATE status !!

. . . . . .

 

[drivesitfar]

Ziggy: or if you have enough time, money and need to maybe make one side a belt grinder.

ok i'll stop.

you have one sweet machine there and congrats for making it even better.

 

[JZiggy]

Thanks guys!

Hopefully this thread has offered some useful tech for GJers that want to improve their grinders, in spite of all my shameless incremental updates that are just a cry for attention

 

[drivesitfar]

Ziggy: you did a great job restoring the grinder and an even better job with this thread. I'm positive others agree with me and the members that have posted so far without a doubt.

what's your next project??

 

[torqueman2002]

Ziggy - nice attention to detail. Very sweet running Block!

 

[Bobioz1]

There! Looks better with matching paint on the tool rests.

I like your paint guard on the wire wheel. That's a great idea.

 

[JZiggy]

Thanks, and man you have sharp eyes. I'm more worried about the aluminum slowly wearing away. Brass shim stock with some friction tape underneath for a snug fit.

 

[Shiftless]

JZ:
Even better than a few days ago when I said it was fantastic. Man, you do great work!

 

[elguappo]

This thread and resto project are full of win. I have 2 block grinders that need this kind of attention.
Thanks!

 

[Shiftless]

This thread and resto project are full of win. I have 2 block grinders that need this kind of attention.
Thanks!

Thanks for joining the discussion, AMIGO!

(movie reference)
(or is it a super hero reference?)

 

[drivesitfar]

Ziggy: i didn't see that piece of brass and still wouldn't have unless Bob mentioned it. nice touch and like i said awesome looking grinder now after you put your magic to it.

Shift: are you making fun of his handle??

EG: if you do restore your block we'll reserve a spot on the Block thread for you unless you want to have a thread like Ziggy's.

 

[elguappo]

Thanks for joining the discussion, AMIGO!

(movie reference)
(or is it a super hero reference?)

Thanks El Jefe... (definitely from the movie)
I hope to get to mine this spring or summer, but I tend to move at a more glacial pace...

 

[Shiftless]

I have one and only one. A half horse block on the original cast iron stand. I bought it for $60 from the original owner when he was selling his house to downsize. It is currently awaiting freshening up. JZiggy lives not too far from me so I expect to call upon his expertise some time in the future.

Drives:
Of course not! He has a very handsome handle.

 

[elguappo]

Looks like I'll be in need of an identical style label for the middle one.
I picked up all 3 of these within a week in 2013...

 

[Shiftless]

Yep, mine is the same as your middle one. Red plastic flat paddle on-off switch, same lamp cover, same plastic eye shields, same quench tray.
If I can find the original owners manual that came with mine, I could Xerox you a copy.