On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 20:18:14 -0500, "Mike Henry"
wrote:

I recently set up a used KO Lee S714 surface grinder and was a little
disappointed at the finish, though my experience on these tools leaves a lot
to be desired. The surface almost seems to have very shallow scallops at
regular intervals. They can't be felt by hand and a fingernail doesn't catch
anywhere. There is a bit of noise as the grinder winds up but that seems to
be coming mostly from the motor. The grinder appears to be in otherwise
very good condition.

I checked the spindle runout with a gage head and amplifier and am seeing
about 0.00075" with the gage tip on the tapered spindle nose (wheel & collet
were puulled off and belts between spindle and motor were removed). I can
also get about 0.0015" deflection in the spindle by manually pushing or
pulling the spindle toward or away from the gage tip. The spindle feels
reasonably cool after running for 45 minutes without a wheel or collet
mounted.

This seems to be pretty far out of spec to me, but opinions would be
appreciated from those that know better than I.

If this does need attention, is there any chance that the bearings just need
adjustment? There's a circular disk threaded into the outboard side of the
spindle with holes for a pin spanner wrench. I haven't mucked with that yet
but presume that it's there to adjust bearing pre-load.

If the bearings need to be replaced what are the chances of being able to do
this myslef? A manual for a slightly different KO Lee grinder suggests that
spindles must be returned to the factory for rebuilding.

TIA, Mike

Ive got the same issue with my big 6x18. Its the spindle bearings.
Shrug..the finish is good enough for my purposes as is the tolerences.
When it gets worse, Ill replace em. But Ive seen them go for years
and years and not get any worse.

Also be sure to dress your wheel as this can be a cause of that sort
of pattern..a somewhat out of balance condition.

You MAY be able to adjust preload a smidge, but then it will reduce
the life of your bearings even more.

Ive not rebuilt the spindle of a KO Lee, but they are similar to that
of a B&S, and they can be easily rebuilt by the end user.


Btw...if anyone wants a Jones and Shipman surface grinder, Ive got
access to two of them, automatic feeds, marvelous condidtion and ready
to be put to work, in Santa Ana California

The client wants $1000 and $1500 for them. One is cosmetically
prettier than the other, and both are nice.

Gunner

"She's (my daughter) already dating a sex offender.
Better that than a republican fundie neocon fascist."
FF, (alt.machines.cnc)