Old bench grinder?

B

bomber_man_jj

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Jan 14, 2007
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So I was working in an oil field/truck garage and one day while cleaning off shelves that were just over flowing with junk found an old bench grinder with a lathe type chuck on the front of the motor body. I was told to throw it away but decided to take it home. Any idea what it was originally used for? Today I spent probably 4 hours cleaning years worth of oil and dust off this thing. The chuck is a Skinner 5" three jaw something or other. Its got a hand brake on it and a lever to kick the chuck on and off. I was originally going to see about mounting some paper wheels on it but one arbor is standard 5/8 and the other is something like 15/16 so I doubt that'll work. Anybody ever seen something like this before? Sorry I dont have a picture.
 
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The only time I have seen something like this it was a welding positioner. It had a low rpm motor on it and we chucked up a piece of pipe and welded as the chuck rotated. But it would not be this if the grinder runs at full speed. I would recommend removing the chuck if possible. Sounds like trouble at 3600 rpm.
 
A photo would be helpful.

There's two possibilities: One, I've seen bench grinders (and similar standalone motors) fitted with a lathe chuck, and used to hold parts for finishing. Such as polishing shafts with fine emory cloth, or even for spinning rough blanks while you knock off the burrs with a file.

And two- the same idea, just more professional. There are things called "speed lathes", that are really not much more than lathe headstocks. Some have a stubby little bed for holding a single basic tool, others don't even have that.

And it's used for the same purpose- hold a part and spin it while you polish it with a Scotchbrite, or whatever. I've even seen some used at slower speeds to assemble threaded parts- the operator puts one part in the chuck, turns it on, then inserts the other part. When the two have screwed themselves together, he lets go and shuts the motor off, removes it, and moves on to the next part.

It sounds like yours is halfway in between. get some pictures, we might be able to give you a better idea.

Doc.
 
JJsbenchgrinder.jpg


JJsbenchgrinder2.jpg


JJsbenchgrinder3.jpg
 
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Looks to me to be an indexer that might be used in welding. Perhaps tubing of some variety. There looks to be a pulley on the left in the last picture that might be engaged with a motor and a foot operated lever to engage a clutch to spin the chuck to aid in welding. I am only guessing at this point, but the 2 biggest clues are the job you took it from and the description of the spindle speed.


Bill
 
While I'm not entirely sure, I'd wager that's an old (and incomplete) brake lathe. I suspect the chuck on the side was a later add-on, but hey, it's all a guess.

But it's definitely not a lathe headstock, any sort of bench grinder, a speed lathe or a welding indexer. It has a layout vaguely similar to an older Ammco brake lathe, but again, if that's the case, it's missing several important pieces.

Not sure what you could do with it, though it seems a shame to scrap it.

Doc.
 
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