Traverse feed on Harig Surface grinder a little stiff

[DeereGuy]

Hi gang, finally got the grinder in the shop and started to clean things up and play around a little bit. Everything seems great so far except the x axis seems a little stiff compared to my olde powermatic grinder. This one is a cable drive and the cable is like new condition. When I had the table off I made sure to put down way lube before putting the table back on. It has auto lube but I haven't run it here under power yet. I did notice that in some places the scraping has wore more than other places. What do you guys recommmend?

TIA
Bob

[Ian B]

Bob,

Is it a 'viscous' stiffness? Could it be that the way lube that you're using is causing the drag? Maybe a lower viscosity lube would help.

Ian

[DeereGuy]

Good thought but I had noticed this when I looked at it a couple of weeks ago. When I got it in my shop I tried the way lube. Maybe I am going to have to learn to scrape.

[pepe]

at one time harig coated the ways of cable driven 6-12's and 6-18's with teflon. imho not a great idea. if your machine came from a shop that permitted air hoses around the grinders you may have a problem. on removal of the table you should be able to see if this machine had a teflon coating. the far ends of the table ways, that seldom get fully traversed, should still have the remenants of the coating. the middle of he table ways may be scored if abrasive grit was blown in to mix with the way lube;these ways were not hardened as they are on some other models. if this is in fact the case, putting way lube on these surfaces may not help much. when you have the cable off, check to see if the longitudinal hand wheel spins freely. lubing this shft and its bearing may help.
good luck p.

[Mcruff]

Harig grinders also run on a film of oil from the pump, if you have not run it under power the oil pump will not provide this film of oil. The cable must also be wrapped around the shaft right or it will fight itselfs when running back and forth.

[DeereGuy]

at one time harig coated the ways of cable driven 6-12's and 6-18's with teflon. imho not a great idea. if your machine came from a shop that permitted air hoses around the grinders you may have a problem. on removal of the table you should be able to see if this machine had a teflon coating. the far ends of the table ways, that seldom get fully traversed, should still have the remenants of the coating. the middle of he table ways may be scored if abrasive grit was blown in to mix with the way lube;these ways were not hardened as they are on some other models. if this is in fact the case, putting way lube on these surfaces may not help much. when you have the cable off, check to see if the longitudinal hand wheel spins freely. lubing this shft and its bearing may help.
good luck p.

pepe, there wasn't any coating that I could see when the table was off. It does say that it has tool steel ways on it.





I am recovering from shoulder surgery right now and that table is heavy. Once I am able to I will pull the table off and post pics of the ways. As I recall it looks like some of the scraping was wore off so maybe I need to rescrape things in. This came from a shop down the road from me that is down sizing. I am sure they didn't allow air around these things and the unit had a vacume set up on the end.

Thanks
Bob

[DeereGuy]

Harig grinders also run on a film of oil from the pump, if you have not run it under power the oil pump will not provide this film of oil. The cable must also be wrapped around the shaft right or it will fight itselfs when running back and forth.

Mcruff, I haven't run it here yet because I am waiting on a VFD to arrive to run the mill and this. Can you explain a little more about how the cable should be wraped around the shaft. It is wraped three times around the shaft and is not over itself.

[Jim Caudill]

Deere, don't overlook the comment made about the bed "floating" on a film of oil. The Harig oil is not your usual "way oil". I think it may be much lighter than the oil typically sold for lubricating ways. Basically the oil pump comes on and "lifts" the bed slightly as it continuously recirculates the oil. I'm thinking that you might try some AW T15 hydraulic oil. The last time I priced the correct oil from Harig, it was part number 162 11 245 for $41.95 a gallon, and that is when gas was around $1 a gallon! Maybe somone on the board here that has the correct oil can give us an idea of its viscosity. I'm thinking it is a very light oil, but with the tackifier additive of regular "way oil".

[DeereGuy]

Deere, don't overlook the comment made about the bed "floating" on a film of oil. The Harig oil is not your usual "way oil". I think it may be much lighter than the oil typically sold for lubricating ways. Basically the oil pump comes on and "lifts" the bed slightly as it continuously recirculates the oil. I'm thinking that you might try some AW T15 hydraulic oil. The last time I priced the correct oil from Harig, it was part number 162 11 245 for $41.95 a gallon, and that is when gas was around $1 a gallon! Maybe somone on the board here that has the correct oil can give us an idea of its viscosity. I'm thinking it is a very light oil, but with the tackifier additive of regular "way oil".

Jim, you might have something here. I just used the way oil I have that I use for the mill and lathe. I have Asburn Way Oil 68. I haven't a clue as to the viscosity of this stuff.

[DeereGuy]

I did a google on Harig Way Oil and came up with this thread
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/ub...c/1/24217.html
Looks like there is a big difference in way oil and the machine has to be running to so the pump circulates' the oil. I have a VFD coming that will run two machines and planed on running the grinder as the second machine. The machine had 3phase 220 comming into it. The pump is wired directly to the switch so I think it was getting the straight 220 3 phase also. Does't seem right but I see no way that the voltage was changed to the pump. I didn't pull the pump out to check the screen because the oil was clean and there wasn't any sludge at the bottom of the sump. Also I found a gallon of the Harig Way Oil with about a pint left in it sitting in the cabinet for the wiring.

I am hoping this will run on the VFD ok. What do you guys think. I will run the VFD at the 60hz.