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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,102

    Default Van Norman No 2 cylindrical grinder

    Today I bought and brought home an ancient Van Norman Re-Li-o No 2 cylindrical grinder with "Piston turning and grinding" attachment.
    RayG and his son Josh helped me get it on ond off the shaky 6x4 trailer that was probaly at its load limit with it (and a Servian Pedelstal drill press that followed me home too).
    As far as I can make out, it was made in the mid 1920s - and the album below shows a 1922 ad for it without the piston attachment.
    We had to unbolt the machine from the base to get it off the trailer as my engine crane sprung a leak in its piston seal...
    I've started cleaning it and found that the headstock drive motor still worked fine. Bonus!
    I can't find any play in any of the ways which now move, so it may be OK to rebuild and expect it to work.
    It's missing the spindle feed screw and the table handle, as well as the entire toolpost that seems to have been designed to fit on the front face of the spindle for "Piston turning"...
    There is also a V-belt arrangement going nowhere that I imagine was for a coolant pump.
    Oh, and the spindle drive motor with flat belt pulley is missing, but it's mounting plate it there - that should be an easy replacement.
    I'll post rebuild progress in this thread - be very very patient.... it's a project come at the wrong time
    http://photobucket.com/van_norman_grinder
    Cheers,
    Joe

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    9,088

    Default

    Hi Joe,
    Good that some of it has found a new home and that you got it home safe.
    The grinding head moves along ways on the back of the bed?

    Its nice to have a project, hope it doesn't turn into as much of a project as my grinder.

    Stuart

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,102

    Default

    Yes Stu, it does. I agee - hope not.... but I won't be making a start (other than cleaning and oiling) for a while.
    The headstock can swing through a very wide angle (may even be able to remove the stop arm completely) so it may be possible to use it to grind tools on their ends. There must be a way of locking the headstock spindle and maybe indexing it - I'll have to investigate a bit more. If that's the case, maybe some alternate fixtures may make it into a tool and cutter grinder?
    Joe

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
    Age
    72
    Posts
    3,102

    Default

    A brief update:
    Of course I couldn't leave it alone and had to pull it apart to look at the wear etc.....
    I've uploaded a few more photos to the PhotoBucket album where I'll keep high resolution photos of the restoration:
    http://photobucket.com/van_norman_grinder
    The spindle slide travel is only limited by the leadscrew nut - and will allow the wheel to come quite a way across the table. That means whatever is mounted in the headstock can be brought to touch the side of the wheel. The headstock can in fact move the full 360 deg., so by making an indexing plate for the drive end will allow this machine to be used as a tool and cutter grinder!

    I'm very puzzled though by the way arrangements: the table runs on a large inverted V slide at the wheel edge - and has a strip attached to the table running under a smooth horizontal edge to set the clearance and prevent the table lifting.
    The front edge of the table rests and slides on a flat way. There is howver no 'hold-down' or adjustment at all on that way.
    I noticed when I was disassembling the table that it was able to be lifted a little off the front way. It seems that it relies entirely on gravity to stay there.
    Is this 'normal' practice?
    Admitted, the force required to lift the front edge of the table is enormous - it is a very heavy casting and the weigth of the headstock, it's drive motor, the weight of the tailstock or the piston/cam grinding attachment is added to this as well.
    Lastly, there is a way lubricant reservoir under the centre of the table ways with a zerk fitting - and predictably, the reservoir is full of grease. I suspect that it should be filled with way oil. Opinions are invited!
    The way the lubricant is transported from this reservoir is via two wooden(?) plugs which are spring loaded and have vertical holes and pores which effectively wipe the lubricant into the channels on the table from where it is distributed along the ways.
    That is interesting and I've not seen this before.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Victoria, Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    5,080

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jhovel View Post
    I noticed when I was disassembling the table that it was able to be lifted a little off the front way. It seems that it relies entirely on gravity to stay there.
    Is this 'normal' practice?
    Hi Joe,
    Those surfaces look pretty good, amazing what's hidden under 20 years of grime..

    Here's my thoughts on the table hold down, I guessing that there are no forces that would cause the table to lift. Grinding is a relatively gentle process, (that is relative to milling type operations), so I suspect there is no tendency for the table to lift in normal grinding operations.

    Quote Originally Posted by jhovel View Post
    Lastly, there is a way lubricant reservoir under the centre of the table ways with a zerk fitting - and predictably, the reservoir is full of grease. I suspect that it should be filled with way oil. Opinions are invited!
    My opinion, get rid of the grease, and replace with way oil. Sounds like an interesting lubrication system... wooden plugs?

    Regards
    Ray

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ipswich QLD
    Age
    68
    Posts
    1,996

    Default

    Nice project indeed bit smaller than the one I posted and you replied to.

    The wooden plugs I think you'll find are in fact hardened leather wipers maybe dried out and gone hard. A guess.

    If it took 3 to manage getting yours moved the one I posted will take a crane

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