Small grinder

[Stoney]

Here is my next restore project. 


It is a small grinder that you sit and pedal.  I'm going to take it all the way down for a complete restore.


This is the pedal and chain sprocket.


This is the grind wheel shaft and tool rest.  When finished it will go in the blacksmith shop.

[john k]

Now that is one interesting piece of home brew work.   Bet it was made on a farm before electricty, (pre-1938).   Mixing wood and steel components, and that bicycle sprocket from the 20s or 30s,  repurposing and making do.  I really like how he carved wooden bearings for the pedal crank.  Glad it survived.  Going to paint it?

[64longstep/Brian]

NICE!!!

[Branson]

That's a honey.  What do you suppose he used for the tool rest?
I want to see what it looks like restored!

[jimwrench]

 Looks like a factory built tool to me. very nice.

[anglesmith]

What a great bit of history, I think it is homebuilt, but whether its home or factory built it is certainly very old and certainly well made using what was to hand.  The cranks are locked with square head set screws, never seen that before! I thought cotters went back to the begining of the safety bicycle? The larged helical gear wheel and pinon,look like they are  out of an early forge blower or cream seperator?
I think with that sort of gearing you would know that your working!
Graeme

[Stoney]

Thanks, Ya'll here are some more details on the bicycle grinder.

Close up of helical gearing.  The small hole is for oiling the shaft.  There is another one for the large gear.  The shafts are in metal sleeves.


Close up of the top sprocket and gearing.


Better view of the lower sprocket.

Now that is one interesting piece of home brew work.   Bet it was made on a farm before electricty, (pre-1938).   Mixing wood and steel components, and that bicycle sprocket from the 20s or 30s,  repurposing and making do.  I really like how he carved wooden bearings for the pedal crank.  Glad it survived.  Going to paint it?

Usually I don't restore but to maintenance level ( make everything work.)  In this case I'll go whole hog.  Sand blast using pecan shells on the metal.  Then prime with Rust Ender.  That's a product we use on tractor sheet metal that uses the micro rust as a finish.  You can't paint for 24 hours but if you wait longer than 48 hours rust ender is so slick and hard and the paint will not stick.  I intend to replace any bad wood and make my stationary bike/grinder like new.  Then I can both  exercise and sharpen tools. LOL

I don't know if it was manufactured and repaired with shop built parts or home made with re-purposed parts.  When I saw it I knew I needed it at my house.   

   

[john k]

Now that you mention it that big gear does look like the one in my old IHC cream separator.   I think home made when I see the mix of wood and metal parts, a wide variety of screws nuts and bolts.  That tool rest looks familiar, am thinking still on that one, it reminds me of the brake pedal of a high wheel wagon.  Glad its going to be saved.   Ingenuity!  Here is a pic of a 1920s KeenKutter pedal grinder, different with the big stone, but the general layout and the seat sticking way out there is similar.  As I was taking mine apart, discovered that for shipping, originally, the whole thing could fold down (minus the stone)  to a 4 inch high box.   

[rusty]

The diagonal wooden pieces with bearing blocks make me think of a wheel barrow.....

The mix of strap iron and rather fine castings makes me lean toward homebrew as well, very interesting piece....

The piece the tool rest is bolted to looks kinda like a wood stove foot.....

[scottg]

I love this!! I only -hope- its homebrewed.
Probably a small shop run though. Somebody got a stash of parts and built some, sold on limited distribution etc. Just a guess but I think it happened a lot.

I bet there are bicycle and cream separator guys who could pin down the date from the parts.
   yours Scott
     

[Branson]

The piece the tool rest is bolted to looks kinda like a wood stove foot.....

I can see that.  The big gear looks a lot like the gear wheel on a small forge I got a while back.

[Stoney]

Branson I almost bought a small portable forge this summer, that had the same gearing.

[Branson]

Branson I almost bought a small portable forge this summer, that had the same gearing.

The one I'm thinking about (I have two) is meant to be bolted to a bench.  It's about 14 inches tall to the top of the pan.  I picked it up about 15 years ago a parking lot sale in front of a blacksmith shop.  Got it for $35, and within a week, watched the same forge, missing the gear wheel that drives the blower, go for $65 on eBay.  I have to make a part to get it going, but it's not a big job.  I've just procrastinated.

[Stoney]

The one I looked at was mounted on legs.  It had a wooden handle that wnen pulled down rotated a small gear that then drove the blower.  When ypu pulled the handle up it disengaged the small gear from the large gear.  I wish I had bought it now.

[Stoney]

Tear down starting next week, will photo the whole process.