There has to be a better way...

P. McKinley

P. McKinley

Joined
Jan 27, 2008
Messages
2,010
... of grinding small bevels on small items.

I'm putting a 1/4" bevel on a brass bolster using a piece of beveled wood as a base. This bevel is done, just used for this photo, but I need to get it right. I need to do 5 more of these for this knife. I have great difficulty firmly holding such a small piece and, it being a rather critical component, I'd hate to screw it up.

I don't like changing the angle of my platen for such teeny projects as I have trouble getting it back to perfect 90 degrees, but maybe that's the ticket.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Peter





 
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I find an angled tool rest to be much more forgiving Peter. I do my clips, scandi/chisel grinds, and any sort of bevels etc by angling the tool-rest (I've made a handful of them for specific tasks) on my Wilmont TAG grinder to the flat platen or a wheel.


That way you have the whole rest to "ride" on, and you can gently "scoot" up to the moving belt. You can even make a tool rest with a graphite, teflon, or UHM top, that makes it ultra easy to slide around on.
 
Yes!..... An adjustable tool rest... ;) :)

A 9" disc is nice too... As you can take a facet like that to nearly a mirror polish with the disc.
 
Yeah, I don't have a tool rest for my disc yet (have a non-C face motor on it unfortunately), but I'm definitely in the market for one. "flat" is a relative term with a belt grinder. As any quick trip to the disc will often painfully reveal. ;)


I spend as much time on the disc these days as the belt grinder, chasing those perfect but elusive distal tapers.
 
Hehe. Well, it's just a modification away from happening Peter. ;)


I've got some ideas how to make one if you want some help.
 
Well if you're just trying to find a better way of holding it, you night make a custom wooden handle that fits the piece very tightly, then pass a screw through a wooden "washer", through the hole in the piece and into the handle. Of course this will really only work for shaping the outside edges... you could also make a handle on a similar way but use the hight temp wax that jewellers use for holding gems while grinding them..
 
Could you CA glue the bolster to the end of a holder... that fits into a grinding jig... set at a specific angle to the grinder?

(same idea as the post above mine)
 
I can’t tell for sure from your pictures but this might work for you. First, my standard platen will adjust back and forth. I use this most of the time when I need an angle and the tool rest stays at 90. (second picture) I didn’t have the wheels for it at the time. I wasn’t sure that would cover everything so I made a second rest that is fully adjustable. (also in the second picture laying on the shelf) The second (adjustable) rest will work on the tool arm for the “fixed” rest. It simply works off the pinch method I don’t have a good picture of it but if you look below the rest in the first picture you can see a hole was drilled and slotted so it could be pinched by a screw and hold a bar. It works great when you need a bit more adjustment.
I wish I could give credit to the guys I got the ideas from but they all came from random searches.



 
Theiskell - Ok. First, that is not a work shop you have there..... that's a surgical ward. At least throw some old tools and some swarf on the floor even if just for effect. :D

That's a fine piece of machinery you have there. And, a very cool concept.

Javan... you seeing this^^?

Thank you.

Peter
 
P. McKinley said:
Theiskell - Ok. First, that is not a work shop you have there..... that's a surgical ward. At least throw some old tools and some swarf on the floor even if just for effect. :D

That's a fine piece of machinery you have there. And, a very cool concept.

Javan... you seeing this^^?

Thank you.

Peter
Click to expand...

LOL I get that a lot when I post pics of tools in the garage. If there is one thing I hate, it’s walking on metal chips and grinder dust. A shop vac and a leaf blower are my best friends. I guess I chosen the wrong hobby to get into.

I also catch a lot of crap for the TV
 
Nice looking grinder build Theiskell.

Unfortunately, the grinder Peter has doesn't have a tooling arm slot (not even one) like the GIB/EERF grinder does. It simply has a shallow depression along one side that the stock tool rest rides on with one retaining screw. The flat platen itself is mounted via a shaft to the grinder body itself, so it's a bit more complicated that just making up a standard arm like you can use on the GIBs/Wilmonts that have 1.5" extra tooling slots.

Still, not a big problem to fab up a custom one.
 
Peter.
Look at this just a bit differently. That is to say instead of tilting the table, make a piece that will CLAMP on the table with the correct angle on it. I have one I use for the bevel at the back of bolsters and as well use it for a bevel at the front. I call it my $1.50 milling machine. I take the bolster parts down to 6 with it. All I did was silver solder , no welder, a piece of angle iron cut to the angle I wanted on a piece of 1/8" plate about 5" X 7".
 
Franks method will work just fine if you only need one (or however you're willing to make) angles. Working "up" to the belt, is definitely better than working "down" into it also.
 
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