GG’s

The esteemed Scott Grandstaff mentioned hand-cranked grinders.  There was a LOT
of OLDTOOLS postings about hand-cranked grinders. At least one member was
collecting them.  ( Maybe that was Tom Thornton ? )

Having used one, I’d say that their slower speed makes it less likely to burn
the edge of the tool, though it is unquestionably easier to use with an
apprentice or GIT doing the cranking!

I recall that there were postings about a rather large hand-cranked grinder
known as “The Railroad Model”.  Certainly, there would be a use for this “out on
the line” in the days before portable electrickery generators.  For example,
sharpening the RR tie adzes.

I have a belt-driven water-trough grinder from the now-defunct Prairie Tool Co.
When they still had a website, I learned that they also offered a hand-cranked
model using the same trough castings.  Their catalog is archived at
vintagemachinery.org.  Some of their more conventional hand cranked dry grinders
are on YouTube.

If I had indoor space, I’d like have one of the big foot-pedal water trough
grinders with a large Beria, Ohio, sandstone wheel.  You’d be hard-pressed to
burn an edge with one of those!

If one has enough floor space, one can probably rig just about any hand-cranked
grinder with a treadle.

John Ruth




Sent from my iPhone

It was indeed Tom Thonton. That's a name I haven't heard in a while. I
recall a couple of times bringing him several grinders at the PATINA
meeting in NJ to donate to his collection. Back then it was hard to give
them away.

A few years ago demand surged for hand-crank grinders. The better models-
the Railroad Grinders and Pike Peerless models still sell well, but not for
as much as they used to.

I owned a nice Millers Falls treadle grinder with the water trough. It was
fun to use, but not very practical for the amount of grinding I do in the
shop. It also took up a lot of my limited floor space so I sold it a few
years ago. I'll regret that some day I'm sure.

Earlier this year I added a grinder with CBN wheels to my shop. That has
literally revolutionized my grinding work. I'll never go back to a standard
grinding wheel, except for soft metals which the CBN wheels won't handle
according to the manufacturer.

 Josh

Regarding grinders, Josh talked about CBN wheels -

"Earlier this year I added a grinder with CBN wheels to my shop. That has
literally revolutionized my grinding work. I'll never go back to a standard
grinding wheel, except for soft metals which the CBN wheels won't handle
according to the manufacturer."


Gentles,

If there is any bright side to the current virus situation relative to the
Porch, it is the most welcomed reappearance of many old timers. As someone
guilty of the same absence (been here since June of 96 but work and other items
took precedence), I hope it continues, as I expect to be back in the saddle
myself when I retire for good at the end of September.

Anyway, I'm curious what would be considered 'soft metals' in this context. Are
we talking raw stock like O1 or would a plane iron or chisel be included? I
noticed most online references to these wheels revolve around HSS turning tools.
Guess I'm trying to determine if I need to retain another stone for non-HSS
materials.

Dennis Heyza
Clinton Township - soon to be New Baltimore - Michigan

Short answer is I don't know for sure.

There's a lot of conflicting information as to what metals the CBN wheels
are best suited for and which to avoid. In my experience they work
incredibly well on any sort of  steel.. plane blades, chisels, gouges,
turning tools, etc. I've also ground big laminated blades with some sort of
softer iron/steel as the backing material with no problem. I've avoided
using them on brass, aluminum, cast iron, etc.

The best feature of the CBN wheels in mind is the ability to grind on the
side of the stone. The wheels I have on my grinder have about an inch wide
strip of grit on the outside edge of the wheel. This lets me use them as a
make-do surface grinder to rapidly flatten blades and remove pitting. No
more lapping out pitting on diamond stones.

Since we're verging on violating the rules of the list, let's just say you
could theoretically mount one of these on a hand-crank grinder.

Josh