Thread: Wickman OPG Optical Grinder.

Hi Phil,
Sure you didnt, nothing to be sorry for I looked it over as well remember. I must have been talking to much lol
Great fix, beats the **** out of stuffing about trying to weld it and worrying about things warping. Now if I make the clamps crappy enough* the next guy will break the clamps not the casting.

You walked up my front steps at 1.15 so I'd say thats pretty good going.

Thanks again

Stuart

*designed weak point if you like

Broken parts... Geez stu, I would leave negative feedback if I were you...

I can say that now Phil no longer has my grinder...

Although he will remember me saying that next time I need assistance...

Originally Posted by .RC.

Broken parts... Geez stu, I would leave negative feedback if I were you...

Well I was thinking about it, but I got worried he'd give me my money back and come take it away lol

I saw your grinder before before it left, thats a serious piece of kit. How long do you think it will take to get to you?

Stuart

Well I am hoping tomorrow or Saturday.... It was supposed to be picked up in Brisbane yesterday, but the truck driver had a lot of other pickups to do as well to make a load and was not going to leave Brisbane until later in the week... I hope it is sooner rather then later.... I actually bought it late August and it was a completely unexpected purchase...

Next up I would like a Churchill VB 24" X 72" slideway grinder... Although chances of that are low...

Hi Stuart,

When you say the table doesn't move? I thought the pantograph moved the cutting head? What do you see on the screen the template or the cutter...

Sorry for the dumb questions, just curious.

Regards
Ray

PS... I saw RC's grinder too, wish I had room for one like that.. Lucky RC

Hi RC,

it was a completely unexpected purchase...
You're not the only one lol

Hi Ray,

Originally Posted by RayG

When you say the table doesn't move? I thought the pantograph moved the cutting head? What do you see on the screen the template or the cutter...

Now don't hold me to this but as I currently understand it.(short version leaving out the alignment steps)
The 50:1* drawing is put on the pantograph table, the styles is put at the start point.
The work piece is clamped to the table, the table slides are used to bring the work into the center of the scope.
You then use the grinding head slides to grind to the center of the scope.
Move the the pantograph along the line "a little". (the optics move, the workpiece and table are don't)
Use the grinding head slides to grind to the center of the scope.
Repeat.

Now straight lines can be done with just one slide set to the correct angle(although maybe you set the angle a little under and just teak the other axis)
Being 50:1 ratio you can only grind an area 0.400" x 0.400" you then use gauge blocks and the built in dial indicators on the table slides to move to the next start point.

Clear as mud?

Of course I could be completly upside down and back to front


Running out of room already? I was just trying to look up when I bought my lathe........ some time in 2010 I believe.......to think my shed was pretty empty then..........even had room for 3 cars!

Stuart

*I'm currently assuming 50:1, it may be 20:1

Hi Stuart,

I think I get the general idea, for some reason I was thinking it was like one of those engraving type pantographs... I can imagine all kinds of nifty things you could make with that setup..

Regards
Ray

When Stu and I sat down and looked at the manuals, Mark sent over, the other weekend. Back in its hay day a new machine was sold with a 10 day training course.

I rang the guy that had that couple of dozen Wichman 6 spindles. That went belly up, last year. He knew of the machine well, Said they used to be a $30k machine back in the 60's/70's. He couldn't think of any one still in repetition engineering, that would be interested in it. All that work has gone to Wire Cut EDM.

Phil.

Originally Posted by Machtool

All that work has gone to Wire Cut EDM.

Phil.

I was reading some old threads on the PM forum and a poster there said the same thing.... The wire EDM does the same job that two or three of these grinders did...

Bit like jig borers I guess, valuable back in the day, but the day is long gone...

Well Stu and Ray I can report my grinder made it to it's new home today as well... I am quite happy with it.... Except it must have been designed to be used by Chinese slave labour children.... It is amazingly low to the ground...

No rust? No damage? And have you managed to get the eye bolt out of the left hand end?

Originally Posted by .RC.

Well Stu and Ray I can report my grinder made it to it's new home today as well... I am quite happy with it.... Except it must have been designed to be used by Chinese slave labour children.... It is amazingly low to the ground...

Any chance of a photo or two Richard? So much goes on in the tool capital that it's difficult to keep up.

BT

No rust, no damage, lifted it off as per instructions, it lifted level.. I have left the eye bolts in.... Do you want them posted back?

Some observations... It is smaller then I expected, but of far heavier construction then I expected... Last year there was a TOS cyl grinder at the Gladstone TAFE auction.... It was capacity wise smaller then this machine, but it was far far bigger in physical size, both length ways and cross ways.... It was also in pieces which was why it sold for $90.... The seperate box of attachments (steadies, chucks, instruction manual) went for $300)

It is a very basic machine, especially since it is 1980's vintage... The table is rack driven, the machine is hydraulic but have not seen a hyd ram on it yet.. The table is only held by gravity... No retainers, just it's weight holds it on the ways.... Way lubrication is of the one shot type, no auto lube... Came with some spare diamond wheels, yes 14" diameter diamond wheels plus a couple of other wheels, and two spare hubs... Will not take much to get it going, I will remove the table and wipe the ways down proper... Plus wipe a few other things down, and see how it goes...

Ways show scraping marks still on a fair section of the ways.... Just the ends the scraping marks have gone.... So long as I can hold 0.5 microns over 600mm I will be satisfied

There is a story behind it.... It was firstly on machines4U for $4500 last year, then it popped up on ebay back earlier in the year for $1500 starting price.... I asked the usual, load onto truck question.... Seller said no, I left it at that... No bids.... two months later for some reason the seller (or it was actually his son) re replied to my question, I sort of left it at that for a week, then said stuff it and asked for a phone number....

Was an elderly gentleman selling it, retired toolmaker... He wanted it gone out of his shed so his family did not have to deal with it when he was gone... He said he wanted $4500 as that was what he paid for it several years ago..... I told him where I was and that it would cost me heaps to get it up here, so could only offer what it was for on ebay..... So I got it for $1600....

As Phil mentioned he had the OPG grinder there to give away as part of the deal....

$430 for a forklift hire.... Massive rip off I reckon but it was either pay what they demanded or go without, all the places were around the same price..... Some $$$ for Phil as well, and a full Sunday it took for Phil to extricate it from the workshop....

The trip up here was actually less then I expected.. The total cost ended up at the total of my budget..... Just that forklift hire cost was the sour bit...

Thank you Richard.