Craftsman 397.19590 'Block' Grinder Restore Thread

[lafester]

I finally got a round top 1/2 hp and its kind of a mess so I get to do my first grinder restore and thought everyone would like some pics. Going to start with a clean up and paint along with bearings most likely.

First pics from the ad:

Price: $35 + $55 shipping.

I have been searching CL for months and sent out a couple offers but nobody even replied for shipping. I've had good luck getting other things shipped but these are a pain to pack up... well unless you do it like this:

 

[lafester]

Surprisingly there is no sign of damage from shipping. The box is fully in tact except where the base mount poked through. UPS gets full credit for actually getting this to me in one piece.

Next up is the initial tear down.

I found this crack that was hidden by the cord as you can see in the pic above.

 

[lafester]

Thanks to FrankLee I have a replacement guard, center band and switch coming which is awesome. I would have kept the band but they put a company plate on it that I don't feel like dealing with. And, the new plate is in much better condition.

Everything is just dirty along with some surface rust to clean up.

 

[lafester]

The lamp is going to be my first project. Already checked the switch and it seems good after I temporarily took the knob off my 1hp lamp. Not quite sure yet how I am going to fix the base mount yet. Either brazing or JB weld depending on how I can get at it.

Also curious about the eye shields. These are bigger then my other ones and have not noticed any size difference when looking though the threads. Hard to tell in pictures though so I am wondering if anyone knows about them.

 

[1982fxr]

You sure the cracks aren’t from shipping? Look awful fresh...

Not sure about size but the shields look factory...

 

[lafester]

You sure the cracks aren’t from shipping? Look awful fresh...

Not sure about size but the shields look factory...

Just going by the condition of the box and the fact that nothing looks like it was dropped. They probably cracked it recently, that is why they put it up for sale.

I'm going to take a pic comparing the shields in a few.

UPDATE: Looks like they changed the shields just a little later on in production. I wasn't planning on having to fix these up but the bigger size is pretty nice. I'll see what I can do... they are bent a little, have to patch those holes and find some glass for them.

 

[lafester]

I think I have the socket base figured out.
I gently attempted to bend the crimped edges back to fit it into the opening. Broke off a few of them and got the others bent back just enough to get it in.

Did a light cleaning with the soft wheel.

Next I'll mix up some jb weld to hold it in place. It's actually nice and snug, I think somehow it is back in its original position.

UPDATE: First layer is down and I filled in the shields as well. If I have to I'll put a layer of JB on the outside but I'd rather not since there is no good way to control it

Had to bend one of the sheilds back into square. These things are TOUGH. Was pretty hard to bend it back. I gently beat it into submission.

 

[lafester]

The JB weld has cured enough to start working with the pieces. I got the lamp assembled and it looks pretty good. I'll probably paint the shade to match the grinder but the gooseneck and socket will stay naked.

UPDATE: I don't know why I did it, but I was trying to tighten the shade way too much and destroyed the JB weld. Managed to get it all off, along with more pieces of brass, and will have to start over. I think it would have held with some more cure time, and of course not stressing it unnecessarily. I have some epoxy I might try instead this time.

Also cleaned up the shade and it has a nice, dark color to it already. I'm not certain that painting it would make it look better then it's natural state.

The epoxy is holding well, although it took much longer then 30 min to set well. More like 24 hours...

I have one shield cleaned up and have one to go. The JB filled the holes nicely and was easy to sand down flat with 120 grit. There is a glass shop down the road and they are quoting about $12 for a set of cut 4 x 5 inch safety glass. After paint I'll silicone them to the frames.

Here's the sheilds after the first round of cleanup:

 

[lafester]

First round of cleaning is done. I'll do at least one more before paint.

Got a cheap pop rivet gun from walmart. Luckily I have the old band and plate to test with. Looks ok, not as good as the old ones but will do for now.

 

[lafester]

FrankLee's parts came today, Thanks!
As an added bonus the quench tray slot has not been punched on this band.
I was planning on keeping the HD base from my 1HP and using with this grinder.

 

[lafester]

First coat is on. Metallic paint was all I could find in the colors I wanted. You would think with 24 feet of paint cans they could have more then 2 shades of grey. I think it looks pretty good although the nickel seems slightly gold. You can really only see the metallic when you shine a bright light on it. I'll get a pic of the cans in a few.

 

[Htscheg]

Looking good!

 

[lafester]

Here's the colors. Tomorrow I will bake and then do a second coat, then bake again.
Hopefully after that I can assemble with care.

 

[lafester]

Looking good!

Thanks! Seems like the iron is a little brown and the nickel is a little gold depending on the light. I just hope it doesn't all scrape off in a month.

 

[lafester]

The HD base got a couple coats to match up with the grinder while the other parts are baking. I'm not going to paint the tool rest brackets, at least not now. Already doing way more painting then I like. I do have a can of clear somewhere and if it isn't dried out I may at least clear coat the quench tray since it gets abused so much. If not that then maybe I'll cut out a piece of shelf liner to fit. I'm always throwing bits and pieces in there during clean up.

Something to keep in mind: JB weld seems to discolor the paint when heated. I'll have to touch up those spots when they cool down.

For some reason I can't get a good pic of the tray... too many shadows and light bouncing around but you get the idea.

 

[lafester]

Grinder is together, spent quite a bit of time figuring out the wiring with the new switch and getting rid of all the nutted wires. Fired it up and there is some vibration and the arbor is getting hot on the left side. I'll have to pull it apart and check the spring / felt washer and make sure they are not binding up. I'll also check the casing and make sure it squared up perfectly. If that doesn't help I'll get some new bearings but these look relatively new.

I'll post a pic of the wiring but no more pics of the grinder until it is all together. I think it came out pretty good. Oh and the light works fine, I suppose I should have tested it before I spent all that time on it. The bulb sticks out the bottom of the shade so I'll have to look for a smaller led that fits.

Here's the new wiring pic and the cleaned up bottom plate.

 

[lafester]

It's all together, just adjusting the tool rests. Seems like they go way too high.. like you could adjust them all the way to the top of the wheel but no lower then half way. I would think the opposite would be more useful.

I'm going to order up some bearings, even though these look ok I am getting too much vibration and heat from them. The paint seems to be holding up pretty well. I used a couple sockets to seat the bearing into the housing and no chips or scratches. I figured that was a good place to test since it is covered by the wheel guard. I've also tightened and removed a few nuts and there is very little scratching.

I'll post a couple pics soon even though the shields aren't done yet.

Hmmm.... Ziggy's look to be much lower, perhaps mine were put together wrong.



Ok, one of the tool rest plates was on backwards causing it to hit the top of the other plate too soon.

 

[lafester]

Here's how it looks without the shields. I still have to paint the back side and put in the glass before I can put those on. Funny how the camera picks up every scratch in the castings. You can't really see them that well normally.

And it's newer 1/2 hp commercial block partner with multi tool.

 

[lafester]

Not sure what is going on with tapatalk not loading photos.
They show up fine in a web browser so if you are having issues try that.

I picked up the glass today and am in the process of gluing them in. I have some epoxy I'm using to seat them and then I'll fill in the gap with some clear silicone.

New bearings will be here on Thursday which leaves some curing time before final assembly.

UPDATE: Glass is in. I couldn't find my clear silicone so I ended up using gorilla glue. This is also the epoxy brand I have been using. Just a note that glue and epoxy can and does get on everything you are working on regardless of how careful you are. Best to tape up/cover anything you do not want glue on.

That said, it turned out pretty well as glass is easy to clean. Not thrilled with how gorilla glue expands and turns white but it's on the bottom and will never be seen. I cleaned off a lot of it and will continue to pick at it over time. I don't think that glass is coming out any time soon. I love how big these are compared to the later model.

Also had to do the lamp base yet again. Went back to jb weld and applied it all the way around both surfaces before mating this time. It has been curing for 36 hours so far and seems rock hard. Also epoxied the shade in place so I am not tempted to tighten it and stress the repair.

 

[lafester]

New bearings are installed and everything is back together. Runs nice and smooth, until I bolt it down to the base. Just sitting on the base is fine so something between the base and the pedestal is not tight. I'll at least get a couple pics of the complete grinder to kind of wrap up the restore portion of this thread.

Oh the seller contacted me today about the crack. Still waiting on a response.

Turns out the base was simply not tight to the pedestal mount, so that was nice.

Final pics for the time being... I'll still respond to any questions or comments though.
I will eventually upgrade the wheels as well.

Cost:

$90 Grinder
$50 Replacement Parts
$20 Paint
$5 Bearings
$12 Glass

$177 - Profit from last grinder swap and selling the 1HP = Even or possibly up a couple bucks.