Thread: Hand-cranked grinder

Hi Snaf.

I cannot help you with your quest unfortunately.
It was
But you did bring back a memory of a hand grinder my Dad gave me.
It was about 12ins diameter and perhaps 3ins wide.
It had an adjustable front rest and a little fitting on the side to sharpen drill bits. (I never worked that out).

There was a bath. A mixture of oil/kerosene/turps was put in the bath, as a cutting lubricant.
It was basically a round oil stone.
You knew when you were going too fast, because the oil mix would splash on you.

It was a great tool. Unfortunately I lost it when my, then, tools were stolen in the late 1970's.

But I would like it back, or another similar tool.

Paul.

I cant help either. Good old ones only pop up now and then in garage sales and the like. Finding one will be a long term thing. In the mean time if you dont want any electrical grinder then try the sandpaper stuck to a flat surface method and finish up on your stone.
Regards
John

I've had an eye out for a bit of a while now, and I confess I'm a bit fed up with not having a grinder. Yesterday I dropped a chisel onto the slate floor. I looked at the chisel, I looked at the Sigma #120, and something small inside of me just broke. I want a grinder, and I want one now!

The one from McJing might work fine. At least it would come with a wheel, and I'd have someone to complain to if it wasn't functional. On the other hand, I have little idea of the quality of the wheel, and it doesn't really look particularly solid. One thing I've learnt from my brief time with the tool-collecting circus is that solidity can never be overrated. If it doubles as an anvil, so much the better. I don't know much about grinders, but I'm guessing that I want something that won't go jumping about.

My other option is to get something off eBay. I have seen a few around, usually one or two at a time. They're almost always broken, or the owner doesn't know what they are. Note this one, where the owner has helpfully strapped the grinding wheel upside down on a bench for demonstration purposes, for those who like to do their grinding in a surreptitious fashion:

Antique Hand Crank Bench Grinder Farm Sharpening Tool for the Collector | eBay.

Come to think of it, that one doesn't look to bad; it should harbour at least a six inch wheel, and it looks solid as an anchor.

And of course if it doesn't work as I'd like (I'm especially concerned that it might not run true), I can always sell it off without too much of a loss. As an "antique" no less.

Here is a link to my hand cranked grinder, i was lucky it was my Grandfathers and cleaned up well

I have come across 2 before both at different local markets about 12 months ago, havent seen any since

If you are deadset on buying the one on ebay ask the seller the distance between the centre bolt holding the wheel and the metal parts that secure the unit to the top of the bench. This way you will know what size wheel you can get on it. 60 bucks does seem a bit steep but as you say there arent many around.
Good luck
Cheers Paul

Also i predict that you will get at least one funny bugger who will tell you that you need another hand or that you will need a small child to turn the wheel

Well thanks to the FiL who passed away a few years ago and MiL now in a nursing home we are cleaning out and what did we score a Hand crank grinder son is claiming it.

Have you seen this one snafu 5hrs to go!


or this one posted from US total approx 50 bucks.

Originally Posted by Pac man

Have you seen this one snafu 5hrs to go!


or this one posted from US total approx 50 bucks.

I saw the first one. It's missing the tool rest and the handle is bent, though, so I'm hoping I can find a better specimen (even if it turns out that I build my own tool rest, which is likely eventually).

You might be onto something with buying from America, though. The postage looks suspiciously cheap - I'll have to ask about it - but if it's right, then that's an excellent deal. There seem to be a heap of vintage grinders available on eBay in the US, not sure why. Bigger country I guess.

Now I've never even seen a grinder before, so you'll forgive the ignorance, but how can I find out whether a given wheel - say this one - 200 mm diameter x 40 mm x 31.75 mm 38A60MVBE Grinding Wheel | The Sandpaper Man - will fit on the hand grinder? Is there some universal standard for the shafts? How does a wheel attach to a grinder? Do I need an adapter or some such?

In Melbourne, try the next HTPAA (you are a member?) Tool Sale in March; and surely they are common at Camberwell market. Try a WTB in the appropriate forum here. I have bought (fleas) and sold quite a few (tool sales/eBay) over the years, I am surprised you are having trouble in Melbourne.

Cheers
Peter

Originally Posted by snafuspyramid

I saw the first one. It's missing the tool rest and the handle is bent, though, so I'm hoping I can find a better specimen (even if it turns out that I build my own tool rest, which is likely eventually).

You might be onto something with buying from America, though. The postage looks suspiciously cheap - I'll have to ask about it - but if it's right, then that's an excellent deal. There seem to be a heap of vintage grinders available on eBay in the US, not sure why. Bigger country I guess.

Now I've never even seen a grinder before, so you'll forgive the ignorance, but how can I find out whether a given wheel - say this one - 200 mm diameter x 40 mm x 31.75 mm 38A60MVBE Grinding Wheel | The Sandpaper Man - will fit on the hand grinder? Is there some universal standard for the shafts? How does a wheel attach to a grinder? Do I need an adapter or some such?

The tool rest that comes with the grinder is not really that useful as there is hardly any surface area to rest/ reference a blade on it is most likely that you will build your own / buy an aftermarket one.

I agree confirming the postage is a good idea.

A wheel attaches to the grinder by sliding over the threaded shaft and then being bolted on usually between 2 larger washers . Some have one nut holding the wheel, some have two. If there is no nut or the thread looks buggered walk away.

There is no standard for the shafts, the one i have is 3/8 inches (10mm) approx.Others grinders i have seen have 5/16 inch (8.0 mm) shafts.

In my case i used a grinding wheel with a 13mm hole. The wheel has a plastic bush in it to bridge this gap. This bush came with the wheel. You can see the bushes in other wheels available from the sandpaper man.

The wheel you have picked out in your example is 40mm wide. The width of wheel you can fit on depends on how long the shaft is. I would suggest that you will need to use more force to run a wheel this wide ( you'll need a larger child to turn it) but in the end this is up to you.

It was suggested to me that i should place beer coasters or drafting paper between the washers and the wheel to protect the wheel, which i am yet to do.

Happy Hunting
Paul

The old grinder I had. Refer my previous post.
Had leather washers each side of the wheel itself.
I always thought they were there to protect the stone from over tightening.
But perhaps a larger stone may have been able to be fitted. ??????

Paul.

Hooked that makes sense to protect the stone from overtightening.
Your old one sounds like a beaut, shame someone else knocked it off.

Pac Man.
I think we are right and the leather was to protect the stone.
The stone I had was indeed a beauty and the only hand turn stone I ever saw that had it' own lubricant bath.
It was one of my Dad's prize possessions, so I was doubly hurt to loose it.

I have seen big treddle operated sand stone grinders, for farm tools etc, that have a water drip feature. But I think they may have been home made.

Paul.

The one in this thread is still available.

I had some fun rebalancing the stone after reassembly and had to dress it to get it running smoothly again. However I would guess that would be a consideration anytime you change wheels.

Fuzzy, that sounds good. I'd much rather buy stuff from a forum member. However, I've made an offer for one on eBay (though not a generous one) so I've got to wait until that expires or is rejected. Still asking $40 plus postage?