Surface Grinder and Shaper

[Jack]

Today I went to visit an old friends shop, well his daughter who is now in charge said that if I wanted these I could have them for a very reasonable price, she said that her dad would have probably just given them to me but she has bills to pay just like the rest of us. I will go back to get them on Friday after I make arrangements to get a truck. I'm hoping that I can haul them both in a full size pickup truck. If anyone wants to offer some Do's and Don'ts about moving them, please jump right in. I just want to get them home and worry about getting them to operate on my household current later, the grinder is 3 phase and the shaper is 110 volt single phase.

I'm excited, my model building might just go up a notch.

Jack

P.S. all I had was my phone so sorry about the turned photos.

 

[Lew Hartswick]

The surface grinder will become very handy, the shaper less so but if you ever need
to make a rack gear it'll work great. (that is the only thing I've ever made on one).
...lew...

 

[shred]

I have that same Harig grinder-- if it's not the cable-drive, the table just lifts off as it's only held on by gravity, so take it off before moving. Do not be tempted to run the table back and forth _at all_ unless the oil pump has been on long enough to fill the upper sight glass as the table just floats on a film of pumped oil and if the pump hasn't been running, there's no oil.

The grinder sits unattached on the base cabinet, so separate them for moving. You may have to unbolt an electrical box or two, but it's very much worth it. Otherwise it's extremely top-heavy and fall-prone. The oil is in a reservoir inside the machine and will spill out if you tip it too far. There are holes on either side through the base of the grinder that can be used with a bar (IIRC, 3/4") to lift it with a hoist and straps. Balance by moving the saddle in and out. Don't lift by the spindle.

See if he has a stash of the Harig way oil for it-- they don't make it anymore and it's tough to source a good alternative (the current Vactra #2 doesn't have near enough tackifiers in it). I used a cheap (under $100) household-110v-to-230 3P VFD to drive mine. Works great and variable speed to boot.

Edit: Don't even think about changing the motor unless you absolutely have to (ie: it doesn't work)-- you'll get better surface finishes from a 3P motor and it will be very expensive to get one fitted to the spindle bearings.

 

[woodnut]

Looks like a great addition.

You might want to write down the specs for the motor on the surface grinder unless you have 3 phase power at home. My house is 2 phase. You will need to change the motor, any motor place should be able to match a new motor for you.

Good luck.

John

 

[ShedBoy]

Nice score jealous Me.
Brock

 

[lathe nut]

I have an Atlas shaper and I love it, do several things with it, I like the slow mechanical sound that they make, Gald for You, Lathe Nut

 

[Jack]

When I get them to my workshop, (soon) I will tell everyone what I paid for them in case I bought a lemon. I still have a lot to learn about surface grinders although I have used one years ago under the supervision of the owner before he passed away from cancer. He ran a plastic injection mold shop for years and I guessing these (6 of them) were purchased in the late sixties. After he died his daughter ran the molding business but they stopped building molds and focused on making plastic parts. They went out of business about 5 years ago and all of the machinery sat as a shrine to her father.

I didn't pay top dollar because I got the family discount, he was my wife's uncle. I just hope that I didn't buy a pig in a poke but I sure feel better than buying some worn piece of junk over the internet.

Jack... Able to turn large pieces of metal into small pieces of scrap with just a turn of a few knobs. :big:

 

[maverick]

That Harig is a jewel. Shred has touched on the important points, do what He says. I recently recieved via email the maintainence manual from
the service manager at Harig. I'll forward tomorrow.

 

[tel]

The surface grinder will become very handy, the shaper less so but if you ever need
to make a rack gear it'll work great. (that is the only thing I've ever made on one).
...lew...

;D I'd have put it the other way around, with the shaper being of more use than the grinder but perhaps that's just me. Nice scores, both of 'em, and worthy additions to your shop.

 

[maverick]

Service manuals are available from www.harigtechsupport.com
Jim Sellyer, the service manager was very knowledgeable and helpful and emailed the manuals upon request.

 

[Lockstocknbarrel]

Jack,
Sorry to hear that your friend is unwell, but any tools that we have in any of our workshops are there on loan only.
And will get passed onto future budding engineers, it is like collecting antiques, you really don't own them.
But I expect to see both of these machines lovingly cleaned up and restored over the new year.......................
Kindest Regards
Beagles

 

[Jack]

Thanks for the kind words, unfortunately he is a little past unwell. He passed away from cancer several years ago, but he was not only a relative but a very good friend. When my wife was still alive she always knew that if I was hanging out at his shop (her uncle) I was in good hands. He was the one that instilled the desire to make and fix things in me.

I can't wait to get my new toys home and start cleaning and using them. ;D

Jack

 

[kvom]

I'd like to score a surface grinder like that myself. It's pretty similar to the one I learned on at school. X2 on the VFD for power.

 

[Jack]

The Harig grinder is now at my house in the garage sitting on the floor. Everything went smooth as silk going into the truck with their fork truck. I picked it up with a bar in the holes in the base, lifted right off the cabinet and into the pickup truck.

The cabinet followed next without problems. When I got home I picked it up with a chain hoist and lowered onto the floor without trouble. I will attempt to get it down the hill and into my walk out basement door this weekend.

I will look into a phase converter soon after its in the basement shop.

The shaper is going to need a little motor attention, it seems to have issues, as in Not Running. But its in the basement shop.

 

[AR1911]

Atlas shaper motors are simple to source. 110V 1/2HP works fine. Direction of rotation is marked on the backside of the upper driven pulley.
cool machines, I love mine.

Congrats on some nice additions to your shop

 

[Apostle]

That Harig is a jewel. Shred has touched on the important points, do what He says. I recently recieved via email the maintainence manual from
the service manager at Harig. I'll forward tomorrow.

Hi Maverick! I just acquired a Harig 612 and would love to have the maintenance manual. I have the "Instruction Manual" and if yours is a true maintenance manual, please email it to me. Thank you in advance, Mike DiGirolamo, W4XN, Charlottesville, VA. [email protected]

 

[Apprentice707]

I am jealous, I have always wanted (Not needed!!) a small surface grinder. The hand cranked small Adept shaper I have is a pleasure to use, but doesn't get used a lot. Good luck with the moving. B

 

[Preston Engebretson]

Hola Jack, I have both of the exact same machines...

You will love them once cleaned up and running correctly.

The Harig Surface grinder is a Jewel, but the oil system can be problamatic at times.
Mine had the oil pump die, replacement from Harig is +$700 or it was a year ago.

I replaced mine with a fountain pump rated for oil service and it works very well.

Heed, Do not move anything, bed or Spindle head height without having the pump running
and as said above until the sight glass is at least half full. I rerouted the tubing to the exterior
on mine so that I can see when the oil has really reached the top...

Mine will hold tenths to half tenths all day long as long as the temperature in the shop is stable.

Great find...enjoy them.

Best Regards,

Preston

 

[Apostle]

Hola Jack, I have both of the exact same machines...

You will love them once cleaned up and running correctly.

The Harig Surface grinder is a Jewel, but the oil system can be problamatic at times.
Mine had the oil pump die, replacement from Harig is +$700 or it was a year ago.

I replaced mine with a fountain pump rated for oil service and it works very well.

Heed, Do not move anything, bed or Spindle head height without having the pump running
and as said above until the sight glass is at least half full. I rerouted the tubing to the exterior
on mine so that I can see when the oil has really reached the top...

Mine will hold tenths to half tenths all day long as long as the temperature in the shop is stable.

Great find...enjoy them.

Best Regards,

Preston

Spent the day removing and cleaning the oil pump and oil reservoir as well as the oil lines. Drained the old oil and replaced it with new. Mine Harig with Teflon ways was born in 1984 and came with the new hermetically sealed pump. I chedked the pump before moving it by removing the line to the ways and lightly holding pressure over the output while power was applied to the machine. Peace of mind came when oil was shooting out. There was a small amount of debris at the bottom of the pump cavity, which I cleand out thouroughly. I also cleaned the fine screen inside the pump as well as the lower mesh, which was nearly without debris. I filled it with new way oil (given to me by the seller) and fired it up. I'd put a VFD on it and got it working. Had to bypass the Harig cabinet switch arrangement. Jim Seyller put my mind at peace about bypassing the factory switch. This machine has been in my shop for exactly one week now. I brought it home last Monday, after a greuling 7 hour trip. Had 3 extra men help unload and reset it in my shop. It came with a Y-axis DRO mounted (I know there is much controversy about what is the Y-axis and what it the Z-axis. I'm calling the Z-axis the 'up and down" axis) The DRO is a 1 micron (0.0001" readout) Mitutoyo unit. Seller had the Z-axis scale but it had never been mounted. I report at 6 am tomorrow for my left cataract extraction (had the right done 3 weeks ago). This will slow me down a little bit, but not much. Will try to get some photos posted next time. Sorry for such a mixed up story. Mike