Alexander D bit grinder refurb

[RichardM]

400v contactor, it will read about 2K ohms across the coil, see if 240v will hold the contacts in, most of the ones I have liberated from old equipment will.
Schurter - circuit breaker - go here https://uk.farnell.com/schurter/t11-211-1/circuit-breaker-thermal-1p-240v/dp/1103775

 

[Maker]

Lost interest with the NVR and just used a rotary switch, think it's the one Johnny sent with it actually. The shelf is made from the crate he shipped it in too.



Notice the nice tidy collet storage on the right hand side.

I filed a pair of grooves in the keyed washer which holds the wheel on and bored out a pin spanner from an angle grinder to allow a 3/4" socket to fit in the middle of it, much easier to take the wheel off now. Bent a deep offset into the spanner to fit down into a cupped wheel too. I debated machining a new washer big enough to allow me to drill holes rather than file half-holes but couldn't find any steel suitable.





First time using the boring head, very nice piece of kit.

Also moved my lamp so it can light the grinder, lathe and both drills.

Just the belt left now, got ten meters of PU belt material arriving today, hopefully it's not too hard to weld into a loop.

 

[Maker]

Got my belt material, easy peasy to weld, just cut it nice and square, melted the ends with a blade type thing on a gas soldering iron and pressed them together in a vee block.






Turns out it rubs on the belt guard, easy enough to sort that out though. I took the guard off and carried on, the belt seemed to be wobbling/whipping around quite a bit, tightening it helped but then the motor wouldn't get up to speed. I've got a slightly more powerful one I can swap in but I think the problem is the idler pulley is too stiff, I used the smoothest feeling bearings I already had kicking around, I should really have bought some new, probably smaller ones. The spindle is louder than I remembered it being before I started messing around too.

 

[Brad93]

@Maker I'm thinking of stripping my spindle today. How do you get it out of the machine?

 

[Maker]

Loosen the grub screw on top and just pull it out the front. The cap on the back of the spindle is just a press fit in the casting, you might have to pry it out and give the spindle a knock with a copper drift.

 

[Brad93]

Loosen the grub screw on top and just pull it out the front. The cap on the back of the spindle is just a press fit in the casting, you might have to pry it out and give the spindle a knock with a copper drift.

Cheers mate.

 

[Brad93]

Spindle is out of the machine, now to try and get the two lock bits off without damaging them without small enough hook spanners!

 

[Brad93]

Balls. Now I've damaged the pin that rides in the keyway and mangled the last two threads on the spindle. Heavy handed twit.

Off to order some hook spanners.

 

[Maker]

Oh bugger, how'd you manage that?

 

[Brad93]

Oh bugger, how'd you manage that?

The little pin in the wheel arbor slipped out of the keyway and then I couldn't get the **Language**er off. Doesn't matter, the lock nut only engages the first three threads. It's all back together now but I couldn't get the spindle apart, I unscrewed the back cap pumped it full of brake cleaner and repeated until most of the old grease was gone. Just need to get some high speed spindle grease now.

 

[Maker]

I couldn't get the spindle apart

I've got a feeling the front cover on the spindle housing had a left hand thread.

 

[Brad93]

I've got a feeling the front cover on the spindle housing had a left hand thread.

That would do it. The back was conventional.

 

[Brad93]

Well I've made some progress on mine today.
You was right about the end cap. The front is LH the back is RH.

That came off without much of a fight and revealed a very clean bearing so the brake cleaner did a good job.

Packed it with Kluber spindle grease and she is running lovely.

Still haven't sorted the little pins that Index the workhead to 90°.

To be honest they're so small I'm not sure if even have a way of holding them.

 

[Brad93]

Got quite a few small drills to do so would be good to get it working nice