Surface Grinder Chevalier Mod 618

[alanallen]

Recently I purchased a slightly used 28 yr old Chevalier surface grinder, Mod 618. Falcon/Chevalier in sunny CA no longer provides support for this little jewel. Does anyone have a operator/parts/setup manual for this or similar grinder? A paper or CD copy would be great and I will compensate you for your efforts.

Overall, the machine is in good condition, but is in need of some good basic maintenance. A lovejoy type coupler connects the motor and arbor shafts, and the "spider" insert went missing some time ago. In phone conversation, the good folks at Falcon/Chevalier told me how to remove the motor from the machine. (I would probably have never figured out how the motor is held in-place without their help.)

Does anyone here know the procedure for re-aligning the motor and arbor shafts. Unfortunately, I do not have ready access to a picture of the mounting system (the machine is 30 miles away from where I am at this time). If you are familiar with the Chevy way of doing things (and probably the way it is done by other manufactures as well) then when I say there are four mounting posts, and each has a "backward" taper that set-screws push against to secure and align the motor, then you will know the mounting system I am dealing with. (I will post some pics later this evening.)

Am I correct in thinking that really good shaft alignment is necessary to help minimize vibration through the arbor shaft?

Any and all information about this machine, and surface grinding in general, is appreciated. I have never used a SG machine before, but the price was right for this machine and it is a nice compliment to my 12 X 40 Lathe, and 9 X 48 vmill.

Thanks for your replys.

alanallen (a name so nice I have it twice)

[miker]

Hi Allen and welcome.
Maybe this company in Melbourne (Victoria Australia) might help. Looks like they still supply those machines.

http://www.industrysearch.com.au/Pro..._Grinder-16015

You are going to really enjoy having a Surface Grinder. I get to use one at the TAFE college I attend once a week. Fitting and machining course. I am retired.

If you haven't used one before, try and get some instruction.
Just remember that NOT knowing the HIGHEST SPOT on the surface you are about to touch the wheel to, could ruin your day. BIG TIME.

Dressing the wheel a lot (before every job) makes a big difference to finish.

I hope some of the pro's here will chime in with advice.

Rgds

[alanallen]

Miker -- thanks for your reply and its accompanying link. I am waiting for email reply to corroepondence witht he organization.

With a bit of help from Falcon/Chevalier in sunny California, I was able to remove the motor (which needed a bit of repair), and reinstall it with no know problems. The machine arbor runs very smooth and quiet.

To say the machine is/was dirty is almost a understatement. Spent several hours cleaning it over the past weekend -- not done yet -- need about 4 more hours I think. When it looks presentable I will post some pics.

I have might have found a manual for the machine on EBay. The item description refers to a Chevalier Super 612, 618, and another model that I do not recall at this time. There is no bidding for the manual -- it is posted with only a Buy-it-Now price of $100 US. The data plate on my machine identifies it as being a Chevalier 618, there is no reference to the word SUPER. With that in mind, I am hesitant to spend $100 hard earned dollars for a manual that my not be the right one.

Can anyone tell me if there is a substantial difference between a Chevalier 618, and a Chevalier Super 618?

[edward miles]

Alan, I have a 6-12 Chevalier grinder and the same vintage as yours, but it is badged KBC. I finally got to a dealer here in Canada and was able to obtain a manual that covers the 6-12 &18 but not the super version. So far experience has been that the part numbers may vary depending on the vintage, but the exploded view drawings are reasonably informative. There are quite a few pages to the manual and most of the drawings are on larger sheets that I can't scan then into my machine. If you want a copy, I can have it photo copied and mail it to you in the next few days. Be careful with the coupling, the one on my machine is not a Lovejoy. and if you buy one their rubber spiders it is to large on the O.D. and loose and my give you a vibration. At the moment I am just putting the finnishing touches on the spindle rebuild and should have it up and running next week.

Regards Ed

[alanallen]

Edward:

Thanks for letting me know that you alos have a "Chevalier/KBC" surface grinder. I wil certainly accept your offer to send me a copy of the manual, and I will gladly compensate your efforts.

I completely agree that the Lovejoy spider is a bit too large on the OD. However, at the cost of about $2 US I purchased one to see how well it would work. I installed in into the couple on the arbor and immediately noticed that it made significant contact with the acme screw that raises and lowers the arbor assembly. I removed it and both of the the metal couplers. With both couplers in my hand, and the spider inserted between them, I took a razor knife and sliced off the ends of the protruding spiders. I then reinstalled everything, and pressed the ON buttom. The machine runs very smooth--no detectable vibration.

Here are my thoughts on why trimming the protruding spider legs is a viable option. The arbor shaft and motor shaft are mounted in some substantial bearings. Neither the arbor or motor shaft extends a great distance from their bearings. Compared to the spider, both the arbor shaft and motor shaft have a fair amount of mass. (The spider is very light weight.) The metal couplers also have a fair amount of mass. All that metal mass over-shadows the mass of the trimed rubber spider. Therefore, after trimming the spider legs even if they are not uniformley trimed from one leg to another, the mass of the metal simply overpowers the any potential vibration induced by the trimmed spider. (Like I said earlier, my machine has no detecable vibration after trimming the oversized spider insert.)

If you have a Grainger store in your part of the world, please let me know and I will send you their part number for the spider insert(s) I purchased.

Once again, I would very much appreciate a copy of the manual you have.

Saturday (tomorrow) I will attach a pictures of my machine so you can compare them to your machine.

Alan

[edward miles]

Alan, I will get the large pages copied on Monday morning. The normal 8"x11" pages will be copied here on my machine. Apparently the super version covers the accessories such as a dust collector and a coolant tank with pump and filters. The wiring data was included with my machine in the electrical box but it covers the general detail for several machines. My electrician said it is complete, but an electrician can read it better than the average joe. What power requirement is your motor. Mine is 220/440, 3 phase.

The only way to get the information to you is by mail. I guess the best thing is to give me you Email address so we can communicate off the board.

Ed

[MikeHenry]

Alan,

A $100 buy-it-now manual sounds like something from seller MikeKandu (sp?).

It just rubs me the wrong way to spend that sort of money on a manual that is probably scanned. I think that Chevalier rebadges equipment from OEMs and then sells them in the states. You might be able to find another distributor that still sells the same design of surface grinder and buy a manual from them. I was able to do that with a T&C grinder that was sold by Chevalier (amongst several others). It's a long shot, but you might try Gromax:

http://www.gromax-usa.com/

Mike

[edward miles]

Mike, the machine is built by Falcon Machine Tools Co., Taiwan and is labled Chevalier which is their brand name. Back about 30 years ago and for a 10 year period as far as I can figure out they sold them through KBC with their badge on them. In my case, I got the manual from a dealer up here in Canada(scanned copy) for free thrown in with some parts that were needed for the table traverse.

This is what these forums are for, exchange of information and material between the members at the lowest possible cost. Four years ago, I bought a Town Woodhouse 12-36 lathe with a pot full of accessories and tooling but the manual was missing. To try and find something I tried the PM board and got a reply from a gentleman in England. He said that he lived just down the road from the plant that built the machine, but it had been bought out by another company. He knew the current manager of the works and he was able to get a copy of the manual and send it to me by mail, no-charge, which is the way this one will be handled. When you see an add for something on E Bay for a ridiculous price, ignore it and keep asking around. The help is always out there somewhere, you just have to have a little patience.

Ed

[alanallen]

Edward:

Sorry to take so long in replying to your message.

Here is a pic of my Chevalier 618.

[IMG]"B:\Chevalier 618.JPG"[/IMG]

You will probably be as surprised by this as I was -- my machine has a factory installed 110V 1 HP single phase motor.

Before looking at the machine I was told it had a motor problem -- significant lack of power. When I loked at the machine, I first noticed it had a typical industrial 110V plug installed, and I thought the (now previous) owner was trying to run a 3 phase motor on single phase. Then I looed at the motor data plate. Sure enough, it stated 110V, 1Ph. I have looked at many Chevalier machine and never saw anything but 3 Ph motors on them.

Anyway, the motor did have a problem that I have corrected.

Please let me know if the attache pic looks like illustrations in the manual you have. I suspect that Chevaliers made back in the early '80s, such as mine, are very much the same as ones made into the late 90's.

I will send you my email address via the private correspondance section of this BBS.

Thanks again for your help in obtaining a copy of your manual.

Alan