Nathan the Machinist Grinding gadgetry

Patrice Lemée;13425771 said:
I did find these Hydrofarm Submersible Pumps. Not sure about how much head lift it has but can I go by the rated GPH instead? There is this one rated for 880GPH...
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I suspect that one would work quite well, Patrice. The one Nick and I are using is only 264GPH and I can grind on Nathan's flat platen and/or radius platen with the KMG at 100% speed with very little heat. Mine is recirculating the same water out of a 5-gallon bucket.
 
I would think that there is a limit on the gph flow based on the size of the channels that Nathan milled in the chiller.
 
Patrice Lemée;13425771 said:
Not sure it's the easiest Nick but sure would be the most fun. :D:D:D

Thanks guys for the pump model and the “head lift” info. :thumbup:

Update:
I did find these Hydrofarm Submersible Pumps. Not sure about how much head lift it has but can I go by the rated GPH instead? There is this one rated for 880GPH...

http://www.amazon.ca/Hydrofarm-AAPW...=8-3&keywords=Hydrofarm+Aqua+Submersible+Pump
Click to expand...

This pump is listed as 25 liter per minute and also 400 gph. Neither of those rates is equal to one another. Who knows what you would get.
 
Yeah, the open flow rating of a centrifugal pump is pretty meaningless when pumping against any kind of back pressure. If you can get 60 GPH out of a 200 GPH pump you'll be doing good. It all depends on the internal clearances and impeller design in the pump.

In use, 60 GPH (1 GPM) is all you need. But it will probably take a 200 GPH pump that can generate a few feet of head to get there.
 
A promised, an update on the platen and pump situation.

Platen installed. Isn’t it pretty already?. :D



The motor I talked about. Bought on Amazon for about 30$.



Everything installed. I found a nice square (5 gal?) bucket with lid at the local hardware store. I drilled holes a little undersized in the lid to give me a nice tight fit on the hoses and keep the dust out. The hoses may seem a little longer than necessary but it is so that I can remove the arm and put it in the holder in the left side of the disk grinder without unhooking everything.



Just for fun, I ran the grinder for about 5 minutes without the pump. This is the temp I got: 74.4F. Of course doing actual grinding would raise the temp much faster.



And then running the grinder again for 5 minutes with the pump. This time: 70.2F.



Of course this is not a proper test but it does show that it is working and I am sure it will be even better with actual use.

Thanks again Nathan. :thumbup:
(And Nick for letting me hijack his thread. :o)
 
Great photos Pat!!! :thumbup: :cool:

Glad you got it all hooked up... it's a hell of a bit of gadgetry ain't it?!? :D

I had to go into town the other day, so I went to Lowe's and got the braided line too.

Now that you have a cool clear bucket, my kitty littler bucket just seems awkward. ;) :D LOL



Thanks for taking the time to share this stuff Pat! :)


Oh, and I see you brought your protein powder right out to the grinder bench to make it easier to mix the G10 dust into it... good think'n! ;)
 
NickWheeler said:
Oh, and I see you brought your protein powder right out to the grinder bench to make it easier to mix the G10 dust into it... good think'n! ;)
Click to expand...

You should know by now Nick that I follow ALL of your suggestions to the letter. ;)

And give it a few weeks and the clear bucket won't look much better than your kitty litter one with all the dust....oh wait I forgot...dust is not allowed in my shop. :cool:;)
 
Patrice Lemée;13447081 said:
A promised, an update on the platen and pump situation.

Platen installed. Isn’t it pretty already?. :D



The motor I talked about. Bought on Amazon for about 30$.



Everything installed. I found a nice square (5 gal?) bucket with lid at the local hardware store. I drilled holes a little undersized in the lid to give me a nice tight fit on the hoses and keep the dust out. The hoses may seem a little longer than necessary but it is so that I can remove the arm and put it in the holder in the left side of the disk grinder without unhooking everything.



Just for fun, I ran the grinder for about 5 minutes without the pump. This is the temp I got: 74.4F. Of course doing actual grinding would raise the temp much faster.



And then running the grinder again for 5 minutes with the pump. This time: 70.2F.



Of course this is not a proper test but it does show that it is working and I am sure it will be even better with actual use.

Thanks again Nathan. :thumbup:
(And Nick for letting me hijack his thread. :o)
Click to expand...
Probably not necessary but you could run some of the water wetter by redline in the cooling water and cool it off even more. It is suppose to cool by as much as 30 degrees.
 
Does anyone know if these fittings are appropriate for water use?

http://t.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-tool-accessories/14-air-hose-swivel-connector-68196.html

To make for a lower profile setup, I was thing of trying 2 of these and then using quick connect couplings on the water line since I have a bunch of brass quick connect couplers laying around.

I also have a brass 90 that is male npt threads on one end and a quick connect male on the other end. The issue with these pivoting 90 couplers might be to get the orifice opening in the right location on the swivel so it doesn't restrict water flow.

I would guess if these couplers and fittings are air tight then they should be water tight as well.
 
I just test 2 different fittings. I put one of those that I linked to at hf in the top hole . This fitting swivels in 2 different directions. In the bottom hole, I put a coupler that pivots in one direction only. They fit well with enough room even for quick connect couplers.

I don't have a pump to test but will have to get one and give this a go.
 
platen_chiller2_zps6ddd1f9a.jpg



You hate the english so much you've switched to spanish now ?

:)
 
Great set-up. I'm going to have to get one of these too.
Just a dumb tip: If you buy a weak pump that doesn't quite pushing enough head, just raise your bucket higher. The top of the bucket only needs to be slightly under the drain plug on the platen, not necessarily two feet lower.
Have fun.
 
How do the hoses connect s the pump? I don't have the hf pump yet hut want to get it all setup without too many trips to the hardware store. Thanks
 
Sam- Now that's funny right there! :D I totally missed it until you pointed it out.

Michael- It's very slick! Literally too... LOL The belts seems to slide over it so much smoother than the stock platen. Even if it wasn't great at doing what it was intended to (which it is!) it's just so damn pretty to look at with Nathan's crazy amazing, dastardly, evil genius, machining skillz. ;) :D


Doc- My HF pump came with various sized plastic fittings, but the smallest one was too big for 3/8" water line, so I grabbed one at the hardware store. It's a barbed fitting just like the ones that came with the pump, just for 3/8. I put a hose clamp on it, just as I did the lines going in/out of the chiller.
 
Sykes3170, don’t know what a water wetter is but I'll sure take a look.

PTDoc, that sounds like a good idea if you can't leave it hooked up. Looking forward to pics of your setup.

Sam, The other side was English I think. Good thing too cause I have enough trouble with English without trying to learn another language. No Hablo Espanol! ;)

Nick, I got the same fittings that you did but was too lazy to go back to the hardware store so I just removed the adapter and stuck the hose down the hole. :o Works for now but I have to get a proper one like you. :thumbup:

Thanks guys.
 
Patrice Lemée;13450393 said:
Sykes3170, don’t know what a water wetter is but I'll sure take a look.

PTDoc, that sounds like a good idea if you can't leave it hooked up. Looking forward to pics of your setup.

Sam, The other side was English I think. Good thing too cause I have enough trouble with English without trying to learn another language. No Hablo Espanol! ;)

Nick, I got the same fittings that you did but was too lazy to go back to the hardware store so I just removed the adapter and stuck the hose down the hole. :o Works for now but I have to get a proper one like you. :thumbup:

Thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I think if you go into any oreillys or autozone they should have one form or another. Water wetter I think is the name redline gives it. There are different brands that do the same thing. Let us know if you try it and it makes a difference. Good Luck!
 
I have Nathans D2 platen and chiller and I can honestly say that his chiller has changed my knife grinding life. I live in Bakersfield, California which is where people who live in Death Valley won't visit because it's too hot. I could not touch my platen after grinding a tapered tang and whatever was on the back of my belts cooked on but no more. I can grab the platen with bare hands and store it under my grinder while changing to a wheel. His chiller, Beaumont's rotary platen, and Nielsen's magnetic disc system are the biggest improvements I have made to my shop (garage). These things do not make up for talent but I promise you that using better equipment will help you make better knives. If you don't have his platen and chiller then you are swimming upstream. They are very reasonable considering his excellent workmanship in my opinion.
 
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