Tool grinder ways

Evening all,

I am building a tool grinder from bits and bobs I have. I need something like the capabilities of a Deckel S0 Single lip grinder. I did try to buy a Chinese one, but it appeared broken and with the wrong plug, so it was returned.

Given I’m making this from “stuff” it’s going to have ER16 spindle for tools, and I’ll knock up the positioning fixture from some weldments.

Which leaves the actual motion ways. On the Deckel and Quorn the cut is put on by sliding a bar and then that bar is pivoted to move the tool against the wheel.

I happen to have a slide way for putting the cut on, which I can fit a micrometer head to for controlling the depth of cut.

Im wondering about the easiest way to do the cutting motion. I have a cast iron t slotted table I was thinking would give me a good start, but it’s designed to attach to a lathe cross slide, so the back is plain.
I was wondering about attaching hex cross section bars to it and the other slide to form “sitting” ways to slide along and guide the motion. I don’t have any dovetail cutters to make traditional ways, and I can see some advantages to being able to “just” lift the table off.
Or should I make a trunnion pivot on the sliding table ?

Thoughts welcomed

Dave

How about linear rails?

This is what I've been considering for the last couple of weeks, combining the sliding/tilting table of a Worden, a modified version of the tool slide for an ER32 spindle, and a Quorn style post mounted, brushless motor grinder-head. That's all modelled in Fusion 360, so I intend to start on it when I can afford the parts:

I think the table and endplates are ideal candidates for laser-cutting, especially as I don't have the 3 and 6mm steel required, which should speed up construction time.

The whole thing sits on a 400mm square baseplate, that will probably be an offcut of Corian.

That picture is actually a previous version, the latest has simplified it a bit more.

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 14/02/2021 20:04:49

Hi Dave
What you have described is very similar to this cnc cutter grinder
that i made some long time ago .the basic framework would
function just as well for a manual type machine and is made from
2 pieces of 6 inch channel welded together in an "L" type shape.
I see that you have not got a dovetail cutter ,Aliexpress sell these
quite cheap and would be needed for this type of construction.
One of the big problems with these machines is the grinding dust
on the slides ,this machine that i have has oiled slides and has been
running 14 years with no problems.It was serialised in MEW in
around 2008 i have all of the drawings in jpeg form if you
are interested.

John

This is where I have mocked upto:

so I have the “spindle” on a vertical, and I have a main feed slide into the wheel - it needs a feed screw but that’s quite straightforward I think.
On that table I have a t slotted lump, and it’s the ways across to do the cutting I am pondering. The spindle in the v block will be put into a housing to do rotation and indexing.and the angle iron tilt/swivel base needs some work clearly.

Given the low forces I was wondering if the table would just “sit” like the one on my surface grinder does. I don’t think it needs dovetails unless it’s going to fall over... That feed is on a Deckel a hand moving the head on a pivot. I could just build a trunnion on the big feed table and not have the t slotted piece at all. But the t slots seem more useful.

It occurred to me that 4 pieces of hex bar bolted 2 to the feed table and 2 to the bottom of the cross slide would form a set of ways, but I might have missed a reason not to do that.
The table would then just lift off for cleaning.

Thoughts solicited.

Dave