Home Built Surface Grinder

Kevin McGovern said:
My table had play until I tightened it up. there are a few small screws that allow access to the dovetail interfaces. Remove screws to gain access and you can tighten up the tolerance a LOT.
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I did that, plus modded it a lot more to tighten it up and it still has too much play.
 
There is that... Maybe Kevin got lucky with the one they sent him. But I figure for the upwards cost of that one, it should have the ability to tighten enough, or easily be modified to eliminate play. In any case, work with Kevin as his SGA works fantastic.
 
WyldStyl3 said:
I did that, plus modded it a lot more to tighten it up and it still has too much play.
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Is there any way you can post pics of the assembly, and what you did? I have a feeling it's something small that is being overlooked. Sometimes it just another set of eyes that ya need to say, "OH! You need to do such & such..". Ya know?
 
One Armed said:
There is that... Maybe Kevin got lucky with the one they sent him. But I figure for the upwards cost of that one, it should have the ability to tighten enough, or easily be modified to eliminate play. In any case, work with Kevin as his SGA works fantastic.
Click to expand...
If he was able to figure out how to get access to adjust it ( I think the adjustments are tiny allen set screws) then he should have been able to adjust it. Maybe just not enough screw thread to tighten. Maybe different screws? It's a basic 3 screw gib adjustment, so I'm not sure why it wouldn't be effective.
 
Yuou're right Kev....I know. It's pretty basic. Just surface against surface. Just not much to cause play.
 
If I recall correctly, you have to remove one or more of the pieces that cover the adjustment. The large allen screws that you see on the top and ends of the housing are NOT the adjusters. The adjustment screws are tiny set screws under one of those removable plates on the side of the rail.
 
One Armed said:
Is there any way you can post pics of the assembly, and what you did? I have a feeling it's something small that is being overlooked. Sometimes it just another set of eyes that ya need to say, "OH! You need to do such & such..". Ya know?
Click to expand...
I'll try to remember to get pics when I get home. I took it completely apart, removed the washers from between the top and bottom of the slider, drilled and tapped extra holes and bolted them back together. There's only maybe .005" clearance between the slider and the base where they overlap. They are as close as you can get them without touching. The issue is the trapezoid shaped slider just has too much space around it so it has room to twist. If that makes sense.
 
WyldStyl3 said:
I'll try to remember to get pics when I get home. I took it completely apart, removed the washers from between the top and bottom of the slider, drilled and tapped extra holes and bolted them back together. There's only maybe .005" clearance between the slider and the base where they overlap. They are as close as you can get them without touching. The issue is the trapezoid shaped slider just has too much space around it so it has room to twist. If that makes sense.
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I think i know what you are saying. the set screws I'm referring too take the slack out of the trapezoidal pieces.
 
Like if you hold the base and the top slide they have the same kind of movement as twisting a jar lid off or an oreo in half. You can't actually feel movement in them while you're holding them. They feel rock solid and you can't move them at all, but the weight of the stuff attached to the slide is enough to cause way more play than I would like. Especially compared to the TW-90 I played with.
 
I'm just wondering, are you certain the play is in the slider assembly & not the linear rail/roller block? The rollers on the guide rail block are cammed. If they are out of adjustment, play will be be present in the assembly which COULD look like the slider has play. Just a thought.

If the play truly is in the slider and you've run into a wall with it, I would still recommend building your own from scratch as Ken and myself both did. Inexpensive enough.... and I can guarantee success going this route. Still much, MUCH less than the SGA-1!(I think that is what you were referring to. The TW-90 is the belt grinder Travis makes.)
 
I am certain. I was already planning on making my own adjustment assembly. I just wanted to warn others of the chinese slider table thing.
 
I am working through my build right now. I ordered the same pieces Kevin (Faith forge knives) suggested. I will report back on the x-axis table. Mine has some movement in the table, but, I haven't adjusted anything yet to try and remove it.
 
You can have them bore it out, but NOT install the bearings. TO keep things simple, I had them bore and install circlips for 6202 bearings. I then ordered 6202-1/2 bearings and installed them myself. 6202-1/2 bearings have the same dimension as 6202s but with a 1/2" ID. It looks like they now offer a bearing with a 12.7mm (1/2") ID. I would still go with what I did, since I know I can get those bearings in the future domestically.
 
For my build, I had a local company mill the slots for the chuck. I gave them the spec of the magnets and they milled to that. So the magnet sits just a tiny amount lower than the face of the chuck. Once the chuck has been surfaced, I'm sure I'll be into the magnets. Is this going to be an issue? Long term, I'll lose holding ability, but will grinding on the magnets cause any real concern?
 
If you do grind on magnets be sure to keep them cool. These magnets will lose magnetic power if overheated. You can grind a bit, but not lots.
 
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