flood coolant

M

magnum .44

Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,110
i'm building a flood coolant system from a 1/4hp pump for coolant with a 5 gallon resivor. i plan on using 1/4" npt hose with a magnet base manifold. at the manifold their is one out put, using y connections i'll split it 8 different ways. each smaller hose will go to a flexible hose that has a 1/4" nozzle.
each hose will be for a different part of the wheel. i was thinking two nozzles in the front, two in the back. two on the left and two on the right?
my questions are, is this enough coolant to cool down a wheel? i'm switching to a diamond plated wheel, becuase they are cooler, so that should also help keep it cool.
will a 1/4hp pump work? or should i put a 3/4hp motor on it? is a 1/4" line big enough to supply enough coolant for 8 nozzles? or should i switch to 1/2" or 1"?
should i get nozzles that taper from 1/4" to 1/8" or will 1/4" untappered have enough velocity?
thanks in advance.
 
Hey .44

Be very careful when you are working with coolant.. Alot of that industrial Cutting Coolant has been linked to Cancer,, so keep the misting to a minimum and wear proper safety gear!!

Eric...

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Eric E. Noeldechen
On/Scene Tactical
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel
Custom,Quality, Concealex Sheaths.

Leading The Way In Synthetic Sheathing.
 
Go with the 1hp motor and some scuba gear.
biggrin.gif

I thought the 1/4 hp pump might be a little large, check the machinists catalogs, and see what size pump they sell for their grinders. Sorry could't resist the scuba crack.
 
Magnum,

That is going to be a lot of coolant lines.
I was thinking one maybe two. If you have that much coolant and I assume high speed cause you need the cooling you are going to be in a fog of sorts in short order depending on the coolant. Also make sure the coolant won't breakdown your belts.

I think your gonna get wet if you flood it instead of a mist at the work.

Good luck and let us know how it goes

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Scott Jones
Heck yea I invented it ...What is it???
I only do what the voices in my wifes head tell me to do.
It's kinda like hangin, you never get used to it.
 
it's hard wheels, and on the surface grinder. i'll check into the protection for it.
i've changed my design, today i found that the free pump was broke.
it's gonna be a 15gal drum with a 13gpm pump mounted on top. 1" hose to magnet base manifold. off that will be 2 flare nozzles on the sides. and two round nozzles in the front, and two rounds in the back. all the nozzles are 1/4". then i have a return from the tray.
i'm making a large splash guard with a plastic insert so i can see what i'm doing without getting coolant on me. i'm thinking 12"-15" high walls will work.
 
Magnum,

Sometime, when you aren't so busy, may I pick your brains about that surface grinder?
 
well i don't know a whole lot about them. if you have any questions i'll see if i can answer them though, just e-mail me. i do know they are handy for folders. i'm sure many folder parts are surface ground.
 
Magnum:

I've got several surface grinders that I use in my Tool and Die business, so maybe I can help you out a bit with yours.

First: The only thing I use diamond wheels on is tungsten-carbide. Diamond wheels are generally reserved for very hard substances, and will likely load-up and overheat with steel.

When I wet-grind, I use only one coolant line coming in from the right-hand side of the wheel. The idea is to keep the contact point between the wheel and work piece cool,
anything above that is overkill.

Before I get too long winded here, and bore everone to tears, let me ask you a few questions and then I can get more specific in a future post.

What kind of steels do you want to grind?

What type of grinding do you want to do (i.e. flat grinding, hollow grinding, the whole blade, the tang, etc)?

Will all the steel you grind be heat treated first, or do you want to grind soft steel?

Lastly, what kind of grinder is it?

--Jim
 
it's made by sanford mfg. it's pretty old, has a 3/4hp motor, and a 12" travel left and right. i plan on using it for sharpening dies, on stainless stels like 440c, in the annealed state. also fot folder parts when i start making them. i'm not going to use it for hallow grinding, or grinding the bevels on my knives, i like to use my belt sander for that. what type of wheels do you recommend for keeping it cool?
also it has a brown and sharp permanent magnet chuck.

[This message has been edited by magnum .44 (edited 06-28-2000).]
 
Sorry about that Magnum I was confused about the grinder. Thought you were talking about your monster belt grinder.
redface.gif
I wish I had a surface grinder but I do not so I will hush up.

Later
Jonesy
 
Magnum and others:

Okay... This is likely to get long and boring (it's difficult to make a subject like surface grinders light and humorous
smile.gif
).

The rule of thumb for grinding wheels, is the softer the material your grinding the harder the wheel sholud be. Grinding wheels are marked with a secret code decipherable only to members of the New World Order. It will read something like:

38A100-IVBE

I could explain the whole code (YAWN!), but the only number/letter you need to be concerned with is the 100-I. the number is the grit size, and the letter is the hardness. Grit is the same as in belts ect., with the smaller the number the coarser the grit. Hardness runs from H to K with H being soft and K being very hard.

A 46 grit wheel will cut very cool, but if you use a 46-H on soft steel, it will wear away very quickly, so you'd want something like a 46-J. To grind the pivot area on a folder blade that's hardened, you'd want a finer finish than 46 grit will give, so a 80-I wheel would give a nice finish, and is not too hard, so it won't burn the blade.

You'll need to dress the wheel frequently. To do this you use a diamond mounted in a shank. Something like a 1/2 carat in a 3/8" shank will work for most uses. Drill a hole in a block of steel (2"x2"x2") and secure the diamond with a set screw. Then to dress the wheel, place the diamond on your chuck, turn it on (of course), and place the diamond point slightly to the left of center (your grinding wheel should spin clockwise), lock the table and dial down to touch the diamond and feed the crossfeed back and forth. Do this several times and your wheel will be smooth and running true.

I think you'll be much happier with the stone wheels over a diamond plated wheel (plus they're cheaper at $10-$20 each).

I'd also stick to a 7" diameter wheel, and in 1/4" and 1/2" widths. You can narrow-down a 1/4" wheel by placing the diamond sideways on the chuck and using the table and cross feeds -- should you find the need to grind slots, etc. You can also dress a radius on the wheel free-hand with a dressing stick (tradename "Norbide" comes to mind) -- good for fullers and serrations.

Buy a high quality coolant. The cheap ones can grow mold, and have poor cooling qualities.

Lastly: Keep people and objects away from the left-hand side of the grinder. Some day you'll forget to turn the chuck on, and/or take too heavy a cut, and the work piece will come fying off the chuck -- might even cause the wheel to explode! I think you get the point... SAFETY FIRST!

Whew. I feel like I've written a book! And I'm sure many of you are now asleep
smile.gif


Hope this helps! Feel free to post/email me with any other questions.

--Jim
 
no problem jonesy.
jim thanks for the wheel information, and the tip against diamond wheels.
i plan on building a large stainless steel splash guard (15" tall) for the sides.


[This message has been edited by magnum .44 (edited 06-28-2000).]
 
Magnum:

Oops! Forgot the hot tip on splash guards...

Stainless or Aluminum is fine for the end guards. For the forward and rear guards I use a sheet of rubber that I set gromets into to connect them to the end guards. This is especially handy for the rear spalsh guard, because the spindle can move down into the pliable rubber, and won't crash into a solid guard.

You shouldn't need anything higher (on the front and back) than 8", the left end guard will be the highest (15"-18"). I've even added a inward canted extension to the left guard to catch the highest spray pattern.

Think about using a flexible material on the front and back, it will save you from crashing the wheel guard into a solid surface and upsetting the table travel -- and likely screwing-up the work piece!

<font color=red>An addendum to my previous post:</font>

For those who freaked-out over the mention of a diamond wheel dresser made from a 1/2 carat diamond. The diamonds are industrial diamonds. A 1/2 carat stone silver soldered into a 3/8" shank costs about $26.00 -- they're far from jewelry quality....

I use Rutland Tool and Supply for most of my shop needs, they're nation wide (a division of Airgas). You should be able to find a local branch via the web.

--Jim

 
i drew up some plans on a sheetmetal splash guard last night, i like the idea of making it from aluminum better, i had planned stainless.
i knew about idustrial diamonds, i have one for dressing wheels.
 
will add my 2 cents...take lite cuts....or you work will overheat....and warp....also, Ive found that turning the work over occasionally keeps it from warping...especially small parts.....and never , never, never stand in front of that wheel!!!!!! IN other words...be careful... those vetrified wheels have been known to kill people.

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
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