let's see your craftsman block grinders
- Thread starter emeraldcoupe
- Start date
torqueman2002
Well-known member
torqueman2002
Well-known member
Nice score!
torqueman2002
Well-known member
Offer $35, then settle at $40. Nice grinder for a restore project, but too much $$.
ganymede
Well-known member
How long should it take the grinder to get up to speed ?
Mine takes about 3 seconds.
Mine takes about 3 seconds.
87Pomona
Well-known member
Thats about right.
ganymede
Well-known member
Cool. Thanks pomona
torqueman2002
Well-known member
I picked up a 397.19340, 1/2 hp, for $10... tubular stand included, quench tray missing, black shade cover broken off and missing.
It's not pretty, but it works great. I started disassembling, got the thru-bolts removed, but couldn't get the frame halves apart. I didn't spend a lot of time looking at it, but are there set-screws or rings that secure the bearings? Is there a secret to this?
Here's the only picture so far.
The few I have done, had the long through bolts; once they were out, gentle tapping with a soft faced mallet separated the halves. If yours are stubborn, soak with your favorite penetrating oil (I like Kroil, from Kano Labs.), let it sit, soak it some more and let it sit some more, o-night. Try, try again. Good luck.
Looking forward to seeing more pics.
When you are ready to re-do the label; take a look here --> http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2819867#post2819867 You might be able to change it to suit your machine.
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87Pomona
Well-known member
My 1/2 HP Grinder, it's brand new.....just has minor scuffs from moving it. Even came with the original mounting hardware.
ganymede
Well-known member
Rickenbackerman
Well-known member
Crappy pics, but I picked this 1/2 horse one with a stand up a week or so ago for 40 bucks, works great! Makes my newer 1/6HP craftsman seem totally gutless...
Also came with a free mower blade balancer!
Also came with a free mower blade balancer!
fflintstone
Well-known member
Alchymist
Well-known member
Uh Oh...NAKED GRINDER - DON'T LOOK, ALICE!
Just moved into a home with a garage never had a garage before
I am building a workshop and my first purchase last week was a Craftsman 6 inch Block Grinder 1/3 HP Model # 397 in great shape for $25
The fine stone has a chip on the face/edge and I would like to replace it so I took it off the grinder yesterday and it appears to have a metal collar 3-4 inches on both sides
Are these collars removable and if so how are they removed
Also any suggestions for a wire wheel for this block grinder / dimensions and type for general use
I am building a workshop and my first purchase last week was a Craftsman 6 inch Block Grinder 1/3 HP Model # 397 in great shape for $25
The fine stone has a chip on the face/edge and I would like to replace it so I took it off the grinder yesterday and it appears to have a metal collar 3-4 inches on both sides
Are these collars removable and if so how are they removed
Also any suggestions for a wire wheel for this block grinder / dimensions and type for general use
mcmlvif100
Well-known member
The metal collars are part of the grinder and are likely just stuck from the wheel being on there a long time. Should separate with a little prying. Almost any old screwdriver or a putty knife would work. Likely you will find a paper label underneath.
Good decision to replace it if it has a chip in it. Lots of bad things happen if it breaks apart when you are using it.
Good decision to replace it if it has a chip in it. Lots of bad things happen if it breaks apart when you are using it.
R6 Racer
Well-known member
This getting old **** *****.
Some of my oldest tools are starting to die. First my belt/disc sander gave up the ghost & now my C Man block grinder is acting up.
For about a month the time it took to get up to speed was taking longer & longer. Now it wont start on its own at all. I can get it going with a little help, as in starting the grinding wheel spinning by hand. The machine will then take over & build to speed. I does take longer than normal to get up there but when it does it still works fairly good.
My question is, is it salvageable or is it on it's last legs?
It still seems to spin freely, not sticky or anything.
Suggestions?
Steve
Some of my oldest tools are starting to die. First my belt/disc sander gave up the ghost & now my C Man block grinder is acting up.
For about a month the time it took to get up to speed was taking longer & longer. Now it wont start on its own at all. I can get it going with a little help, as in starting the grinding wheel spinning by hand. The machine will then take over & build to speed. I does take longer than normal to get up there but when it does it still works fairly good.
My question is, is it salvageable or is it on it's last legs?
It still seems to spin freely, not sticky or anything.
Suggestions?
Steve
rickhigginshtbr
Well-known member
rip it apart and clean it, thats how my buddy and i fixed a 80 year old B+D grinder.... that needed new bearings as well.
sounds like a start capacitor but I may be wrong.
OP
emeraldcoupe
Well-known member
Dear Block Grinder Friends,
I just finished up a mild restoration on my round top grinder. It was really more of a repaint than restoration. I picked up the grinder from CL a year ago and the stand last summer. The stand was dirty and gray and had a really old ugly B-Line grinder on it. (I have since sort of come to like the B-Line grinder and will restore it later)The stand had that “rust crust” on it. You know that combination of grinder dust and fine steel particles that turn into rust crust over time. Well anyways for the stand I sanded and ground off the rust crust, primed, painted and clear coated it. Then wet sanded and buffed it. I saved the original Black & Decker decal. Afterwards I found a really cool Craftsman decal on eBay and wish I would have put that on instead but it was too late. The grinder was almost like new. It just had a few scratches so I repainted it. I could not find a date on it.
Greg
Here is the before condition.
The grinding wheels may be original.
I used silver argent for the silver parts.
I used rebuilders cast for the dark gray.
I found replacement rubber feet at Sears for the grinder. (That statement is a little misleading. Our local Sears store has a large hardware department and the bushings came from the automotive hardware drawer. They are not a sears grinder part, but they fit perfect.)
On the left are the new feet for the stand. On the right is new hardware for mounting the grinder to the stand. I chose self-locking nuts to fight off loosening from vibration.
Here it is in primer. The grinder ran so well I did not replace bearings or separate the two half’s.
Original stickers are still in place.
The stand decal.
The finished round top.
The finished assembly and ready to do work!
I just finished up a mild restoration on my round top grinder. It was really more of a repaint than restoration. I picked up the grinder from CL a year ago and the stand last summer. The stand was dirty and gray and had a really old ugly B-Line grinder on it. (I have since sort of come to like the B-Line grinder and will restore it later)The stand had that “rust crust” on it. You know that combination of grinder dust and fine steel particles that turn into rust crust over time. Well anyways for the stand I sanded and ground off the rust crust, primed, painted and clear coated it. Then wet sanded and buffed it. I saved the original Black & Decker decal. Afterwards I found a really cool Craftsman decal on eBay and wish I would have put that on instead but it was too late. The grinder was almost like new. It just had a few scratches so I repainted it. I could not find a date on it.
Greg
Here is the before condition.
The grinding wheels may be original.
I used silver argent for the silver parts.
I used rebuilders cast for the dark gray.
I found replacement rubber feet at Sears for the grinder. (That statement is a little misleading. Our local Sears store has a large hardware department and the bushings came from the automotive hardware drawer. They are not a sears grinder part, but they fit perfect.)
On the left are the new feet for the stand. On the right is new hardware for mounting the grinder to the stand. I chose self-locking nuts to fight off loosening from vibration.
Here it is in primer. The grinder ran so well I did not replace bearings or separate the two half’s.
Original stickers are still in place.
The stand decal.
The finished round top.
The finished assembly and ready to do work!
fflintstone
Well-known member
^^^sweet^^^!
montanafordman
Well-known member
New guy here and this is one thread that drew me in! I spend most of my time over on the fordbarn but now that I've discovered garage journal I'm really in trouble! I just bought a 1970 vintage 1/3 HP craftsman bench grinder. (Model 397.19580) I paid $55 for it which maybe seems slightly high compared to what some of you have paid for nicer, and more complete grinders. How do you all think I did? It starts up fine and seems pretty quiet. Going to clean this up and hopefully find the missing parts! I can see how these can be a bit addictive. I like these old motors!
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Welcome to garage Journal!
No you did not do bad at $55 Over time you will collect the missing parts
or...fordbarn.......hmm.... I will trade all the grinders I have if you have 32 3 window you want to trade.........lol
gregthor
No you did not do bad at $55 Over time you will collect the missing parts
or...fordbarn.......hmm.... I will trade all the grinders I have if you have 32 3 window you want to trade.........lol
gregthor
893cv
Well-known member
I just got another block grinder, 1/4 HP 1157581 and its heavy castiron! Its from the mid 50's and was built by Packard Electric. It runs smooth and I will give it a clean and paint to match the other vintage craftsman tools in my shop. Not a bad $10 CL buy!
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cbracer
Well-known member
can anyone give me a quick run down on what is a good quality paint and/or primer as well to be used with refinishing block grinders? I know there's some long winded forum about refinishing but I don't want to read for days. Obviously I'm not going to use plastic paint, but general spray paint likely won't last long enough. I plan to sand blast the parts before. thanks,
fflintstone
Well-known member
Do you have spray equipment? If so ask your local body supply place for advice.
Satisfactory results can be obtained from basic rattle cans though. Once again try a body shop supply and follow their recommendation.
Even Rustoleum primer and top coat will look great.
Get to work! post pictures!
Alchymist
Well-known member
Voi
Well-known member
Spraymax makes 2K urethane based rattle can paints. There is a small canister that attaches to or is attached to the bottom which releases the catalyst into the paint. So it's a true two part paint but in the convenience of a rattle can.
I'm pretty sure they've been discussed here on Garage Journal and if I remember correctly some really liked the product for small jobs, maybe up to the size of a motorcycle tank.
Without knowing much more about it, I'd imagine the downfall is that you have a limited amount of time before the entire rattle can needs to be used up.
I have a couple of small restoration projects and was going to try it but now have an old Unisaw so I will probably look into a spray gun.
Well, since I haven't been able to track down a relay for my other 1/2 hp grinder, another came up on c/l yesterday; scooped it up this a.m. for $35. Vibrates a bit (need to dress it) but the stones keep going forever after it shuts off. The light actually has an on/off switch; my others don't. And its a 1/2 hp round top--haven't seen one like this. Seller told me his dad bought it about 35 years ago new.
Even though my disease is in full swing w/purchase of another grinder, I did give a 1/3 hp away to a friend of mine. So that's my excuse that its ok to pick up this one. Now to find that elusive 3/4 hp unit cheap!
Even though my disease is in full swing w/purchase of another grinder, I did give a 1/3 hp away to a friend of mine. So that's my excuse that its ok to pick up this one. Now to find that elusive 3/4 hp unit cheap!
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fflintstone
Well-known member
yeah me too!
ejkuhl
Well-known member
Got my first Block. My CL find today. 1/2 horse. Paid $40. I am very happy with it. Starts great, runs smooth. Just missing one tool rest. Says 1973 on the bottom. I bought a new Porter Cable a few months ago but the GJ tool bug is biting. Guess that one will have to be a buffer.
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Alchymist
Well-known member
Added ejkuhl's numbers.
Exceller8
Well-known member
87Pomona
Well-known member
Man I wish I would have bought the 1HP grinder. I saw the missing covers/rests in the ad so I assumed the seller didn't have them?
Really hating myself right now.
1/3 H/P-Hemet
1/2 H/P-Ontario
Really hating myself right now.
1/3 H/P-Hemet
1/2 H/P-Ontario
Exceller8
Well-known member
Man I wish I would have bought the 1HP grinder. I saw the missing covers/rests in the ad so I assumed the seller didn't have them?
Really hating myself right now.
1/3 H/P-Hemet
1/2 H/P-Ontario
Yep, that's where I got them.
greenlizard
Well-known member
I guess I have a semi-block grinder. My Dad gave me this one about ten years ago. I didn't know it was anything special except it took a long time to spin down. The model number starts with 115. It is very heavy, seems to be made of cast iron including the wheel guards. Guess I'll have to clean it up and repaint it after seeing the beautifully done ones here.
