MES Kennet Tool and Cutter Grinder

I've just about finished a Kennet Grinder I recently bought off ebay. It was part machined and not in the best condition, but it did have all of the castings and plans. So, after making the various missing bits - pulleys, stops, etc. - and finishing off the three part completed toolholders, I hope I've got a decent little tool grinder. I still need to add a power switch, make a box for it to sit on and complete the set of end mill adaptors. I should also sort out a guard of some description around the wheels.

Edited By smf on 12/05/2022 20:33:37

Edited By smf on 12/05/2022 20:34:24

Nice toolgrinder. An ER collet block could hold milling cutters for sharpening the end.

Thor

Very nice ! Like thor I would consider ER collets 32 in size. I would also put a guard/ sheild round the motor to prevent dust being drawn in. It still needs cooling but try to keep the worst of it out ! Noel.

If practicable, the motor should be positioned so that the cooling airflow does not draw in the grinding dust.

Thanks for the replies. I'd thought of using an ER25 collet holder (as I don't use milling cutters over 16mm) but there isn't really space to incorporate one with the existing end mill holder. I should also say that the existing holder works well and it's much cheaper and easier to make some adapters for it given the small number of end mills and slot drills I use. However, at some point I plan to make Harold Hall's end mill holder as I think it can be adapted to fit the Kennet. That would enable me to grind the flutes of cutters. I would try to make that with an ER25 holder. As for the position of the motor, that is fixed in the design. I'll see if there's a sensible way of incorporating some dust protection.

This should be a picture of the ER25 collet holder I made to fit my Kennet, all fabricated from odds and ends because as you say there is not much room with the existing casting. The collet holder is an ER25 straight shank one, unfortunately I bought mine from a well known UK tool supplier that also sells on ebay, and the chuck was .005" out, and was not as shown in the pictures drilled through. Couldn't send it back as it had languished in a drawer for a year or so before i looked at it closely, fortunately managed to remachine it and drill it through.

Have not tried sharpening any milling cutters on it yet ,but it is most usefull for making D bits and simple reamers, and screwdrivers ground on it are excellent, Wouldn't be too difficult to arrange a finger stop and alteration to enable the collet to slide and thus sharpen the sides of cutters, some method of locking the Kennet table wouldn't be too hard to arrange

Dave

Edited By Dave Wootton on 14/05/2022 13:29:16

Dave - Thanks. That's really helpful to see.

Stephen

Useful info here: I have just acquired one of these to restore. I believe MES is no longer trading/ selling this kit? I'd be interested in acquiring a set of drawings if anyone has a set or knows where I can obtain them? Looking at it I think there are some similarities to the Worden sold by Hemmingway as I think there will be some accessories I'll want to make.

Concerning dust its well worth rigging up some shields and casings with vacuum cleaner fitting ducts to collect the grinding dust and keep it out of motors et al.

Henry with a HEPA bag will be fine. Dyson and ordinary cleaners will go pop.

Whilst you are at it adding similar to your grinder / wire brush / linisher et al will be well worth it.

I splashed out on a Morrisflex linisher and double ended grinder / wire brush units with built in vacuum collection devices. Even at E-Bay prices a moderately painful pair of purchases. But objectively well worth it for the reduction in cleaning duties. I'm lucky insofar as I have space for a separate section for such dirty work. Basically a small doorless room 8 ft (ish) square. So dust build-up wasn't a major issue beyond the need to swab out every month or three when I got fed up with getting black fingers every time I touched something.

Since installing the machines with extractor bases the dirty shop is probably cleaner than the main part. Cleaning is more on a "whilst I have the shop Henry out" basis than dire necessity. Helps that the sandblaster also has its own extractor and collection system. My Clarkson T&C grinder is an early version with minimal wheel guarding so I copied the late type shroud.

Pulling out the dust collection trays for dumping makes for sobering thoughts about the good old days working in the open. "I used to breathe air with all this stuff floating around in it." Ooops.

Clive

Tony - Mine came with an incomplete set of poor photocopies and handmade drawings. If there's something particular you want to see. please let me know and I can try to scan it, although the quality might not be great.

Clive - thanks. That's also on my to-do list. I've a workshop vacuum that's normally attached to a sander and it amazes me how much it collects.

Thanks for the kind offer. I'm mainly interested in any accessories, it looks like it will come with the lathe tool holder only. Thanks I like the look of Dave's ER25 holder. Once I have restored it my first job is to work out how to do 4 facet grinding. I see Hemingway do a kit for the Worden but I also have the Harold Hall jig which might also do the job. Unlike the Quorn this grinder is not extensively documented.

Hello Tony,

I have a set of the original drawings as I built one from the kit some years ago. PM me with your email address and I'll let you have a copy.

John

Edited By John Baguley on 27/05/2022 00:07:03

Hi John,

I have been reading your excellent blog on your build - thanks for documenting it.

Thanks for your kind offer I'll pm you!

Tony

For my Quorn copy I incorporated a fitting to take my Dyson hose for dust extraction. Well worth it.

Regarding a wheel guard this is what my yet to be received unit has fitted:

I am no expert but could that be a Quorn casting? If so my friend was able to buy one from Hemingway at a reasonable cost as it was missing from his recently acquired Quorn.

As you can see there are various parts that are missing or probably never made and I can see that there are some clamping? Devices at each end of the table that I haven’t seen on other examples.

Tony - it would be great if the Quorn casting fits. I think you can do a fair bit with the lathe tool holder that you have. For example, for drills up to about 3/8"/10mm, I was contemplating making 1/2" blocks to fit in the lathe tool holder. These would have the relevant size holes drilled thriough the length and a brass set screw to hold the drills in place. Stefan Gotteswinter has a youtube video on grinding the four facets on drills. You'd have to adapt the techniques slightly given the limitations of the Kennet, but I think it should all work without having to make lots of new attachments.

For my Worden, like Giles Parkes, I made up a holder for ER25 collets. These enable me to grind End Mills and Slot Drills; and allied to the 31 degree wedge for the "standard" drill grinding attachment, four facet ground drills,

ER collets allow Imperial, Metric, Letter or Number drills to be held with the minimum of holders, ( 13 rather than over a hundred needed to make a specific holder for every size, as the Hemingway basic instruction suggested )

The clamp nut required some machining of both front and back faces, at suitable angles, with a carbide tool, to maximise clearances between wheel and table.

With the drill inclined at 31 degrees, the end angle will be ground to 18 degrees, ( 118 / 2 = 59. 90 - 59 = 31 ) and the secondary and primary clearances are obtained by swinging the holder about its pivot point.

Howard

Did you take note of Clive Foster's comment above about the need for a filter?

I should be interested to see how you approached the problem of fitting extraction to your Quorn; might you post a photo?

Thanks for the inf SMF, in the fullness of time I think I will go down the ER collet route. I have an unfinished Stent( I am restoring; some parts were poorly and workholding on it is non-existent. So it may be that whatever system I develop for the Kennet my help me on the Stent. Like many I have too many projects on the go ...

Back to the wheel guard I have found that the base end of dry powder extinguishers makes a useful guard - they are at least 6mm thick. A word to the wise the extinguiser needs to be fully discharged before attempting to saw off the end. I scrounged mine off a friendly extinguisher engineer.

Regarding extraction the Henry and similar units have effective filtration, I would agree that a Dyson is not the best choice. Experiments with a cyclone on my surface ginder have shown that it is an effective emans of trapping grit before it reaches the vacuum cleaner filters. I would say that even the smallest Chinese cylclone is rather large for a T&C grinder but there are 3d printable designs that can be scaled as needed.

I meant also to say that I have ordered the Worden 4 facet jig and the Worden plans. The jig I can adapd for the Kennet and the plans will give me a good basis on which to design/adapt some of the fixtures.