Spencer wrote:
Hi all,

I have the opportunity to purchase a used surface grinder, a
Boyar-Schultz Model 612, with manual infeed. I have never owned or
operated a surface grinder.

This unit was probably purchased new by this individual, and run very
little over 20 years.

If he bought it new then he should have receipts and the manual.

1) How much should I pay him? (Kinda a friend of the family, in
retirement.)

There are two kinds of little grinders. One has ball bearing ways and
costs more. The other has plain ways. Find out which it is. You can do
rough comparative pricing on ebay. He may not be aware of the brutally
depressed condition of the used machine tool market right now. The
absolute top price for this machine including a variety of wheels, wrenches,
with a good clean working mag chuck would be something like $1800-2500. Three
years ago that would have been double.

2) What should I look for to determine condition? (This guys
Bridgeport was also purchased new, and looks like it was delivered
yesterday, not 25 years ago. Stop drooling.)

The important things are the spindle bearings and the ways. Run the motor
and listen to the bearings. If you can, pull the wheel and indicate the
runout on the end of the spindle with your best DTI, preferably one
that can easily detect fractions of tenths error. That spindle should run
true within .0001". Figure out how to lubricate the ways and lubricate them
and then see how they move. If you like, hook up a DTI to the spindle and
indicate the mag chuck's (it *does* have one, doesn't it?) upper surface -
it should be dead flat. Finally, bring along a piece of something hard and
flat, like a 1" HSS lathe bit, and ask him to grind it clean. Look at the
ground surface for optical imperfections - if there are any problems with
the machine they will show up here. If the ground surface looks perfect,
the machine is probably in good shape.

3) Can two guys and a minivan move this thing? How?

Assuming it is on a cast iron base, probably not. You can probably move it
using a 2-ton engine hoist, but you should understand how to sling it. These
machines can be tricky to rig. I have a little K.O. Lee and where the
actual grinder base is bolted to the cast iron base, there is a little
recess that goes all the way under the grinder, sort of like a flat tunnel.
I put a piece of 1/2x12" plate steel right through that "tunnel" and run a
flat hoist sling around the plate and up to the hook. I didn't dream this up,
it was how K.O. Lee said to do it. Find out the right way to lift the machine
before lifting it and no matter what don't try lifting it in any way that
even touches any of the ways. The main table, of course, will likely just
lift right off. It might weigh 800 pounds and it might weigh 1200 pounds. A
decent flatbed trailer with 2 10,000 pound straps (one pulling the machine
forward, the other back, ensuring it can't go anywhere) and a rented engine
hoist should do the job OK. Plan to take all day and go real slow.

Grant Erwin
Kirkland, Washington