Possibly-functional Hisey-Wolf grinder; dare I risk it?

[Dave Bonzo]

Opinions needed.

I found an older Hisey-Wolf grinder for sale semi-locally; probably 60's production judging from the squared wheel guards, 10+" machine, 1 HP, 1800rpm, 440v. As best I can tell, it's in 60-ish% condition; what's present is in okay shape - no serious damage in the photos, plates are rough, some rust, some dent/ding areas - but it's missing one tool rest and both shields. The wheel guards are present and it has an original stand, but that's about as far as the info goes. The seller doesn't know if it works and can't test it; they inherited the tool and were told that it runs from when the prior owner bought it, but they don't have 440v to test it out, so there's no real way to know if it'll work. As best I can tell, even the prior owner didn't know if it ran; that person bought it on assurance from the seller...so "it should run" is third-hand info at best.

Given the missing parts, the unknown state of the internals and the fact that anything from a bad motor to a bearing to an everything-not-visible could be wrong, I'm not seeing a lot of value as it sits. Sure, it might be silky-smooth and ready to work, and it's only about an hour away from me, and the seller has said that if I get it home and it doesn't work they'll refund the purchase price...but I haven't done business with this person before and there's a lot of risk of them keeping my money and leaving me with a project that I'm upside-down in.

How much should I offer? Or should I not even bother?

tl;dr - Healthy-sized grinder may or may not run. Owner no have the electricities. Buy or no buy?

 

[Stuart in MN]

Unless you have 440vac available to run it on, it's useless.

 

[landlord30]

Is it single phase or 3 phase? sounds like it is 3 phase.

 

[Dave Bonzo]

It's three-phase, yes. Is there a single-phase 440?



Things I now have to Google...

 

[Doozer75]

First things first...
Hisey-Wolf made good grinders.
Mostly snagging grinders and buffing jacks.
I have a Hisey-Wolf toolbit grinder,
and it is a really sweet machine.
If it is 440, many (but not all) 3 phase
motors can be connected for 220v
or 440v. (People say 440,460,480 volts,
it is the same nominal voltage.)
If all the wires were not brought out into
the peckerhead, then you may have a
440v only motor. Not the end of the world.
So if it is a 10" grinder and it is only 1hp,
you might check that. It seems small.
Maybe 3hp or 5hp makes more sense.
But it could be 1hp. I ask this because
if it is 440v only, you can run it on
230v 3 phase and it will for sure run.
It will have like 1/4 the power it might
have on 440v, but be real. For a grinder
in the garage, it will still be plenty good
enough. If you do connect it with the lower
voltage 230v, then use a VFD motor drive.
If you use a rotary phase converter RPC
then you are down a bit of power already
with that, so not worky. And no, a static
phase converter is just really a motor
starter capacitor and a relay. Definitely
no worky. I have wired up three 230v
single phase control transformers before
to step up 230v to 460v to run a 460v only
motor before. Wire them in Delta.
So lots of options really. Ya just have to
dig a little.

----Doozer

 

[Doozer75]

And yes there are motors that run on single phase 480 volts.
Usually they are fan motors in rooftop HVAC units.
They are capacitor start and cap run motors, designed to
run in slip for efficiency when driving fans.

-Doozer

 

[Dave Bonzo]

So, I found something interesting in the photos: the frontal plate lists it as a Type 3LA, Model 15. 1 HP, 440v. The rear plate lists the motor as a Lima Electric 230/460v, and shows the high- and low-voltage wiring.

Honestly, it seems like a decent machine, and yeah, they made good tools...but it might be a bit big for my shop. I have a 1/2HP buffer, so this would only be for heavier grinding and shaping. I'm also wondering if it's actually something of a redundant tool for me, because I'm also thinking about a belt grinder that will do a lot of my basic shaping...but that's another discussion.

Hmm, guess I should have posted this in Tools instead of Garage; that's what I get for not paying attention. Question still stands, though; is it worth making an offer?

 

[motorcitykid]

So, I found something interesting in the photos: the frontal plate lists it as a Type 3LA, Model 15. 1 HP, 440v. The rear plate lists the motor as a Lima Electric 230/460v, and shows the high- and low-voltage wiring.

Honestly, it seems like a decent machine, and yeah, they made good tools...but it might be a bit big for my shop. I have a 1/2HP buffer, so this would only be for heavier grinding and shaping. I'm also wondering if it's actually something of a redundant tool for me, because I'm also thinking about a belt grinder that will do a lot of my basic shaping...but that's another discussion.

Hmm, guess I should have posted this in Tools instead of Garage; that's what I get for not paying attention. Question still stands, though; is it worth making an offer?

I'm interested how this ended up?

 

[jonesg]

So, I found something interesting in the photos: the frontal plate lists it as a Type 3LA, Model 15. 1 HP, 440v. The rear plate lists the motor as a Lima Electric 230/460v, and shows the high- and low-voltage wiring.

Honestly, it seems like a decent machine, and yeah, they made good tools...but it might be a bit big for my shop. I have a 1/2HP buffer, so this would only be for heavier grinding and shaping. I'm also wondering if it's actually something of a redundant tool for me, because I'm also thinking about a belt grinder that will do a lot of my basic shaping...but that's another discussion.

Hmm, guess I should have posted this in Tools instead of Garage; that's what I get for not paying attention. Question still stands, though; is it worth making an offer?

never buy a problem.