Two Vintage Bench Grinders

[Mavawreck]

Had a bit of luck today.

Picked up the Walker Turner for free! (Do I finally ****?) Works, needs a new cord as it was hard wired and a piece of glass for one of the guards. Original paint. It is a model off The Driver line. Any thoughts on the manufacture date?

Gave a few bucks for the Hobart, quick research shows that it started it's life as a industrial coffee grinder. Original paint, faint pinstriping and gold leaf, homemade tool rest. Not sure what to do with it. Relatively low RPM, so fine tune it a bit and designate it as a buffer?

 

[Voi]

That's awesome. What size is the WT? Single phase?

If you get a chance can you take close-up pics of the eye guards & tool rests? I just got a 10" Driver Line WT & neither match. Trying to figure out what's original. I'll do the same when I get a chance.

That Hobart setup looks interesting. I need to look at the pics on something other that my phone, though.

Oh yeah, I think the Driver Line tools started in the 1940's.

 

[shephd]

Guess it depends what you need, but for woodworking tools a low speed grinder like the hobart and the right wheel are the cats meow for motorized edge creation.

 

[Mavawreck]

That's awesome. What size is the WT? Single phase?

If you get a chance can you take close-up pics of the eye guards & tool rests? I just got a 10" Driver Line WT & neither match. Trying to figure out what's original. I'll do the same when I get a chance.

That Hobart setup looks interesting. I need to look at the pics on something other that my phone, though.

Oh yeah, I think the Driver Line tools started in the 1940's.

Single phase 110, believe it to be a 7" but I'm not sure. Tags are there but pretty dirty.

Hobart is interesting, I suppose I could stand to take pictures with something better than my phone too.

 

[mitusa]

Nice grinders...... How much power is needed for a good buffer?

 

[Mavawreck]

Guess it depends what you need, but for woodworking tools a low speed grinder like the hobart and the right wheel are the cats meow for motorized edge creation.

Now that is a great idea as well. I hadn't thought of that, thank you.

 

[Mavawreck]

Nice grinders...... How much power is needed for a good buffer?

Not sure, think it depends on what size wheel you are turning and how quick you want to go. Might be a little small eh?

 

[CNGsaves]

Definitely, after only paying few bucks for both, to get

. . . . . a deserving . . . . YOU **** !!

I'd vote to restore the Walker Turner grinder to it's "Like-New" condition with full tear-down resto and repaint with all accessories.

However, on the antique patina on other oldie, I'd just yank off guard / swap out wheel for buffer and put it to work!! That's a gem just like it is.

Nice double score.

 

[Outlawmws]

You have been here over a year, you should know you can't **** yourself on GJ!


1750 is still too fast for sharpening wood tools. You want 500 rpm or so; preferably in a wet wheel for sharpening wood workers tools.

Nice finds however.

 

[Mavawreck]

You have been her over a year, you should know you can't **** yourself on GJ!

Ha!

Actually what that prompted me to consider was turning it into a disc sander. Plenty of clearance and room for a table. HP is questionable though. We will just have to see.

 

[Voi]

Ha!

Actually what that prompted me to consider was turning it into a disc sander. Plenty of clearance and room for a table. HP is questionable though. We will just have to see.

I think Grizzly sells a disc sander/flapper wheel tool with around 1750 rpm. First thing I thought of when I saw your original post was that I'd set that Hobart up with a flapper wheel.

[EDIT] Here's the Grizzly tool I was thinking of:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Drum-Flap-Sander/G8749

 

[Mavawreck]

What would the primary use of the flapper tool be?

 

[Voi]

As I understand it a flapper wheel is meant to be a replacement of sorts for a belt sander. So in a fixed situation like yours it would be like a vertical belt sander. Vertical belt sanders can do anything from grinding down to almost polishing depending on grit & abrasive type. I'm not sure if flapper wheels offer quite that versatility. I'll be interested in hearing what others have to say.

 

[lowbucktruck]

Very cool finds! You should restore that Walker-Turner grinder (and then put it to use). I would like to see that old Hobart in its original configuration. Can you imagine the size of the coffee grinder that motor would run?

Found it on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Hobart-Coffee-Grinder-Mill-with-Original-Red-/180698696748

 

[Mavawreck]

Very cool finds! You should restore that Walker-Turner grinder (and then put it to use). I would like to see that old Hobart in its original configuration. Can you imagine the size of the coffee grinder that motor would run?

Found it on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Hobart-Coffee-Grinder-Mill-with-Original-Red-/180698696748

Yup! WT will get restored eventually, post-move.

If I thought there was a snowballs chance in hell of finding the parts to restore the coffee grinder, I would do it. Otherwise, it is a sweet heavy motor and base. Just have to find the ideal tool for it. Was also thinking it wouldn't make a bad designated wire wheel.

Thanks for all the input guys.

 

[bonneyman]

Very cool finds! You should restore that Walker-Turner grinder (and then put it to use). I would like to see that old Hobart in its original configuration. Can you imagine the size of the coffee grinder that motor would run?

Found it on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Hobart-Coffee-Grinder-Mill-with-Original-Red-/180698696748

I guess coffee beans grew bigger in the olden days.

 

[Mavawreck]

So the Walker Turner looks like it was either all green originally or green in the middle and base and maybe black on the end cases. Wheel and eye guards and tool rests still maintain some green paint. Can anyone confirm?

 

[WWIIjeep]

Picked up the Walker Turner for free! (Do I finally ****?) Works, needs a new cord as it was hard wired and a piece of glass for one of the guards. Original paint. It is a model off The Driver line. Any thoughts on the manufacture date?

That model was introduced in 1938 and discontinued in 1956.

I think yours dates from fairly early in that time-frame, probably in the 1938 to early 1940s range.

Here's your grinder in the 1938 Walker-Turner catalog:

So the Walker Turner looks like it was either all green originally or green in the middle and base and maybe black on the end cases. Wheel and eye guards and tool rests still maintain some green paint. Can anyone confirm?

It may have been repainted it at some point, at least on the wheel and eye guards and tool rests. Very common to find vista green or battleship gray repaints on older industrial machines.

Most Walker-Turner grinders are all-black. Smooth satin black on the base and center band, and wrinkle-finish black on the end bells and wheel guards. Eye guards black or natural metal finish depending on vintage and which style of eye guard.

Some early Walker-Turner grinders were painted in their "Green Band" motor color scheme, where the center band on the motor was a fairly bright green and the rest of the grinder was black. It's hard to tell for sure from your photo, but your grinder may have been in the "Green Band" color scheme.

Here are some examples of Walker-Turner grinders for comparison:

http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=808&tab=4